The retirement plan might be the star of the show, but it's the employers that sponsor those plans who are the true MVPs. PensionPro refers to these as Clients, and they sit at the top of the data hierarchy. This article covers how to navigate a Client record and what information it stores, and includes links to many other Client-related topics.
Article Contents
- Overview of Clients
- Opening a Client
- The Client Tab Header
- Client Views and Data
- Other Views on the Client Tab
- Editing Multiple Clients via Power Tools
- Additional Client Actions & Features
Overview of Clients
In PensionPro, the Client is the record that represents the employer who sponsors the retirement plan—in other words, the TPA's customer. This record type captures information about the employer as it relates to their Plans. For example, yearly company data used for 5500 reporting is saved in the Client record.
When opened, a Client is displayed in its own tab (the Client tab), which is divided into a number of different views, accessible via the list on the left side. These views contain data and functionality applicable to the current Client.
Expand the following items for additional information on Clients.
Clients and companies
Each Client record is linked to a corresponding Company record. Companies in PensionPro can represent any business entity; they don't necessarily need to be a customer. A Company may be created when a new Client or a new Contact is added to PensionPro.
Some functionality is shared between the Client and Company records; for example, updating an address in one will also apply the change to the other. However, users who want to edit the company name or view company Contacts or Prospects will need to do so via the corresponding Company tab.
Restricting access to Clients
On PensionPro's Business and Enterprise tiers, access to a Client record is only available to Employees who possess the Location Rights for the Client's assigned Location. Users attempting to view a Client without the appropriate permissions will receive a "You are not authorized to access this page" error. For more information, refer to the article Location Rights.
Customizing Client dropdowns
Many of the dropdown values seen when creating and editing Client information (such as Statuses and Categories) can be customized to suit the firm's data standards via List Values.
Opening a Client
There are many ways to open a Client record in PensionPro. The following list, though not exhaustive, represents the most common methods of finding a given Client:
- Use the search field at the top of the page to search by the Plan name or ID.
- Open a Plan, then select the Client name in the tab header (i.e., the breadcrumb link).
- Select the corresponding link in the Client Name column on Dashboards (if available).
The Client Tab Header
The tab header is displayed at the top of the tab, above any selected view. The header of the Client tab contains the following items, presented from left to right:
- The Client name.
- The Help
option, which opens this article in a new browser window.
- The More
menu, which contains options for ftwilliam.com Navigation Assistance.
Client Views and Data
The following sections detail the views and functions unique to the Client tab, such as address and phone number management, working with yearly Employer Data, and viewing imported payroll records.
General
The General Client Information grid contains details about the Client, such as the name of the company, its status, and its EIN. Use Edit at the top-right of the grid to make changes to this information.
⤷ Show/hide General Client fields
| Name |
The name of the Client. Selecting the name opens the corresponding Company record. This value cannot be edited directly; it is set to the name of the linked Company. If the Client's name needs to be changed, perform one of the following actions:
|
| Status | The current status of the Client. Set to Terminated to make the Client inactive. |
| EIN |
The EIN used by this Client. This value cannot be edited directly; it is set to the EIN entered for the most recent Employer Data record. |
| Category | A generic option for categorizing Client that the firm can use as needed. |
| Fiscal Year End |
The day that marks the end of the Client's fiscal calendar. This value cannot be edited directly; it is set to the Fiscal Year End entered for the most recent Employer Data record. |
| Location | The Location that the Client is assigned to. This determines what Location Rights are required to view this Client and any of its Plans. |
| Entity Type |
The business type of this Client (partnership, LLC, etc.). This value cannot be edited directly; it is set to the Entity Type entered for the most recent Employer Data record. |
| Website URL | The URL for the Client's website. |
| NAICS Business Code |
The six-digit code that represents the Client's operating industry. This value cannot be edited directly; it is set to the NAICS Code entered for the most recent Employer Data record. |
| Client ID | The ID number used by the firm to uniquely identify this Client. |
| Integrated Payroll Provider |
The name of the integrated payroll services that provides payroll data for this Client. This value cannot be edited directly; it is set when PensionPro receives a payroll file from this provider. If multiple payroll services are in use, this field reflects the most recently-received payroll file. See Client Payroll Integration - Management. |
| Integrated Payroll Frequency |
The frequency at which payroll files are sent from an integrated payroll service. This value cannot be edited directly; it is set based on the payroll service. |
| Accounting Client ID | The ID number used by the firm's accounting software to uniquely identify this Client. |
| Payroll Provider |
The service that the Client uses for managing their payroll. This value cannot be edited directly; it is set to the Payroll Provider entered for the most recent Employer Data record. |
| Search Text | Allows users to specify alternate text that will return this Client in search results; see Custom Search Text For Clients And Plans. |
| ftwilliam.com Customer ID | If the Client is linked to ftwilliam.com, the FTW ID of the linked record will display here. Cannot be set manually. |
| Last Interaction | Shows details of the most recent Interaction with this Client, including the date, Plan, and Interaction type. Selecting this item opens the Interaction in a new tab. |
| Marked for Deletion |
When enabled, the Client is added to the Data Deletion Manager for review and possible removal.
|
The More menu at the top-right of the General Client Information grid contains options linking or unlinking the Client to/from ftwilliam.com, or for creating a new company in that system from PensionPro data. For more information, refer to ftwilliam.com - Creating and Linking Records from PensionPro.
