Financial Planner
Stratus Cloud Solutions Stratus Cloud Solutions
What-if scenarios

Answer client what-if questions while they're still in the meeting

Model retirement age, spending, savings, and life decisions on the household Financial Plan record — so advisors test scenarios in Salesforce instead of rebuilding the household in another tool.

Current plan vs scenario comparison — savings, taxes, income, and expenses on the What-If Simulator.

What-If Simulator comparing current plan vs scenario with savings and tax deltas in Financial Planner
Select a scenario tile and see how savings, taxes, and lifetime totals change against the current plan.

Sample household data for illustration only — not a client record.

The problem

Scenarios that never make it back to CRM

Each scenario becomes a new file

Advisors duplicate a plan in an external planning portal, export a PDF, and lose track of which version the client actually saw in the meeting.

Meetings move faster than rekeying

Rebuilding a portal plan mid-meeting is too slow — so the team promises to "run it tonight" and the conversation loses momentum.

Associates cannot see the scenario path

If the what-if lives in one advisor's planning login, the rest of the household team and compliance cannot reopen the same comparison.

CRM notes replace structured results

A success rate or savings delta gets pasted into Salesforce notes — not saved as scenario context on the Financial Plan record.

In a client conversation

Common client what-if questions advisors can answer

Each question maps to a comparison on the What-If Simulator — without exporting the household to a spreadsheet or second portal.

What if we retire two years earlier?

In Salesforce Retire 2 Years Earlier tile compares savings, taxes, and lifetime totals against the current plan on the Financial Plan record.

What if we reduce retirement spending by 10%?

In Salesforce Reduce Spending by 10% shows before/after savings at end of plan and plan-comparison charts in session.

What if one spouse stops working earlier?

In Salesforce Adjust income and retirement timing assumptions — then compare scenario deltas without rebuilding the household elsewhere.

What if we help fund education for children or grandchildren?

In Salesforce Model education goals on Financial Planner records, then test how funding choices change savings and cash-flow outcomes.

What if we delay Social Security, CPP, or OAS?

In Salesforce Pair What-If with Social Security or CPP/OAS explorers to compare benefit timing and household cash flow on the same plan.

What if market returns are lower?

In Salesforce Achieve 1% lower average rate of return tile stress-tests savings projections and ending balances against the baseline plan.

What if we sell or buy a major asset?

In Salesforce Update real estate or account assumptions on the plan, then run What-If to see how the transaction changes long-term savings.

Worked example

Reduce spending 10% in retirement

Sample household data for illustration only — not a client record.

Mid-meeting on the sample Chen household, the advisor selects Reduce Spending by 10% on the What-If Simulator. Values below are illustrative — not a client record.

Current plan

Savings at end of plan
$8.7M
Lifetime taxes
$1.1M
Lifetime income
$1.5M
Lifetime expenses
$131k

Baseline plan before adjusting retirement spending.

Reduce spending 10%

Savings at end of plan
$9.4M +$700k
Lifetime taxes
$1.0M −$100k
Lifetime income
$1.5M
Lifetime expenses
$118k −$13k

Sample result: lower retirement spending improves ending savings and reduces lifetime expenses on the illustrative household.

What-If plan comparison showing current plan vs scenario savings deltas

Sample takeaway: The advisor walks the client through side-by-side totals and the plan-comparison chart — without creating a separate planning file.

Note: Apply material spending changes to baseline records and confirm with Run Calculation before client delivery.

How it works

How What-If works inside Salesforce

From household plan to scenario comparison — without leaving Lightning or copying client data elsewhere.

Open the household Financial Plan

Accounts, income, expenses, ages, and withdrawal assumptions are already on the plan record from plan setup and My Financial Records.

Run the baseline calculation

Run Calculation refreshes the current plan advisors use as the comparison baseline for what-if scenarios.

Select a what-if scenario

Choose common changes — retire earlier or later, adjust spending, returns, or longevity — on the What-If Simulator page.

Compare outcomes side by side

Savings, taxes, income, and expense totals show current plan vs scenario deltas plus a plan-comparison chart over time.

