Customizing Summaries in your SnapShot
Once you've added your desired SnapShots (Report Summary Pages) to your Client Report, you can customize each summary page to create tailored reports based on your practice and client needs. Add custom text, dynamic variables, and more all from the Client Report -> Report Editor page.
Watch a 6-minute video for a quick overview of how SnapShots can be used in your reports.
In this article:
- Customizing each SnapShot summary
- Goal Summary
- Assumption Summary
- Goal Status
- Financial Asset Flows
- Net Worth Statement Summary
- Expense Summary
- Net Worth Summary
- Retirement Income Summary
- Estate Summary
- Recommendation Summary
- Custom Pages
- Saving your default settings for future projections
- Reverting to the original default settings
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Customizing each SnapShot summary
Once you've selected your desired charts, tables, and commentary to include in your SnapShots, you can proceed to the Client Report -> Report Editor page to review and customize the content.
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Goal Summary
The Goal Summary defaults to display:
- The Client's Name, Retirement Age, and Retirement Year.
- The Spouse's (if applicable) Name, Retirement Age, and Retirement Year.
- The average annual and monthly Base Expenses before retirement.
- The average annual and monthly Base Expenses after retirement.
You can customize the Goal Summary by:
- Typing in additional static text or adding dynamic Template Variables (e.g., the rate of return, spending level, retirement age).
- Removing pre-populated text and Template Variables.
- Formatting the information to organize or highlight specific details.
Template Variables
On the right side of the page, you have access to a library of Template Variables that you can include in the comments section.
You can click on a Template Variable with your mouse cursor and that will place a dynamic value in the comments section where your text cursor is located. By inputting a Template Variable into the comments section, the value will dynamically update for the current projection (if changes are made) and will be updated for all future client projections if you save it as your default page setting.
Below is an example of adding a line to the Goal Summary using a combination of text and Template Variables and removing a line from the default information. You don't have to remove anything to add more detail. You can keep any relevant information and add as much additional detail as you choose. The main consideration is how large you would like that section of the SnapShots page to be. The more information you include, the more room will be allocated, which could cause other charts and commentary to be added to a second or third SnapShots page.
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Assumption Summary
The Assumptions Summary defaults to display:
- The Client's Name and Life Expectancy.
- The Spouse's (if applicable) Name and Life Expectancy.
- The average Inflation Rate.
- The average Rate of Return before retirement.
- The average Rate of Return after retirement.
Similar to the Goal Summary you can customize the static text or Template Variables.
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Goal Status
The Goal Status defaults to display:
- The Goal progress percentage
- Any calculated Recommendations (e.g., Sustainable Spending, Required Savings).
You'll need to use the Recommendations feature on the Planning page to calculate the values before generating the report.
After calculating the Recommendations, you can return to the Goal Status page to see the results pre-populated.
You could also add your own static text or Template Variables in place of or in addition to the prepopulated Recommendations.
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Financial Asset Flows
The Financial Asset Flows table illustrates the first 5 years of Net Annual Contributions and Withdrawals for the client's Financial Assets. It includes the Year, the Client's and Spouse's (if applicable) Age, Total Net Annual Contributions/Withdrawals to the Non-registered account(s), TFSA(s), Registered account(s), FHSA(s) and a Total. Registered values include the client's (non-employer) portion of RRSP/RRIF(s) and DCPP/LIRA/LIF(s).
If your clients are pre-retirement, this table serves as a list of next steps for their savings strategy. For instance, it may show the client Contributing $15,000 to RRSPs, $12,000 to TFSAs, and $5,000 to a non-reg savings account for each of the next 5 years.
If your clients are post-retirement, this table serves as a list of next steps for their decumulation strategy. For instance, it may show the client Withdrawing $45,000 from RRIFs, $40,000 from non-registered accounts, and Contributing $14,000 to TFSAs for each of the next 5 years.
It's also possible that the strategy will change over time and this table can help illustrate that. For instance, the client may be making higher RRSP contributions this year because of high taxable income, and then switch to using their TFSA contribution room in the following 4 years.
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Net Worth Statement Summary
The Net Worth Statement Summary provides a table of the client's Net Worth at the start of the projection. It also provides a chart with a percentage breakdown of the client's Assets by each category.
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Expense Summary
The Expense Summary provides a chart of the client's Base Expenses and Additional Expenses for the length of the projection. The first year of retirement is indicated on the chart by the letter R.
Customizing the legend in SnapShot charts does not impact the resulting chart in the report. You can interact with the chart from the Report Editor, but the default view will always be reflected in the Report Preview and PDF. The exception is if you choose to display the chart in Real Dollars. This view will be available in the Preview and PDF, with Real Dollars indicated along the left side of the chart.
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Net Worth Summary
The Net Worth Summary provides a chart of the client's Net Worth by category for the length of the projection. The first year of retirement is indicated on the chart by the letter R.
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Retirement Income Summary
The Retirement Income Summary provides a chart of the client's Cash Inflows (aside from Other Incomes) by category starting from 3 years before retirement. The first year of retirement is indicated on the chart by the letter R.
Other Income sources (which often include lump sum proceeds from Real Asset sales and inheritances) are excluded from this chart to maintain the axis scaling. This may mean that income sources you've entered such as rental income are also missing.
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Estate Summary
The Estate Summary provides a table of the client's projected Estate by category as of December 31 of the final year of the projection.
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Recommendation Summary
The Recommendation Summary provides a blank comments box that can be used to enter and format static text or Template Variables.
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Custom Pages
You can add Custom Pages to your report and include them in the SnapShots section. This provides another blank comments box that can be used to enter and format static text or Template Variables with your desired title header.
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Saving your default settings for future projections
For any of your SnapShot summaries, you can save your changes as the default settings for new scenarios.
If you've added new Template Variables, these values will be updated for each unique client file, allowing you to customize your SnapShots once and then use those changes in all new scenarios.
It's important not to save static text with personal information (e.g., names, account numbers) as these will be populated in future client reports for new clients. You should only save new defaults if the language is generic or a template for customization on a client-by-client basis.
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Reverting to the original default settings
If you've made changes to your defaults and would like to revert to Snap's original settings, you can do this from the Defaults button by selecting Reset current page to original settings. If you would like to use the original settings for all new scenarios as well, you can then click Always use original settings for new scenarios.