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Understanding Deliverables

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Some of the functionality described in this article is available as part of our Pinot Meunier release and will not be available if your Practifi instance is not upgraded to this release. 

Overview

Deliverables help track entitlements that your firm provides to clients across your book of business. This article outlines key aspects of the Deliverable functionality to help give a broad understanding of the feature. For information on using Deliverables within your organization, please consult our Creating and Managing Deliverables article.

Please note: This feature is not automatically enabled within your Practifi organization. To enable this functionality or answer any questions regarding this feature, please get in touch with your CSM. For instructions on setting up Deliverables in your organization after enabling them, please see our Enabling Deliverables article.

How Deliverables Work

The Deliverable functionality in your Practifi organization allows you to automatically generate a schedule of recurring client entitlements that advisors are tasked with delivering. This automation ensures that your service standards are consistently met across the firm's book of business, giving every client the level of attention your firm has committed to.

Once set up, each Service maintains a schedule of Deliverables, which are fulfilled by linking them to Tasks and Events with our dedicated sidebar assistant. Over time, each Deliverable gathers a history of successful and unsuccessful fulfillment. This history forms the basis for meaningful reporting on client outcomes, such as identifying clients at risk of churning or flagging opportunities for add-on services.

For example, your firm has a new prospect, Ryan Beger, with an open Retirement Planning deal. Before you promote him to a Client, you'd ensure your firm's Deliverables are set up for his eventual Service Type. Once the Deliverables are created, they are attached to Ryan's required Services and become highly repeatable, with clear requirements for any team member at your firm servicing Ryan Beger's account. 

Deliverable Types

A Deliverable Type is a template within your Practifi organization that represents the individual Deliverables attached to a specific Service Type. This means that each time a client has this Service Type, your team will be expected to fulfill these Deliverables. Deliverable Types are added within Service Types in the Settings app.
 


 

Before creating Deliverable Types, your firm should align on the Deliverable schedule you are committing to. Conducting these discussions as a business ensures that your Deliverable Types accurately reflect what clients are entitled to and sets a consistent standard across your team.

Scheduling Fields

Within the Deliverable Type record, the fields in the Scheduling section determine when the Deliverable is initially started, how often it occurs, and when it is due on an ongoing basis. By setting the Frequency, Initial Calculation Basis, and Ongoing Calculation Basis fields, the system calculates the Deliverable's due date. This calculated date is displayed in the Next Due Date field, giving your team members a clear understanding of when the client's Deliverable needs to be fulfilled. 

For in-depth guidance on working with these settings, please see our Best Practices for Scheduling Deliverables article.

Frequency

The Frequency field specifies how often a Deliverable must be completed. Select the option in the Frequency field that best reflects how often the client expects this Deliverable to be fulfilled. The options available in the Frequency field are as follows: 

  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Semi-Annually
  • Annually
  • Biennial
  • Triennial
  • Every X weeks
  • Every X months
  • Every X years

If you select one of the last three options, the X Value field is displayed. This is a number field that lets you specify how long the period should be. For example, if you wanted to make a Deliverable due every six weeks, you would select Every X weeks from the Frequency field and enter 6 in the X Value field, as shown in the screenshot below.


 

Please note: When you change the Frequency field value for a Deliverable Type and click the Sync with Services button, the system prompts you to choose how to recalculate the due dates for existing Deliverables. This applies to all frequencies except Every X weeks, Every X months, and Every X years.

For these three options, the recalculation prompt is triggered only when the X Value field is changed, not when other conditionally rendered fields are modified. For example, if you've selected the Every X weeks frequency and change the X Value field, the prompt appears. However, if you modify the Day field in the Scheduling section (which appears conditionally), the system does not prompt you to recalculate.

Initial Calculation Basis

The Initial Calculation Basis field sets the Next Due Date field when the Deliverable is created and works with the Frequency field. This field indicates whether the Deliverable's first Next Due Date should be based on the Service's start date or on a calendar period. There are three options:

  • Based on Service Start Date
  • Based on End of Calendar Period
  • Based on Date During Calendar Period

The Based on Service Start Date option in this field means that the Next Due Date will be calculated as the Service Start Date plus the interval length defined by the Deliverable Type's Frequency field. This means that if you have set the Frequency field to Quarterly and the Service has a Start Date of July 15th, then the Deliverable's initial Next Due Date will be October 15th. 

The Based on End of Calendar Period option means that the Next Due Date will be calculated as the end date of the nearest calendar interval as defined by the Deliverable Type's Frequency field. This means that if the frequency is set to Quarterly and the Service has a Start Date of July 15th, the Deliverable's initial Next Due Date will be September 30th, the last day of the third calendar quarter. 

