Kerdora is a financial planning platform that helps you gather client data, analyze it across planning modules, and deliver personalized Guides to your clients. When you first log in, you'll land on the Clients page — this is your home base. From here, you can explore the pre-built sample client, set up your firm branding, and start adding your own clients.
Here's what to do first to get the most out of Kerdora right away.
Step 1: Explore the Sample Client
Every new account comes with a sample client called the Simpson Household. Click into it to see what a fully built-out client file looks like. You'll see how data is organized across the different sections:
Overview — This is where your client's Guide lives. It's the deliverable you'll share with clients, showing them a clear picture of their financial life and what to do next.
Profile — Where all client data is stored, organized into tabs: Accounts, Cashflow, Insurance, and Household.
Planning — The planning modules where you analyze client data: Goals, Investments, Insurance, Taxes, and Estate.
Documents — Where uploaded client documents are stored.
Poking around the Simpson Household is the fastest way to understand how everything fits together before you start building your own client files.
Step 2: Set Up Your Firm Branding
Before you start working with real clients, head to Settings (the gear icon in the bottom of the left sidebar). From there you can:
Add your firm name and advisor name
Upload your logo (it will appear in the top-left corner of the app and on PDF reports)
Choose a primary color to customize the look of the app
Add any disclosures that should appear on reports
Add a calendar link (e.g., your Calendly URL) so clients can book meetings with you
This takes just a couple of minutes and makes the platform feel like yours right away.
Step 3: Add Your First Client
On the Clients page, click the "Add new client" button in the top-right corner. You'll be asked to enter a Household Name (for example, "John and Katie Smith"), then click Create.
After creating the client, you'll be taken through a step-by-step onboarding flow:
Upload Documents — Upload any documents you already have for this client (PDFs, spreadsheets, screenshots, etc.). Kerdora's Extractor will automatically pull data from these files to populate the client's plan.
Household — Review and edit the household members (adults, children, etc.).
Assets — Review extracted asset information or add accounts manually.
Liabilities — Review or add liabilities.
Income — Review or add income sources.
Expenses — Review or add expenses.
Insurance — Review or add insurance policies.
Invite — Optionally invite the client to their portal.
You don't have to complete every step right away — you can always come back and add more data later from the client's Profile tab.
Step 4: Review Goals and Identify Changes
Once your client's data is in, go to the Planning tab and click Goals. This is where Kerdora analyzes the client's financial position using the Retirement, Education, and Liquidity goal calculators. The Goals tab is the most important planning feature — spend some time here to understand how assumptions drive the results.
As you review the client's plan, you'll identify Changes to Be Made — action items the client needs to take. You can add these throughout the platform wherever you spot them.
Step 5: Build and Customize a Guide
Go to the Overview tab. This is where you build the client's Guide — the main deliverable you'll share with them. Guides are fully customizable pages that help clients understand their financial life and know what to do next.
You can customize what appears on each Guide, reorder sections, and create templates to reuse across clients. When you're ready, you can share the Guide with your client through the Client Portal.
What Success Looks Like
By the end of your first session, you should have:
Explored the Simpson Household sample client
Added your logo and customized your colors
Created at least one real client using the Extractor
Reviewed the Goals tab and added a few Changes to Be Made
Customized a Guide
By the end of your first week, aim to have completed a full client file — data entry, planning review, and a polished Guide delivered to a real client.
If you get stuck at any point, reach out through the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the app. We're here to help.