Iress Xplan is financial planning software for practices operating under an Australian financial services licence (AFSL). It manages advice files and ongoing client reviews. Xplan does not lodge Australian home loans, so it fits a brokerage's advice arm, while the mortgage desk uses its lending systems.
Xplan pricing is quote-based. The cost depends on the practice's users and chosen modules, with implementation and support included or charged separately under the agreed scope.
Overview of Xplan Software
Iress builds Xplan for the financial advice process, from fact-finding through strategy modelling and statement-of-advice production to ongoing service reviews. Advisers use the client file to connect a person's financial position with their advice strategy.
For example, a combined brokerage and advice practice can keep a client's retirement strategy in Xplan and their home-loan application in the aggregator CRM. The difference between mortgage broking and financial advice explains why the two files have different purposes.
Key Features and Capabilities
Xplan combines client records with advice tools. The four feature groups below describe what an advice practice uses them for.
Client Portfolio Management
Xplan brings the client's financial position and strategies into an advice file. Planning portfolios cover investments, superannuation and insurance. A mortgage desk tracks loan applications and settlements in its lending systems.
Client Documentation and Communication
Advice documents and client records stay together in Xplan. Iress's Client Portal adds secure messaging and document sharing, with signatures and notifications. Include the portal's required modules in the scope of your quote.
Reporting and Workflow
Xplan workflows organise advice tasks across the team. Management reporting helps a principal review activity and revenue, while the client file holds the supporting advice documents. A workflow can move a fact-find to strategy preparation, then to review before an adviser issues advice.
Modular Configuration
Xplan is modular and configurable. A practice can use preconfigured content or a setup built around its own processes. The configuration decision also determines who maintains templates and administers user access.
Benefits of Using Xplan
Xplan reduces repeated administration by keeping advice data and documents in one system. Its benefits depend on how the practice configures and uses that system.
Efficiency
Advice templates and workflows reduce repeated document preparation and organise handovers between staff. Set them around the practice's advice process so staff can use the same information through fact-finding and document production.
Compliance
Structured advice files help the licensee retain the records behind its advice. Software supports that work, while the licensee remains responsible for meeting its obligations. Choose templates and approval steps that match the advice the practice is authorised to provide.
Data Security
Iress describes Xplan as hosted software with vendor-managed security and recovery arrangements. The practice must still manage access to its clients' information and assign responsibility for responding to a breach.
Australian Privacy Principle 11 requires covered entities to take reasonable steps to protect personal information. Outsourcing storage does not remove that responsibility. The Notifiable Data Breaches scheme also applies to covered licensees, whatever software they use.
Ask who controls user permissions, how backups are restored and how the provider supports a breach response. Put those responsibilities in the agreement and your brokerage's data-security procedures.
What Belongs Elsewhere for a Mortgage Desk
Home-loan applications and lender tasks belong in the mortgage desk's aggregation stack. Personal-advice work belongs in Xplan or the advice platform the licensee uses.
Finsure still promotes Infynity as its broker CRM and presents Metanoia as its next-generation broker platform. Use the system assigned to your office for the lending workflow.
If the gap is understanding paid trail, Track My Trail analyses the commission reports your aggregator sends. From two monthly reports, Quick Analysis explains changes in trail and shows clients who were added or dropped off. The Iress Xplan alternative comparison explains how trail analysis sits beside financial-planning software.
For the rest of the mortgage desk, use the guide to mortgage broker tools to separate lending tasks from advice work.
Xplan Pricing: What a Quote Covers
Iress publishes no Australian Xplan price list and prices the configuration by quote. A useful quote covers licence and user scope, modules, implementation and data migration, training and support.
Iress's implementation material describes site setup and data migration assistance, with training and ongoing services. Some consultancy work is charged separately. Ask the quote to separate recurring charges from setup work and state what is included.
Use this worksheet with Iress and with current users at similar practices. Fill the amount column from the written quote. Record internal staff time separately from supplier charges.
| Cost Area | Question for Iress | Question for Current Users | Quoted Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licence and users | Which staff need access, what access does each licence include and what happens when we add a user? | Did administrators and support staff need licences beyond the adviser licences? | |
| Modules | Which advice tools and portal modules are included, and which incur a separate charge? | Which modules do you use in your normal advice process? | |
| Implementation | Who builds the templates and workflows, and which configuration work is included? | How much staff time did setup take, and which changes needed paid consultancy? | |
| Data migration | Which records and documents transfer, who cleans the data and what testing is included? | What required manual cleanup or re-entry after the move? | |
| Training | Which training is included for each role, and how is extra training charged? | What training did advisers and administrators need before using the system? | |
| Support | What support and ongoing template maintenance are included, and what is charged separately? | Who maintains your setup, and what recurring work does that person do? |
Request the billing period and GST treatment, along with contract length and the terms for changing or ending the arrangement. Compare quotes using the same user count and scope.
Judging Fit for Your Business
Xplan fits a brokerage that operates an advice arm or has a defined plan to establish one. Make these four checks before committing.
- Confirm the licence path and which authorised advisers will use the system.
- Cost the configuration using the quote worksheet, including your team's implementation time.
- Map the integrations with your CRM and lending tools. Identify which records transfer and where staff must re-enter data.
- Trial the workflow in a scoped demonstration, from a sample fact-find through advice-document preparation and a service review.
Iress documents an open API and third-party integrations. That does not establish a connection to your particular lending system. Have the demonstration show the data transfer you need and the administrator's role in enabling it.
For a pure lending business, put the budget into your aggregator relationship and CRM. Financial-planning software adds a different job from the loan-file work your team must complete.
Training, Support and Community
Iress provides Xplan training and a support desk. Its Australian Learning Centre has virtual classrooms and webinars, alongside elearning and training guides. Arrange training by role so advisers learn the advice process and administrators learn the setup they maintain.
Iress Community gives users searchable help and training material, with configuration tips from other practitioners. Use those discussions to prepare questions for your account manager or support desk.
AI assistants can support research. They must not recommend a loan or give personal advice. The responsible broker or authorised adviser makes and records that recommendation.
Your Next Step
If your brokerage has no advice arm, review its aggregator CRM settings and lending workflow. Start with the tasks that cause duplicate entry or leave files waiting for another staff member.
If you hold an AFSL, book a demonstration scoped to your advice model. Take the quote worksheet and a sample advice workflow. Speak to two similar practices about their configuration effort and ongoing administration before committing.