Selecting the Based on Date During Calendar Period option allows you to specify a date other than the last day of the time period specified in the Frequency field. When you select this option, the Date Type field appears, allowing you to select either Specific Date (a fixed numerical date within the period, e.g., the 15th day of the month) or a Relative Date (a day whose numerical date varies depending on when the period begins, e.g., the first business day of the month). Fields will be rendered conditionally based on your selections.

For example, if you had a Deliverable for tax preparation that you wanted to be due every year on April 15th, you would configure the Scheduling section as follows:

  • Initial Calculation Basis: Based on Date During Calendar Period
  • Date Type: Specific Date
  • Frequency: Annually
  • Month: April
  • Day: 15th

 

Ongoing Calculation Basis

The Ongoing Calculation Basis field sets the Next Due Date for the Deliverable after it is fulfilled and, like the Initial Calculation Basis, works in conjunction with the Frequency field. The Ongoing Calculation Basis can be based on the due date of the completed Deliverable or the date the previous Deliverable was fulfilled. 

The Based on Due Date option for the Ongoing Calculation Basis field means that the Next Due Date for the new Deliverable will be calculated from the fulfilled Deliverable's Next Due Date plus the interval length defined by the Deliverable Type's Frequency field. If the frequency is Quarterly, the Deliverable was fulfilled on July 15th, but its Next Due Date was September 30th. The updated Next Due Date for the Deliverable will be December 31st. 

If the Ongoing Calculation Basis is set to Based on Fulfillment Date, the Next Due Date will be calculated as the date the Deliverable was fulfilled plus the interval length defined by the Deliverable Type's Frequency field. For example, if the frequency is Quarterly and the Deliverable is fulfilled on July 15th, then the Deliverable's updated Next Due Date will be October 15th. 

Assignment Settings

The Assignment Type field in the Assignment Settings section determines who a Deliverable will be assigned to when it is added to a Service. The available options are:

  • Service Owner
  • Deliverable Type Owner
  • Entity Owner
  • Role
  • Business Role

The Assignment Type field also supports assigning a Deliverable to a queue rather than an individual user. To learn more, please see our Creating and Managing Deliverables article.

Please note: If an Entity lacks a Servicing Team and the Assignment Type field is set to Role or Business Role, the Deliverable will be assigned to the owner of the related Service.

Fulfillment Settings

The Fulfillment Settings area of the Deliverable Type record controls which type of Activity record fulfills the Deliverable, whether the fulfillment date can be modified, and whether the Deliverable can become overdue.

Fulfillment Activities

Selecting the Auto Create Fulfillment Activities checkbox enables the system to automatically create a dedicated Task to fulfill the Deliverable. When an end user opens that Task, the Deliverable automatically populates within the Marked for Fulfillment section of the Deliverables sidebar, reducing the manual steps required to record fulfillment.

When the Auto Create Fulfillment Activities checkbox is selected, the Fulfillment Activity Type and Days Before Due Date fields are enabled. The Fulfillment Activity Type picklist has three options:

  • Process Task - In the Task field, you can search for and select the Process Task you want to fulfill the Deliverable. If you select this option, the parent Process will be created automatically. Completing the selected Task within the Process fulfills the Deliverable.
  • Task Template - In the Task field that appears, search for and select the Task Template you want to be created to fulfill the Deliverable.
  • Reminder Task - Assigns a task to the owner of the Deliverable Type at the interval specified in the Days Before Due Date field. This option replaces the previous Set Reminder capability.

The Days Before Due Date field is a numeric field that specifies how many days before the Deliverable's due date the fulfillment Task should be created.

Fulfillment Date

The Allow Fulfillment Date to be Modified setting controls whether users can edit Fulfillment Dates for Deliverables in the sidebar of the Task or Event record that fulfills them. The Allow Fulfillment Date to be Modified picklist has the following options:

  • Until the work item is completed (default) - This means the Fulfillment Date field can be modified as long as the Deliverable has an open status. The Update Fulfillment Date icon will appear in the Marked for Fulfillment area of the sidebar of a Task or Event record.
  • No - Selecting this option means the Fulfillment Date field will not be editable. The Update Fulfillment Date icon will not be displayed in the sidebar for this Deliverable.
  • At all times - This means the Fulfillment Date can be edited for Deliverables that are marked for fulfillment and for Deliverables that have already been fulfilled, whether by a Task being marked as complete or by an Event taking place.

Due Date

The final setting in the Fulfillment Settings section determines what happens when a Deliverable is not fulfilled by its due date. The If It Isn't Fulfilled By Its Due Date picklist has the following options:

  • Treat it as missed and recalculate the due date (default). Deliverables not fulfilled by the due date will be given the status Missed, and the next due date will be recalculated.
  • Treat it as overdue - Deliverables not fulfilled by the due date can still be fulfilled. Deliverables fulfilled after the due date are marked as Fulfilled Late.

