Firm Data Sharing

Whether it's for handling PEPs, navigating acquisitions, or simply splitting the efforts of plan management, sometimes it's beneficial for two companies to work together and share plan information between one another. If both companies use PensionPro, data and files can be shared back and forth quickly and easily, helping avoid time-consuming exporting/importing (or hand corrections!) and accidental miscommunications.

Tier Availability: Track, Team, Business

Article Contents

• Overview of Firm Data Sharing
• Accessing Firm Data Sharing
• Managing Firm Links
  • Adding a New Firm Link
  • Updating Firm Links & Mapping Plans
• Sharing Plan Data
  • Creating a Data Update
  • Reviewing & Accepting a Data Update

Overview of Firm Data Sharing

The Firm Data Sharing feature is ideal in cases where Plan information needs to be transmitted between two firms who both use PensionPro. When this feature is in use, both firms will maintain their own record of the Plan; at any time, either party can send the data from their own Plan record or request the data from the other firm's record. Users have full control over what data is shared, and both firms must approve the changes.

This feature currently supports sharing the following types of data:

• General Plan information
• Plan files
• Document Specifications

The rest of this article discusses the process of linking and sharing Plan data, which boils down to two broad steps:

1. A connection is authorized and established between two firms. During this stage, both firms determine which Plan(s) should be shared.
2. At any time afterwards, one firm chooses to send their data for any shared Plans, or requests data be shared from the other firm. The chosen data is synced once both firms approve the changes.

Accessing Firm Data Sharing

Requires Security Rights: Maintenance, Manage Firm Data Sharing

To access Firm Data Sharing, navigate to Maintenance > Firm Data Sharing. The corresponding tab opens to the Firm Links grid.

The Firm Data Sharing tab contains the following views. These views are discussed in more detail in the remainder of this article:

Managing Firm Links

Requires Security Rights: Maintenance, Manage Firm Data Sharing

Firm Links are used to connect two unrelated firm accounts and allow data to be shared between them via PensionPro. These links are also used to select which Plans are eligible for data sharing.

Selecting the Firm Links view of the Firm Data Sharing tab will display the corresponding grid. Each entry in the Firm Links grid represents a connection or pending connection with another firm; multiple connections can be managed in this way. The Firm Links grid includes the following items:

Adding a New Firm Link

To begin using Firm Data Sharing with another firm, a link must be set up in PensionPro to connect the firms together. During this process, both firms will approve the link, and each will select which Plan(s) they intend to share with the other firm. Data syncing is not performed at this time, but any Plans that exist in both firms will be mapped to one another so that they can sync correctly later on.

The following steps will walk users through establishing a link between the two firms. In these steps, Firm 1 will be the firm with Plan data to share, and Firm 2 will be accepting that data.

Step 1: Firm 2 Provides their TenantID

Requires Security Rights: Maintenance

In order to ensure that Firm 1 is correctly linking to Firm 2 (as opposed to another company), the link process will ask for Firm 2's unique TenantID. This information will need to be provided to Firm 1 before they can begin.

To find the TenantID:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Firms/Locations. The corresponding tab displays.
2. If needed, open the General view. The TenantID is listed in the Firm Information grid.

Once obtained, send the TenantID to Firm 1 through any preferred channels.

Step 2: Firm 1 Begins the Firm Link

To start the linking process:

1. Navigate to the Firm Links view of Firm Data Sharing.
2. Select Add at the top-right of the grid. The New Link Request window displays.
3. Enter the TenantID provided by Firm 2.
   • If a valid TenantID is entered, Firm 2's company name will be displayed below the field. Verify this name matches what is expected.
4. Designate an Employee Firm Contact.
   • This is an Employee from Firm 1 who will receive communications related to this Firm Link.
   • Only Employees with the Manage Firm Data Sharing Security Right are eligible.
5. Use the Plans to Share dropdown to choose at least one Plan.
   • Data can only be shared for selected Plans. Plans not added to the Firm Link will not be available to the other firm.
6. When satisfied, select Save.

The items in the below chart will occur after Firm 1 completes this step:

Step 3: Firm 2 Approves the Request and Maps Plans

After Firm 1 completes their step, Firm 2 must accept the link:

1. Navigate to the Firm Links view of Firm Data Sharing and identify the incoming request. The Shared Firm column should match the company name of Firm 1.
2. Select Accept on the right. The Link Response window displays.
   • Alternately, use Reject to refuse the link request and remove it from the grid. Firm 1's shared contact will be notified that the link was rejected.
3. (optional) Use the Plans to Share dropdown to choose one or more Plans if either of the following applies:
   • Firm 2 has Plan data to share with Firm 1.
   • Firm 2 has a Plan record that matches a Plan Firm 1 is sharing (refer to the Shared Plans box).
4. Map at least one Plan. To do so, select a Plan from the Shared Plans box and its matching Plan in the Plans to Share box; then, select the arrow right button to add the combination to the Plan Mapping box.
   • If there is no appropriate Shared Plan, use the (New Plan) option for mapping. PensionPro will create this Plan at a later time.
   • For more detailed instructions, refer to the section Updating Firm Links & Mapping Plans.
5. When satisfied, select Save.

