Understanding Deliverables

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 in 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 contact your CSM. For instructions on setting up Deliverables in your organization once enabled, please see our Enabling Deliverables article.

• How Deliverables Work 
• Deliverable Types

• Calculation Basis Fields 

  • Frequency
  • Initial Calculation Basis
  • Ongoing Calculation Basis
• Assignment Settings
• Fulfillment Settings
  • Fulfillment Activities
  • Fulfillment Date
  • Due Date
  • Complete After X Fulfillments
• Activation Rules
• Accessing Deliverable Records
  • Client Record
  • Data Management App
• Fulfilling Deliverables
• Adjusting Deliverables for Specific Services
• Deliverable Reporting
• Deliverable Tiles
• Deliverable FAQs

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 met across the firm's book of business. 

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 a deeper understanding of client success outcomes via reporting, like add-ons or churning away. 

For example, your firm has a new prospect, Ryan Beger, who has an open deal with your firm for Retirement Planning. 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 attach 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 made within your Practifi organization representing 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 needs to be on board with the schedule of the Deliverables you are committing users to. You will want to conduct discussions as a business to agree on what your clients are entitled to and represent these using Deliverables.

Calculation Basis Fields

Within the Deliverable Type record, the calculation basis fields are set to 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 will then calculate the due date of the Deliverable. This calculated date is displayed in the Next Due Date field, giving your team members a clear day when the client's Deliverable needs to be fulfilled. 

Frequency

The Frequency field in the calculation basis fields sets how often a Deliverable needs to be completed. From the drop-down options for the Frequency field, you will select the option that best suits how often the client would expect this Deliverable. The options available in the Frequency field are as follows: 

• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Semi-Annually
• Annually
• Biannual
• Triennial 

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's setting tells the system if the Deliverable's first Next Due Date should be based on the Service's start date or a 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. 

Alternatively, the Based on 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, then the Deliverable's initial Next Due Date will be September 30th, as this is the last day of the third calendar quarter. 

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 completed Deliverable's due date 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, was fulfilled on July 15th, but the Deliverable had a Next Due Date of September 30th, then the Deliverable's updated Next Due Date 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 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 contains settings controlling what type of Activity record fulfills the Deliverable, whether the fulfillment date can be modified and whether the Deliverable can become overdue.

Fulfillment Activities

Checking the Auto Create Fulfillment Activities box allows you to create a dedicated Task that will be completed to fulfill the Deliverable. When an end user opens a Task created to fulfill a specific Deliverable, the Deliverable automatically populates within the Marked for Fulfillment section of the Deliverables sidebar.

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. The completion of the selected Task within the Process is what 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 number field that determines the number of days before the Deliverable's due date that 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 Deliverables that have already been fulfilled by a Task being marked as complete or 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 due date (default) - Deliverables not fulfilled by the due date will be given a status of Missed and the next due date will be calculated.
• Treat it as overdue - Deliverables not fulfilled by the due date can still be fulfilled. Deliverables fulfilled past the due date are given an outcome of Fulfilled Late.

Please note: If you checked the Auto Create Fulfillment Activities box, 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 is fulfilled a set number of times, you can enter a whole number in the Complete after X fulfillments field in the Fulfillment Settings area. This setting is intended for Deliverables that are used to complete work for transactional services such as tax preparation.

Activation Rules

Because not all clients need the same level of service, your firm might want to tailor Deliverables to fit different client types. As of the Pinot Blanc release, Practifi organizations can activate Deliverables automatically when specific criteria are met. 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 new 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 also exists within the Service record under the Deliverables subtab. 

In both locations, selecting the Deliverable Name will open the specific Deliverable record with additional information included in subtabs.

On the Deliverable record page, the Basics tab gives an overview of the Deliverable Type and displays the settings for calculating 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 what the reminder settings are for the Deliverable. Reminders are set by checking the Set Reminder box on the Deliverable Type and 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 of this Deliverable to give a history of the Deliverable in relation to the Client record. 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 Managment 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 did the job 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 with key dates. For Open Deliverables, the date displayed will be the Next Due Date of the Deliverable. The date displayed for Fulfilled Deliverable is the date that the Deliverable was fulfilled rather than its Next Due Date. Once the checkbox is selected for the Deliverable that the task or event is fulfilled, the Deliverable will move to the fulfilled list and disappear from the open list. Additionally, on the Deliverable's record Fulfillment subtab, you will see 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 fulfillment rate, which relies on the Fulfilled checkbox as its basis. 

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 provides the customer with a higher standard of service than is typically included in the Deliverable Types template created by your firm. 

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, though it exclusively applies to the Service in question. To have the change occur across multiple clients, it would need to be created as a Deliverable Type in your organization.

When editing or creating a new Deliverable, the Frequency Recalucation 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 takes the basis field specified in the field and then adds the specified Frequency value to set the Next Due Date.

Deliverable Reporting

While every firm has different reporting goals surrounding Services and Deliverables, we've included a handful of sample reports with this feature to help teams get started on tracking Deliverable fulfillment performance. 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 represent different ways of summarizing fulfillment rates and are intended for managers looking 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 running user to allow for fulfillment rate improvement. The charts included in these sample reports display a reference line to indicate a realistic target for fulfillment rate. This has been set at 85% but is easily changed to suit your firm's needs in the Report Builder.

Deliverable Tiles

Once the Deliverable functionality is enabled within your organization, you can add tiles for tracking Deliverables to the Home Page of the Advisor, Client Service and Compliance apps. These tiles help your firm's Advisor and Client Service app users track when upcoming Deliverables are due. For Compliance users, these tiles call attention to missed Deliverable fulfillment within your organization.

All the available Deliverable tiles may be enabled, or you may select only the tiles that make the most sense for your firm's needs. For additional information about 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 be inactive as long as the associated Services are inactive, even if the activation rules for the Deliverables become true.
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. If an activity was previously associated with the inactive Deliverable, it remains open and is unlinked from the Deliverable that has become inactive.
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 is unlinked from the canceled 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 side panel of the Task record.
7. What is the effect of canceled Tasks on Deliverables?
   All Deliverables previously marked for fulfillment will be moved to the Available for Fulfillment area of Task and Event records. Fulfillment records that were associated with these Deliverables and the canceled Task will be deleted. Any pre-nominated Deliverables on the Task prior to cancellation should also transition accordingly. These pre-nominated Deliverables will display a plus icon next to them, which means their status becomes Active, indicating they are now available for fulfillment by other Tasks, as applicable.
   
   When the status of a Task is Canceled, the plus icon will be unavailable for any Deliverable displayed in its Available for Fulfillment section, as Deliverables cannot be fulfilled by canceled Tasks.