Please note: If you selected the Auto Create Fulfillment Activities checkbox, the resulting Deliverables will have their activities automatically marked for fulfillment. This implies that they should be viewed as overdue rather than as missed. A validation error will be triggered if you attempt to save a Deliverable Type with the Auto Create Fulfillment Activities option enabled and the If It Isn't Fulfilled By Its Due Date field set to Treat it as missed and recalculate due date.

Complete After X Fulfillments

If you want a Deliverable to be automatically marked as complete after it has been fulfilled a set number of times, enter a whole number in the Complete after X fulfillments field in the Fulfillment Settings area. This setting is intended for Deliverables used to complete work for transactional services, such as tax preparation.

Activation Rules

Because not all clients need the same level of service, Activation Rules let your firm automatically tailor Deliverables to different client types. As of the Pinot Blanc release, Practifi organizations can automatically activate Deliverables when specific criteria are met, eliminating the need for manual intervention when a client's profile changes. For example:

  • If Client Segment = Platinum, activate the Quarterly Review Deliverable
  • If Client Segment = Gold, activate the Semi-Annual Review Deliverable
  • If Client Segment = Silver or Bronze, activate the Annual Review Deliverable

Practifi Administrators can create one or more rules using the Activation Rules tab on Deliverable Type records. For more information on activation rules, please see our Creating and Managing Deliverables article.

Accessing Deliverable Records

Deliverable records can be viewed on Client records or from the Data Management app.

Client Record

There are record lists of Deliverables and Deliverable Fulfillments on the Services & Pipeline section of the Client record page.


Deliverable information attached to the Service is also available in the Service record under the Deliverables subtab. 

In both locations, selecting the Deliverable Name opens the specific Deliverable record, with additional information displayed in subtabs.

On the Deliverable record page, the Basics tab provides an overview of the Deliverable Type and displays the settings used to calculate the Next Due Date. The Dates & Reminders section on the Basics tab contains everything you need to know about when a Deliverable was last fulfilled, when it's next due, and its reminder settings. Reminders are set by selecting the Set Reminder checkbox on the Deliverable Type. They will automatically notify the Deliverable Owner of the upcoming due date with a Task assigned to them. The Days Before Due Date field on the Deliverable Type sets how many days before the Next Due Date this reminder task should appear within your organization. 

The Fulfillment tab on the Deliverable record contains a history of successful and unsuccessful fulfillment, providing a clear record of how the Deliverable has been managed over time in relation to the Client. The System tab includes fields that tend to only matter to System Administrators, and it displays a list of changes made to fields on the Deliverable record itself. This tab is useful for investigating changes different users have made to the Deliverable. 

Data Management App

In addition to viewing Deliverables at the individual client level, Practifi Administrators can access organization-wide lists of Deliverables and Deliverable Fulfillments within the Data Management app.
 

Please note: These pages are not available in the Data Management app by default. For instructions on adding these pages to the Data Management app, please see our Enabling Deliverables article. 

Fulfilling Deliverables

When it comes time to record a Deliverable that you've met successfully, you will do so from the record page of the Task or Event that fulfilled it by using the sidebar assistant located on the right-hand side of the record page.

The sidebar assistant will display any fulfilled or open Deliverables, along with their key dates. For Open Deliverables, the date displayed will be the Next Due Date of the Deliverable. The date displayed for a Fulfilled Deliverable is the date the Deliverable was fulfilled, not its Next Due Date. Once the checkbox for the Deliverable the task or event fulfills is selected, the Deliverable will move to the fulfilled list and disappear from the open list. Additionally, on the Deliverable record, the Fulfillment subtab will show a record created for the successful fulfillment of the Deliverable. 

If a Deliverable's Next Due Date passes without fulfillment, a Deliverable Fulfillment record is created with no Fulfillment, Fulfilled By, or Fulfilled checkbox field values provided. These missed fulfillment records help when reporting on the fulfillment rate, which relies on the Fulfilled checkbox. 

Adjusting Deliverables for Specific Services

Users can modify the Deliverable record directly, if necessary, to give specific clients their agreed-upon entitlements. For example, changing the frequency of a check-in Deliverable from quarterly to monthly gives that client a higher standard of service than the default Deliverable Types template.

Users can also add new Deliverables to a Service through the New Deliverable button in the page actions on their Service record. Creating records in this location is identical to creating Deliverable Types, but it applies exclusively to the Service in question. To enable the change to occur across multiple clients, it must be created as a Deliverable Type in your organization.

When editing or creating a new Deliverable, the Frequency Recalculation Basis field is mandatory. This field determines how the Deliverable's Next Due Date is recalculated when the Frequency field value is changed. The calculation uses the specified basis field and adds the specified Frequency value to set the Next Due Date.

Deliverable Reporting

While every firm has different reporting goals surrounding Services and Deliverables, a set of sample reports is included with this feature to help teams start tracking Deliverable fulfillment performance right away. These reports can be accessed from the Deliverable Reports folder within your Practifi organization. 