Confirm before client delivery

What-if overlays are planning estimates for meetings. Apply material changes to baseline records and rerun Run Calculation before treating results as the updated household plan.

What-if results are planning estimates based on assumptions. They are not trade recommendations, tax advice, custodian instructions, or guarantees.

1
Household Financial Plan

Baseline accounts, income, and assumptions

2
What-If Simulator

Select retire earlier, spending, returns, or longevity

3
Scenario comparison

Current plan vs adjusted savings and tax deltas

4
Advisor next step

Update plan, schedule follow-up, or open Monte Carlo

Trust and compliance

Why scenario data belongs in Salesforce

What-if comparisons stay on governed Salesforce records — so advisors, associates, and leadership act from one system.

Scenarios stay on the Financial Plan record

What-if explorations attach to the household plan advisors already opened — not a disconnected spreadsheet or personal planning-tool login.

Revisit the same planning conversation

Advisors and associates can reopen scenario comparisons in follow-up reviews instead of reconstructing notes from memory.

No spreadsheet handoffs

No duplicate plan files, email attachments, or middleware sync between CRM and an external planning database.

Support CRM workflow and segmentation

Planning data on Salesforce records can support follow-up tasks, review meetings, and filtering households by retirement risk or funding pressure.

Permissions follow the Salesforce model

Packaged permission sets, sharing, and auditability apply to scenario work the same way they apply to the rest of the org.

Debt payment schedule chart in the Debt Payoff Explorer on the Financial Plan record
Debt Payoff sits in the same Financial Plan navigation as What-If, Monte Carlo, and other explorers.

Sample household data for illustration only — not a client record.

Product proof

What-If Simulator in the Financial Plan workspace

Real product UI — scenario tiles, comparison totals, and plan-comparison charts on the household Financial Plan record.

What-If Simulator scenario tiles and savings projection chart in Financial Planner
Common scenario tiles — retire earlier or later, adjust spending, returns, or longevity.

Sample household data for illustration only — not a client record.

What-If plan comparison with savings, tax, and income deltas
Current plan vs scenario totals and plan-comparison chart for client conversations.

Sample household data for illustration only — not a client record.

FAQ

Common questions

Is What-If the same as cloning a plan?

No. Clone creates a separate plan copy. What-If overlays scenario changes on the current plan so advisors compare outcomes without treating every question as a new file in another vendor.

Are scenario results saved to the Financial Plan record?

What-if comparisons run on the household Financial Plan in Salesforce. Advisors can revisit the workspace; material changes should be applied to baseline records and confirmed with Run Calculation before client delivery.

Can associates and compliance see the same scenario?

Yes — teammates with plan access open the same Financial Plan and What-If Simulator. Permissions follow packaged FinPlan permission sets, sharing, and field-level security you already run.

Does client planning data leave Salesforce?

No. Household records and scenario comparisons stay in your org. Financial Planner is a managed package — not an external planning portal.

What assumptions drive a what-if scenario?

Scenarios use the household plan's configured return, inflation, tax, and withdrawal assumptions — adjusted by the selected what-if change such as retirement age, spending, or return rate.

Are what-if results recommendations or estimates?

Estimates for planning conversations based on assumptions — not trade recommendations, tax advice, custodian instructions, or guarantees. Confirm material changes with a full Run Calculation on the baseline plan.

What else sits next to What-If?

Monte Carlo, Market Risk, Debt Payoff, Social Security, Roth, and CPP/OAS explorers share the same Financial Plan navigation.

See Financial Planner in your Salesforce workflow

Request early access to evaluate household records, projections, insights, and explorers before the public AppExchange listing goes live.

  • Public AppExchange listing coming soon — request early access to pilot in your org.
  • Passed Salesforce AppExchange security review.
  • Stratus Cloud Solutions has built Salesforce-native apps since 2009.
  • Documentation is available for evaluator walkthroughs. Open docs
Contact us

How would you like to reach us?

Request a product demonstration or call our team directly — whichever fits your schedule.

Call us 289-468-0150 Speak with our team during business hours (Eastern Time).