Once Firm 2 completes the above steps, the Firm Link is established. At this point:

• Firm 1's shared contact will be notified that the link was accepted.
• No data has been transferred yet. To get started, refer to the section Sharing Plan Data.
• Either firm can edit the Firm Link to update which Plans are shared or make changes to Plan mapping; refer to the section Updating Firm Links & Mapping Plans, below.

Updating Firm Links & Mapping Plans

Changes can be made to the Firm Link at any time; this can be done to add or remove shared Plans, update the Plan mapping, or remove the link. To do so, locate the entry in the Firm Link grid and select the Update action; the Link Update window displays. This window functions similarly to the Link Response window that is used when establishing the link for the first time. The Linked firm will receive notification if changes are made.

Before Plan data can be shared, PensionPro needs to understand how the data should be passed between the two firms. To accomplish this, Plan Mapping is used to "match" a Plan record from one firm to a corresponding Plan record in the other. When mapping Plans for the first time:

• If the Plan already exists in both firms, then each firm will have to share their Plan record (via the Plans to Share field) before they can be mapped. Either firm can complete the mapping.
• If the Plan only exists in one firm, that firm will have the share the Plan. The second firm then maps this record to a new Plan under their own account.

To add a Plan for sharing, select it from the Plans to Share field. Any number of Plans can be shared with the other firm. If a Plan should no longer be shared, simply clear it from this field. Plans that are currently mapped cannot be unshared until the mapping is removed.

The mapping portion of the Link Response / Link Update window consists of the following elements:

To map a Plan:

1. Choose a Shared Plan to map.
2. Select the Plan to Share that matches the Plan chosen in Step 1.
   • If a matching Plan exists internally but isn't listed in the Plans to Share box, ensure it has been selected from the Plans to Share dropdown above the mapping options, and that it hasn't already been mapped to another Plan.
   • If there is no matching internal Plan, select (New Plan) to indicate that PensionPro should create a new Plan record to store the shared information. This new Plan will be created later; refer to the section Reviewing & Accepting a Data Update.
3. Select the right arrow to add the combination to the Plan Mapping box.
   • The Plans will no longer be listed in the Shared Plans and Plans to Share box. Each internal Plan can only be mapped to one external Plan, and vice versa.
4. When finished, select Save.

To remove a single Plan mapping, select the combination in the Plan Mapping box, then use the left arrow to unmap the two Plans. To unmap all Plans, use the Reset button below the Plan Mapping box.

Sharing Plan Data

Requires Security Rights: Maintenance, Manage Firm Data Sharing

After the Firm Link is established and Plans have been shared and mapped, Plan data can be shared back and forth between firms at any time. Either firm can share or request data, and each has full control over what data is synced.

Select the Data Update view of the Firm Data Sharing tab to display the corresponding grid. Each record present in the Data Update grid represents a data request made by either firm that is waiting on approval from the other party. The Data Update grid includes the following items:

Creating a Data Update

When data needs to be shared between firms, one of the firms will have to create a data update. This is the first step of a two-part process, in which:

1. One firm decides whether to send or receive data, then chooses what data will be synced.
2. The other firm reviews the request and approves the changes.

To create a new data update request:

1. Navigate to the Data Update view of Firm Data Sharing.
2. Select Add at the top-right of the grid. The New Data Update window displays.
3. Select the linked Firm to sync data with.
4. Choose an Action:
   • Send Data will transfer internal Plan data to the firm selected in Step 3.
   • Request Data will transfer data from the firm selected in Step 3 into the internal Plan.
5. (optional) Expand Data to Share to choose what Plan items are synced.
   • By default, PensionPro will sync all items for all mapped Plans. If this is OK, skip to Step 8.
6. Use the Plans field to choose which Plans data will be shared from.
7. Use the Data to Share box to choose which fields, files, specifications, etc. should be synced for each Plan.
8. When satisfied, select Save.

Upon creation, the update request will be added to the Data Update grid for both firms. Additionally, the firm that did not create the update will receive an email notifying them of the request; they will complete the process via the steps in Reviewing & Accepting a Data Update, below.

Reviewing & Accepting a Data Update

After the data update is requested by one firm, the other must accept the update before any changes are made to Plan data. Use the Accept or Reject options in the Actions column of the Data Update grid to approve or deny the request.

If the requesting firm is sharing their current data (as opposed to receiving it), the approving firm has a chance to review the changes that will be made to their own Plans before accepting. To do so, double-click on any update with the Incoming Send Data Type. This will drill down into the request, with the grid updating to list the Plans that will be affected by the changes.

Double-clicking on any listed Plan drills down even further, and tabs above the grid can be used to review changes that will be made to Plan fields, new files, changes to specifications, etc. Use the breadcrumb links above the grid to return to the higher levels.

Whether the data update request is accepted or rejected, the requesting firm will be notified of the result via email. Additionally, the following take place after a request is accepted:

• The requested changes will be placed into a queue for processing. PensionPro will send one email to confirm that items have been queued, and another when the changes have been made.
  • Each type of update will be queued separately; for example, all changes to Plan fields are placed into one queue, all file transfers are placed into another, etc. Notification emails are sent for each queue.
• If the firm is receiving data for a Plan that does not exist in their system (and was mapped using the New Plan option), the Plan record will be created at this time.
  • A corresponding Client record will also be created. This will be assigned to the same Location as the originating Plan; if this Location does not exist, it will be created.
• Any List Values used by shared items that do not already exist in PensionPro will be created.