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From Insurance Quotes to Division 296: Xplan Just Keeps Evolving
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
When I started paraplanning more than 10 years ago, the dominant software in the industry was COIN (Rubik). Like many paraplanners of that era, I spent countless hours getting my head around the software and learning all its intricacies. At the time, COIN was the go-to system, while Xplan was still finding its place in the industry.
Once I became comfortable with COIN, I never thought I would want to move to another software. It did the job, and like most paraplanners, I had become familiar with its quirks and shortcuts. Little did I know that in the years ahead, a platform would emerge that could do far more than simply produce an SoA.
Back then, if you wanted insurance quotes, you would visit individual insurer websites. If you wanted platform comparisons, you used separate research tools. Portfolio information came from different sources, and modelling often involved spreadsheets and manual calculations. Everything felt disconnected.
Then came Xplan.
What amazed me wasn't just the software itself, but how many functions it managed to bring together under one roof. Real-time portfolio feeds, insurance research, platform comparisons, financial modelling, client data management and advice generation, all accessible within a single ecosystem.
Over the years, many software providers have entered the advice and paraplanning industry. Some have great interfaces, others have strong niche capabilities. However, whenever I compare them against Xtools, Risk Researcher and WealthSolver, I still find myself appreciating the depth and accuracy that Xplan provides.
- Was it always the easiest software to use? Probably not.
- Was it always the prettiest? Definitely not.
But it consistently offered capabilities that other software simply couldn't match.
What has impressed me even more recently is how quickly the platform continues to evolve. The developments introduced over the past few months have genuinely blown me away.
The ability to separate taxed and untaxed superannuation interests. Greater flexibility around retirement dates and key life events. Improved modelling for property purchases and sales. More accurate cash flow projections. These may sound like small enhancements, but for advisers and paraplanners who rely on detailed modelling, they make a huge difference.
Complex strategies involving multiple superannuation funds and SMSFs are now easier to model with greater precision. Cash-out and recontribution strategies, pension commencements, contribution timing and fund transfers can be projected with much more confidence than before.
One enhancement that many Xplan users may not yet be aware of is the planned Division 296 modelling functionality expected from 1 July 2026.
This will help :
Calculate clients' Division 296 earnings ahead of the first Total Superannuation Balance measurement date on 30 June 2027.
Evaluate SMSF clients' Division 296 cost-base reset election options before the 2026/27 SMSF tax return deadline in early 2028.
For advisers dealing with high-balance superannuation clients, having this functionality available early could save a significant amount of time and help identify strategic opportunities well before critical deadlines.
After more than a decade in paraplanning, I've worked across different software systems and seen countless new tools enter the market. Yet somehow, Xplan continues to surprise me.
Maybe it's because every time I think I've discovered everything it can do, another enhancement comes along that makes advice modelling a little easier, a little smarter, or a little more accurate.
For advisers and paraplanners who value precision and accuracy in comprehensive advice, it's hard not to appreciate what Xplan has achieved. Technology doesn't replace good advice. It never will. But every now and then, a piece of technology comes along that genuinely changes the way we work.
For me, Xplan has been one of those tools.
