Plum Software unveils adviser checklist

Plum Software has launched a checklist designed to help advisers considering upgrading their client management software.

Ann Dempster, managing director of the software provider, believes advisers and brokers need to make every penny of their IT budget count in the recession.

The checklist aims to ensure advisers know what to ask before they make a final decision on software.

The top five questions are:

1. Is the software a Microsoft product with the latest tools to open several clients at once, perform tasks such as letter writing without having to close the screens and the right check options such as column selection, sorting and setting values?
2. Does it use the latest in e-commerce such as links to providers with downloads of fund names, number of units, price and valuations for all clients with a single request, plus electronic commission statements with automatic matching?
3. Are all aspects of the software properly integrated?
4. Do you have the option to run the software over the internet or on your own hardware with unlimited spaces? If you access the software over the internet how much data can you store, plus do you have your own database and are you sent regular back ups to keep?
5. Are calls personally answered when phoning for support and will a helpdesk person give unlimited help at no extra charge even if it is a training issue? Do you have personalized training at a reasonable cost or are you mainly offered group training?

Dempster says these are the starting points for advisers choosing a supplier that will support them properly.

"It is advisable to have a checklist of the features that are most important and to ensure that the software is flexible enough for you to fully benefit from running your business electronically."