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Identifying and Assigning Changes to Be Made

Written by Taylor Stewart
Updated this week

After reviewing a client's goals or any planning module, the next step is capturing the action items that come out of your analysis. In Kerdora, those action items live in Changes to be made — a dedicated page where you organize and track every recommendation for a client. You can add changes from anywhere in the app using the Add Change button in the top-right header, or go directly to the Changes to be made page to manage them all in one place.

How Changes Connect to Goals

When you review a client's Goals tab, you'll often spot things that need to happen — a client isn't saving enough for retirement, they need to open a 529 for education funding, or their emergency fund is short. These are exactly the kinds of insights that should become changes.

Kerdora doesn't automatically generate changes from your goal analysis. That's intentional — you're the advisor, and you decide what rises to the level of a recommendation. The Goals tab gives you the data; Changes to be made is where you turn that data into a plan of action.

Adding a Change from Anywhere in the App

You don't need to leave the Goals tab (or any other page) to capture a change. In the top-right corner of every client screen, you'll see an Add Change button. Click it and a dropdown appears with two fields:

  1. Category — Pick which category the change belongs to (e.g., "Accounts to be opened / closed" or "Changes to Cash Flow")

  2. Description — Write out the specific action item

Click Add and the change is saved immediately. This lets you capture recommendations in real time as you review a client's plan — no need to navigate away from what you're working on.

Managing Changes on the Changes to be Made Page

To see all changes in one place, go to Overview in the client sidebar and click the Changes to be made tab (next to Guides).

Here you'll see all your change categories listed vertically, each with its individual change items inside. Every client starts with five default categories:

  • Accounts to be opened / closed

  • Changes to Cash Flow

  • Changes to Investment Allocation

  • Changes to Insurance

  • Changes to Procedures

Adding Changes Directly on the Page

Inside any category, click + New change to add an item. Type your recommendation and it saves automatically. You can also:

  • Check off a change when it's done

  • Drag and drop to reorder changes within a category

  • Delete a change by hovering over it and clicking the trash icon

Working with Categories

  • Click + New section at the bottom to create a custom category

  • Rename any custom category by clicking its name and typing

  • Hide a category by hovering over it and clicking the eye icon — hidden categories won't clutter your view but aren't deleted

  • Reorder categories by dragging them

  • Delete a custom category by hovering and clicking the trash icon

The five default categories (Accounts, Cash Flow, Investment Allocation, Insurance, and Procedures) can be hidden but not renamed or deleted. Custom categories you create can be fully edited or removed.

Filtering Changes

At the top of the page, use the filter buttons to switch between:

  • All — Every change, completed or not

  • Not Completed — Only open items

  • Completed — Only finished items

This is helpful during client meetings when you want to focus on what's left to do, or when reviewing progress over time.

What Kinds of Changes Should You Add?

Changes to be made can capture anything that comes out of your planning analysis. Here are some common examples by category:

Category

Example Changes

Accounts to be opened / closed

Open a Roth IRA, close old 401(k) and roll over to IRA, open a 529 plan

Changes to Cash Flow

Increase monthly savings by $500, reduce discretionary spending, set up automatic transfers

Changes to Investment Allocation

Rebalance to target allocation, reduce cash drag, increase international exposure

Changes to Insurance

Increase term life coverage, add umbrella policy, review disability insurance

Changes to Procedures

Update beneficiary designations, set up automatic RMDs, review estate documents

Customizing Your Default Categories

You can customize which categories appear by default for new clients. This is managed through your Guide templates — if you find yourself always adding the same custom categories, you can set them up once and have them apply automatically. Look for more details in the Guides section of the help center.

Tips for Writing Good Changes

  • Be specific. "Increase term life coverage to $1M" is better than "Look into insurance."

  • Make it actionable. Each change should describe something the client or advisor can actually do.

  • One action per change. If there are two things to do, make two changes — it's easier to track completion that way.

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