Considering new TPA software

[Guest Doug Johnston]

We have been using Relius for about 10 years, and are considering a change. The bottom line is that it's more than we need.

We are a CPA firm, and plan administration is a "boutique" service for some of our clients who want to keep everything under one roof. Our client base is relatively small and likely to stay that way. We work with defined contribution plans only and generally provide balance-forward administration and/or compliance services.

I would like suggestions regarding software packages that we should evaluate.

Thanks!

[Archimage]

I have been in your situation before a few years ago. At the time we looked at a few software packages and decided to go with Relius since it was a good price and we had people that knew how to use it.

Make sure you do factor in the cost of training and mistakes made by people not knowing how to use the system. Relius may not be the cheapest but you know how to use it and that can save a lot of time and expense.

[SoCalActuary]

I see three different admin systems on a regular basis, Relius, Datair and ASC.

The pricing of each system is just my opinion, based on my experiences and quotes I have seen, so you might get a different opinion when you ask for quotes. With that caveat, here is what I have found:

Relius has the largest initial fee, Datair next, then ASC has the lowest initial fee.

ASC has the largest renewal fees, then Relius, then Datair.

The usability of each system, including flexibility, required information, length of time to process, etc. differed among each system's users. Relius was the most demanding of accuracy, had the most features, and required the most training. Datair had both a DOS-based and now a Graphic User Interfaced (Windows) system. It was judged very easy to use, but had fewer options that Relius. ASC also had both DOS and GUI systems, with the GUI just a front-end polishing of the DOS system. ASC has easy usage and considerable flexibility, at least equal to Datair.

Each firm has competent staff with good knowledge of administration and systems requirements. Relius has the deepest, including the computer systems components. Relius and Datair will require a Windows Network server, while ASC also allows Novell and Unix/Linux servers.

Recommendations: Any of the three can do what you describe. For simplicity, go with Datair or ASC. For total cost of ownership, you have already made the big initial investment in Relius, so the ongoing cost will be lower for it. But don't take my word for it, get quotes, including the projected costs over the next 5 years, ten years, or whatever your planning horizon.