Power Tools represent a collection of solutions implemented by PensionPro to simplify the process of managing large quantities of data. Most Power Tools are used to add or edit data, although there are a few exceptions. This article will discuss what each Power Tool can do, and will assist in utilizing these tools to their full potential.
All Power Tools can be accessed by selecting Power Tools from the Navigation Panel on the left.
Unsure what Power Tool should be used in a particular situation? Refer to the article Which Power Tool Should I Use?.
Tier Availability: Track, Team, Business
Security Rights Required: Access Power Tools
Article Contents
Power Tool List
The following is the full list of available Power Tools, as well as descriptions for each. Most Power Tools share similar functionalities; instructions for using these tools can be found later in this article, in the section titled General Instructions. Any Power Tools with more specific instructions will be noted and a link to a corresponding article will be provided.
Field Update Tools
The Power Tools > Field Update category contains a number of general-purpose Power Tools that are all designed to update the information in one field for multiple records of the same category. For example, this could be the Status for Plans, or the Due Date for Projects.
Power Tools in this category:
| Clients | Performs updates for various fields found on the Client tab > General view. |
| Contacts | Updates fields found on the General and Sales views of the Contact tab. |
| Document Specifications | Updates the Status for, or marks for the deletion of, Document Specifications found on the Plan tab > Specifications view. |
| Fee Schedules | Updates values for Fee Schedules added to the Plan tab. This includes the Start and End Dates and Status for Fee Schedules, as well as Category for items within the Fee Schedule. |
| Files | Performs updates for Files throughout PensionPro, including Plan and Project Files. Files may be archived or marked for deletion, and PSL settings may be updated. |
| Investment Providers | Provides field updates for records found on the Plan tab > Investment Providers view. |
| Plan Cycles | Performs updates for some fields found throughout the Plan Cycle tab. |
| Plans | Updates fields found on the General, Defined Benefit, Daily Valuation, and Health & Welfare views of the Plan tab. |
| Projects | Updates fields found on the Project tab > Summary view. This tool does not apply to Project Workflow. |
| Tasks | Provides updates for Task-related information. This includes assigning/reassigning the Task to an Employee or Worktray, but does not include completing Tasks or inputting Task Item data. |
Distribution Tools
The Power Tools > Distributions category contains tools for managing Distribution Projects.
Power Tools in this category:
| Add Distributions |
Launches Distributions for multiple participants across a single Plan. These participants can be chosen from the Plan's uploaded census data or imported via a spreadsheet.
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Import Tools
The Power Tools > Import category and its various subcategories provide the means to import data into PensionPro. The associated Power Tools utilize Excel workbooks to add new records and update existing records across many areas.
Import tools do not follow the standard 5-step instructions used by most other Power Tools. The links in this section will lead to articles containing relevant instructions for each import.
Power Tools in the Import category:
| Document Specifications |
Allows for the bulk import of Document Specifications across multiple Plans. |
| Global Employee Census |
Provides the ability to upload Employee Census data for multiple Annual Administrations. |
| Plan Cycle Data |
Adds Plan Cycle information across multiple Plans. |
Power Tools in the PensionPro Setup subcategory of Import tools—often utilized during initial implementation or company mergers—can quickly add many new records to PensionPro. These include:
| Client Notes |
Adds Notes in bulk to the Client tab across multiple Clients. |
| Clients |
Adds multiple new Clients. |
| Contacts | Adds multiple new Contacts. |
| Employee Plan Roles | Adds Employee Roles to Plans in bulk. Employee records must already exist in PensionPro. |
| Employees | Adds multiple new Employees. |
| Employer Data |
This category contains one Power Tool, Company Information, which adds new Employer Data records across Clients and populates the Company view of the Employer Data tab. |
| Investment Providers |
Adds Investment Provider records across multiple Plans. |
| Plan Contact Roles |
Adds Contact Roles to Plans in bulk. Contact records must already exist in PensionPro. |
| Plan Notes |
Adds Notes in bulk to the Plan tab across multiple Plans. |
| Plans |
Adds multiple new Plans across existing Clients. |
| SalesPitch |
Adds Prospect and Proposal data for firms utilizing SalesPitch. |
| Services Provided |
Adds Services Provided across multiple Plans. |
Power Tools in the Update subcategory of Import tools allow a spreadsheet to be imported to update multiple fields across multiple records. Specific instructions can be found in the article Updating Records via Import. These tools include:
| Plans | Updates fields found on the General, Defined Benefit, Daily Valuation, and Health & Welfare views of the Plan tab. |
Plan Tools
Tools under the Power Tools > Plans category can be used to add, delete, and otherwise manage Plan-adjacent data for multiple Plans. This includes Employee and Contact Roles, Fee Schedules, and Services Provided.
