How much demand is there for new and improved RK software?

[SensibleUsername]

Our firm uses Datair (now CalcAir) and I have to admit, I am blown away by how rudimentary the software is. It has a clunky UI and is not very intuitive, even for seasoned retirement specialists. If you were to choose a new RK software that assisted with making Compliance Testing a breeze, made document building more simplified, etc., what features would you want?

What about a software you could use year-round that helped TPAs managing multiple retirement accounts (401(k), DB, CB, etc.) keep up with their clients' plans in terms of CT and employee eligibility, deferrals, 5500 proactivity, etc.?

[mattmc82]

The reason all of major ones feel clunky is because they were originally built to the laws in place at that time. Code written in semi dead languages doesn’t really help. It is no surprise no one has a solution for employer roth contributions yet.
 

The nesting nature of most of them is never really all that intuitive so it is difficult to train. Having separate suites for separate functions makes them more accurate but time consuming. Although I will say in my experience it is much better having your 5500 software separate. Too many nuances especially on audited plans where CPAs insist on plopping things in different spaces. 

Not sure the answer to your question, but I feel like customization is one of the biggest hurdles. Code in the ability to easily override, undo overrides without redoing work and the ability to add notes. The notes should be easily aggregated and easily identified to the portion they apply to. Good luck

[JP Ruiz]

Have you looked at Sepirak.com. Its a software designed for the self directed industry but has the components to recordkeep 401(k) plans.  

[BG5150]

I do all my stuff on green sheets still.

[ESOP Guy]

24 minutes ago, BG5150 said:

I do all my stuff on green sheets still.

At least get into the '80s and get on Lotus 123 man!  

[BG5150]

I don't trust these new-fangled computing devices.

 

[RatherBeGolfing]

2 hours ago, ESOP Guy said:

At least get into the '80s and get on Lotus 123 man!  

I actually liked Lotus back in the day 🤣. 

[ESOP Guy]

57 minutes ago, RatherBeGolfing said:

I actually liked Lotus back in the day 🤣. 

I did too

[Paul I]

Okay Boomers, where's the love for Visicalc?

https://www.historytools.org/software/visicalc-of-dan-bricklin-and-bob-frankston-guide

[ESOP Guy]

I would have been in jr high (what middle school was called in the '70s for you Gen Z) when Visicalc had its day.  I seem to recall the name when you bring it up but I don't think I used it ever. 

 

[Miles Leech]

Had a similar shock entering into my firm, which uses FIS Relius for recordkeeping + compliance. As someone on the younger side (especially for this industry) and with a lot of exposure to modern tech, this industry is decades behind. That said, there are some pretty good options emerging. Congruent's CORE recordkeeping platform has blown us away with actually looking & feeling like a modern cloud-based system that is still highly functional. Definitely worth getting a demo & looking into.

At RANDUG this year, along with Core, there's a platform called Penelope that seemed fairly intriguing. There's also SS&C, Schwab's RK tech, and I feel like ASC has a RK platform as well, but don't quote me on that. 

On the documents side of things, ASC's documents are far superior to FTW in my experience. The user interface & process of designing plans is so much smoother, and they have an API system for integration with any proprietary firm software you may use. These are the only two vendors I'm aware of in the Doc space, but frankly ASC is so easy to use I don't have much of a drive to look at alternatives.

For compliance, it's once again really just ASC and FTW I'm aware of. I'm not thrilled with either compliance module, and this is the area the industry needs work. Because of this, I'm actually in the process of designing & developing a modernized compliance testing software with a friend of mine. It'll be a good year or two at least before it's ready but it's coming along well.