The sample reports available are as follows:

  • Fulfillment % by Service Type & AUM YTD
  • Fulfillment % by Division, Owner & Type YTD
  • Fulfillment % by Owner YTD
  • My Missed Deliverables by Client YTD 

The first three sample reports present different ways to summarize fulfillment rates and are intended for managers seeking to track indicators of Deliverable performance over time. The last sample report, My Missed Deliverables by Client YTD, is intended for end users rather than managers and provides an overview of any Deliverables missed by the current user to support improvements in fulfillment rate. The charts in these sample reports include a reference line indicating a realistic target fulfillment rate. This has been set to 85%, but it can be easily adjusted in the Report Builder to suit your firm's needs.

Deliverable Tiles

Once the Deliverable functionality is enabled in your organization, you can add tiles to track Deliverables on the Home Page of the Advisor, Client Service, and Compliance apps. These tiles help your firm's Advisor and Client Service app users track upcoming Deliverables and their due dates. For Compliance users, these tiles highlight missed Deliverable fulfillment within your organization.

All available Deliverable tiles may be enabled, or you may select only those that make the most sense for your firm's needs. For additional information on enabling tiles within your organization, please consult our Adding and Removing Practifi Tiles article. The tiles available are as follows:

Advisor App

  • Advisor - Key Dates - Deliverables due in the next 7 days
  • Advisor - Key Dates - Deliverables due in the next 14 days
  • Advisor - Key Dates - Deliverables due in the next 30 days
  • Advisor - My Alerts & Exceptions - My overdue deliverables
  • Advisor - My Alerts & Exceptions - Overdue deliverables for my clients

Client Service App

  • Client Service - Key Dates - Deliverables due in the next 7 days
  • Client Service - Key Dates - Deliverables due in the next 14 days
  • Client Service - Key Dates - Deliverables due in the next 30 days
  • Client Service - My Alerts & Exceptions - My overdue deliverables
  • Client Service - My Alerts & Exceptions - Overdue deliverables for my clients

Compliance

  • Compliance - Missing Info - Clients with missed deliverables in the last 30 days
  • Compliance - Missing Info - Clients with missed deliverables in the last 60 days
  • Compliance - Missing Info - Clients with missed deliverables in the last 90 days
  • Compliance - My Alerts & Exceptions - Overdue deliverables for my clients

Deliverable FAQs

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about Deliverables:

  1. What happens when you delete an activity that has Deliverables?
    The Deliverable (if not fulfilled) becomes active and can be fulfilled by other activities.
    Deliverables that have already been fulfilled stay as is for tracking purposes. The previous fulfillment record is also retained.
  2. What happens when Deliverables are associated with Services that have inactive stages such as Terminated, Canceled, Completed, Draft, or a blank stage?
    The Deliverables will remain inactive as long as the associated Services remain inactive, even if the Deliverables' activation rules are met.
  3. What happens when a Deliverable was initially active, but later becomes inactive (e.g., due to the activation rule becoming false)?
    While in its active state, the Deliverable will be displayed in the Available for Fulfillment section in the side panel on Task and Event records. Once it becomes inactive, it will no longer be visible in the Available for Fulfillment section. If an activity was previously associated with the inactive Deliverable, it remains open and is unlinked from that Deliverable.
  4. When Deliverable Type settings within a Service Type are configured to Auto Create Fulfillment Activities, how are those activities created for the related Service records if they are backdated?
    If the time between today and the Deliverable's due date is greater than or equal to the interval specified for the fulfillment activity, the activity is created X days before the anticipated due date. Otherwise, the activity is created immediately.
  5. What is the effect of canceled Services on related Deliverables and activities?
    Deliverables associated with the canceled Service are also canceled. If an activity was previously associated with the canceled Deliverable, it remains open and unlinked from the Deliverable.
  6. What happens to ad hoc Tasks that are created to fulfill a Deliverable using the New Task action on the Deliverable record?
    The Deliverable is not automatically marked for fulfillment on the ad hoc Task. The user needs to manually mark it for fulfillment using the plus icon in the Task record's side panel.
  7. What is the effect of canceled Tasks on Deliverables?
    When a task is canceled, all Deliverables previously marked for fulfillment will be moved to the Available for Fulfillment area of the Task and Event records. Deliverable Fulfillment records that were associated with these Deliverables and the canceled task will be retained and given a status of Task Canceled. Any pre-nominated Deliverables on the task before cancellation should also transition accordingly. These pre-nominated Deliverables will display a plus icon next to them, indicating their status is Active and that they are now available for fulfillment by other tasks, as applicable.

    When a task's status is Canceled, the plus icon will be unavailable for any Deliverable displayed in its Available for Fulfillment section, because canceled tasks cannot fulfill Deliverables.
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