Creating SnapShots (Report Summary Pages)
The value of your financial projections can be significantly increased through engaging and digestible client reports. Summarizing key aspects of the plan (e.g., assumptions, next steps) provides clients with more confidence and clarity regarding what they need to do next and what they can expect in the future. Our SnapShots feature provides customizable summaries to present an entire projection in 1 to 2 pages. SnapShots can be used as a standalone deliverable or as an executive summary of a larger report.
Watch a 6-minute video for a quick overview of how SnapShots can be used in your reports.
In this article:
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A sample SnapShots page in a report
The following screenshot provides an example of how the new SnapShots feature can be used to summarize a large amount of information in a client-friendly manner. The combination of visuals, bulleted text, and headings allows clients to quickly understand the main points and gain a better understanding of the projection. These pages can be used as a standalone deliverable or at the beginning or end of a longer client report.
In the remainder of this article, we'll show how you can add and customize SnapShots to provide automated and impactful deliverables for your clients.
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Adding SnapShots to your Client Reports
You can add SnapShots to any existing or future projection through the Client Report -> Report Builder -> Included Pages section of Snap. A full overview of the Report Builder functionality can be found here. |
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| On the right-hand side of the Included Pages section is a Gallery with all available options for your client report. You can filter this section to view just the SnapShots summaries that can be combined to create a single page in the report. |
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SnapShots summaries can be dragged and dropped into the SnapShots folder in the Included Pages section. You can also use the Keystrokes - AS to move all SnapShots into the Included Pages at once. |
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The following illustrates how to add, remove, and order SnapShots in your report.
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Filtering for SnapShots pages in your PDF
If you want to create a PDF with just the SnapShots, you can filter SnapShots Only on the Report Builder -> Included Pages section. You'll see that the other pages in the Included Pages are temporarily greyed out. This will keep your other pages and order while allowing you to download a PDF with just the SnapShots.
Then you can click No Filter to revert to the full report.
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Customizing each SnapShots summary
Once you've selected your desired charts, tables, and commentary to include in your report, you can proceed to the Report Editor to review and customize the content.
You can find an overview of each individual SnapShots summary and how you can customize the values here.
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SnapShots use cases and templates
Now that you're familiar with the process of adding and customizing SnapShots, we can discuss common use cases and provide several templates to help you get started with this new feature.
If your SnapShots are spread over multiple pages, you can increase the room available per page by changing the Margins to Narrow from the Report Builder -> Print Settings page.
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Standalone client deliverable
The first use case is to create a 1 or 2-page report that you can share with your client as a simple and digestible takeaway from your discussions. You can either select just the SnapShots pages in your Included Pages section, or you can filter for the SnapShots pages before creating the PDF.
Template 1 - 1-page financial plan
Using the following SnapShots summaries and order on the Report Builder -> Included Pages section, you can create a very informative 1-page report.
Summaries included above are the default pre-populated values aside from the Recommendation Summary, which requires custom commentary that can be saved as a default if desired.
Template 2 - 2-page annual or quarterly review
Using the following SnapShots summaries and order on the Report Builder -> Included Pages section, you can create a more detailed 2-page annual review deliverable. This will allow the client to consistently compare projections over time across familiar summarized charts, tables, and comments.
Summaries included above are the default pre-populated values aside from the Recommendation Summary, which requires custom commentary that can be saved as a default if desired.
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Executive summary within the report
The second use case is to provide a high-level summary of the projection at the beginning or end of your more detailed Client Report.
Template 3 - Executive Summary following the Note to Reader
Using the following SnapShots summaries and order on the Report Builder -> Included Pages section, you can create a 1-page executive summary at the start of your client report. This will allow the client to understand the results at a glance, while still having the more detailed assumptions and calculations available.
Summaries included above are the default pre-populated values aside from a Custom Page that was added and called Up Next, which requires custom commentary.