Power Tools in this category:
| Employee Plan Roles |
Manages Employee Role assignments across multiple Plans. Roles can be added, deleted, or reassigned to a different Employee. This tool can also update Show on PSL settings for multiple Employee Roles at once.
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| Fee Schedules |
Allows a Fee Schedule Template to be added to multiple Plans simultaneously. Depending on the preferences chosen when using the Power Tool, it may also close existing Fee Schedules.
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| Plan Contact Roles |
Manages Contact Roles across multiple Plans. Contacts can be added or deleted as Plan Contact Roles, and can update PlanSponsorLink visibility settings.
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| Services Provided |
Adds or removes Services Provided across multiple Plans. |
Data Collection Tools
The Power Tools > Data Collections category contains tools applicable to Annual Data Collection. This category is only applicable to users on PensionPro's Team tier; for more information on using Data Collection, refer to the article Data Collection with PensionPro TEAM. Users on the Business tier will instead want to use the Projects category of Power Tools to launch and work with Projects that have Web Collection enabled.
| Data Collection Creation |
Launches Annual Data Collection across multiple Plans.
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Project Tools
The tools in the Power Tools > Projects category are used to launch Projects and Extensions for multiple Plans simultaneously.
Power Tools in this category:
| Project Creation |
Launches one Project from the same Template across multiple Plans.
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| Project Extension Creation |
Launches Extension Projects and extends the External Deadline for multiple Annual Administration Projects. |
Uncategorized Tools
The following Power Tools are not broken up into specific categories, and can instead be found within the top level of the Power Tools menu:
| Communication Lists |
Manages Contacts assigned to Communication Lists. Specifically, Contacts can be added or removed from a Communication List en masse. |
| ftwilliam.com |
Links multiple PensionPro Plans to ftwilliam.com Plans, or PensionPro Contacts to ftwilliam.com Portal Users.
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| Fetch |
Provides the ability to generate custom-built reports from PensionPro data.
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| Plan Cycles |
Launches Plan Cycle records in bulk across multiple Plans for the purposes of tracking annual data, such as 5500 and testing information. |
| Time for Billing |
Marks existing Time Slips as having been accounted for in terms of billing (or unmarks any Time Slips, if necessary). Changes cannot be made to a Time Slip once it has been marked as billed. |
| To-Dos |
Launches To-Do items in bulk, creating a single To-Do for each Plan selected. All of the To-Dos created by this Power Tool can be assigned directly to a single Employee, or can be assigned to multiple Employees based on Employee Plan Roles. |
| Website Rights |
Allows Website Rights to be added or removed from multiple Plan Contact Roles.
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General Instructions
The following set of generalized instructions are applicable to most non-import Power Tools, and can be used when more specific instructions are unavailable. In the majority of cases, when these Power Tools are in use, PensionPro will walk the user through a 5-step process:
- Determine what the Power Tool will accomplish.
- Prepare to return a dataset of applicable records.
- Select the records from the dataset that the Power Tool will affect.
- Preview the changes.
- Confirm the changes.
These steps are covered in more detail below.
Step 1: Options
This step determines what the Power Tool's end goal will be, and will vary based on the Power Tool in question. These options are set via dropdown. When satisfied, select Next.
Step 2: Filters
In the Filters step, data will be organized and prepared for the third step, Selections. The goal is to narrow down the data that already exists within PensionPro to make selecting the records that are to be updated as easy as possible.
This step is covered in greater detail in the article Column Selections & Filters, specifically the section titled Applying Columns & Filters.
When filtering is complete, select Next. From this step onward, the Next button also contains options to return to previous steps.
Step 3: Selections
The Selection step shows all records that meet the column and filter criteria established in Step 2. Upon execution of the Power Tool, all records selected in this step will be updated based on the criteria specified in Step 1.
This step is covered in greater detail in the article Column Selections & Filters, specifically the section titled Selecting Records.
When the desired records have been chosen, select Next.
Step 4: Review
The Review step provides one final opportunity to verify that the proper selections have been made. When ready, select Execute.
Step 5: Finish
When this step is reached, the requested changes have been made. Select Start Over to restart the Power Tool from the beginning.