Addresses / Numbers
The Addresses and Numbers views are used for storing Client address and phone number information. This data is shared with the linked Company record. One address and one number can be designated as the primary means of contact for this Client.
For more information on working with the Addresses and Numbers grids, refer to the article Addresses and Numbers for Companies, Clients & Contacts.
Employer Data
Yearly company information collected for annual administration is saved to the Client record as Employer Data. This includes EIN, entity type, principals, family, and other businesses for each plan year. For more information on working with the Employer Data grid, refer to the article Employer Data for Clients.
Plans
All of the Plan records created for the Client are listed in the Plans grid on this view. This is particularly helpful if the employer offers a combo plan or manages multiple retirement plans.
⤷ Show/hide Plan columns
| Name | The name of the Plan record. |
| Year End | The final day of the plan year. |
| Plan Status | The current status of the Plan. |
| TPA Plan ID | The ID number used by the firm to uniquely identify this Plan. |
| On Hold Reason | If the Plan is currently on hold, the reason it isn't being serviced. |
Double-clicking a Plan in the grid opens it in a new Plan tab. Use Add at the top-right of the grid to add a new Plan; refer to the article Adding, Reassigning, Deactivating, and Deleting Plans for more information.
Payroll Records
Requires Security Rights: Access Client Payroll Records
If using an integrated payroll service to electronically receive payroll files, any files received for this Client can be viewed in the Payroll Records grid on this view. From here, payroll files can be downloaded or imported into an active Data Collection. Each payroll entry is retained for two years following the date it was received, after which it is deleted from PensionPro. For more information, refer to Payroll on the Client Tab.
Access
The Access view is used to manage guest access for this Client and associated Plans. Guest access is used in situations where an Employee needs to view or edit a particular record but otherwise does not have the necessary Location Rights to do so. For more information, refer to Guest Access for Records.
Other Views on the Client Tab
Clients also use the following views/features which are common to multiple record types. Refer to the linked articles for more information on working with these views:
Why can't I add an Interaction to the Client tab?
The Interactions view of the Client tab is a read-only compilation of Interactions across all of the Client's Plans. The new Interaction should be added to the corresponding Plan.
Editing Multiple Clients via Power Tools
Requires Security Rights: Access Power Tools
The Clients Power Tool can be used to update a single field across one or more Client records. This is a good option for simple but otherwise repetitive changes.
To get started, navigate to Power Tools > Field Update > Clients; the Clients Power Tool opens to Step 1. For assistance in completing the Power Tool, expand the instructions below.
Step 1: Options
PensionPro first asks which field should be updated. This Power Tool can be used for the following fields from the General view:
- Accounting Client ID
- Category
- Client ID
- Location
- Marked for Deletion
- Search Text
- Status
- Website URL
Enter or select the new value. All Clients selected in later steps will be updated to this value. Some fields, such as IDs, can only be cleared; in this case, no value can be entered.
Select Next to continue to Step 2.
Step 2: Filters
To limit a potentially large dataset, filters can be applied in Step 2 that will reduce the number of Clients returned in Step 3.
By default, the data grid will include Client Name and the field chosen in Step 1; additional columns can be added using the Column Selections pane on the left. A column needs to be added before it can used for a filter.
For more information, refer to Applying Columns & Filters. When satisfied, select Next.
Step 3: Selections
The grid on this page displays the Clients that meet the filter criteria applied in the previous step. For more information on working with this grid, refer to Selecting Records.
Choose the Clients to update, then select Next.
Step 4: Review
PensionPro displays a summary of the changes to be made. Review the information provided; when ready, select Execute. The Clients chosen in Step 3 will be updated immediately.
Step 5: Finish
When this step is reached, the Power Tool is complete. Use Start Over to restart the Power Tool from Step 1.
Additional Client Actions & Features
The following is a list of additional articles that discuss managing Clients and other associated functionality:
Article |
Includes |
|---|---|
| Adding, Terminating, and Deleting Clients | Adding a single Client record, marking a Client as inactive, and deleting a Client. |
| Data Import - Clients & Plans | Adding one or more new Client records via spreadsheet import. |
| Data Import - Employer Data / Company Information | Adding past Employer Data entries to one or more Clients via spreadsheet import. This will add company data, but not principals, family, or other businesses. |
| Custom Search Text For Clients And Plans | Adding alternate text (such as a previous company name) that will return the Client in search results. |