Versatile models a balance across multiple years so an advisor can test questions such as, “How long could this account support withdrawals?” or “What starting balance or return would reach this target?” Open a client file, select the Calculators icon in the header, and choose Versatile.
Versatile is a standalone advisor calculator. Its inputs save with the client file, but its results do not replace Profile data, a Goal, or another planning-module assumption.
When should an advisor use Versatile?
Use Versatile when the question needs more than a single time-value-of-money calculation. It can model:
a starting balance over a chosen number of years;
recurring or year-specific withdrawals and contributions;
fixed, year-specific, or random return sequences;
inflation, taxes on modeled positive investment returns, and investment fees; and
the present value, payment, or rate of return required to reach an ending-value target.
Use the Retirement Goal for a full retirement plan that combines household timing, assigned accounts, Social Security, other income, taxes, spending, and withdrawal sequencing. Versatile is better for a focused standalone projection.
How do I create and manage Versatile scenarios?
Each tab at the top of Versatile is a saved scenario for the current client.
Select the Add scenario plus icon to create a blank scenario named “New Calculator.”
Double-click a scenario tab to rename it.
Change the inputs. Changes save automatically; there is no separate Save button.
Select Duplicate scenario to preserve the current assumptions under a new name before testing an alternative.
Drag scenario tabs to reorder them.
Select Delete scenario to remove the active scenario. The delete control appears only when more than one scenario exists, and Kerdora asks for confirmation.
Use clear names such as “Base case,” “$5,000 monthly withdrawal,” or “Lower return.” The Fullscreen control expands the workspace, and Print generates a printable version of the active scenario in a new tab.
What do the Versatile user settings mean?
Present Value is the balance at the start of the projection.
End Value is the target balance used by Solve. Changing End Value does not otherwise change the projection.
Start Age adds an age to each row in the table.
Years sets the length of the projection.
The chart and results update as inputs change.
Does a positive Versatile payment mean a contribution or a withdrawal?
In Versatile, a positive Payment is money leaving the modeled balance, such as a withdrawal. A negative Payment is money added to the balance, such as a contribution.
For example, enter 5,000 to model a $5,000 withdrawal and -5,000 to model a $5,000 contribution. This sign convention differs from Kerdora's Time Value of Money calculator, so confirm the sign before interpreting the result.
How do Simple and Schedule payments work in Versatile?
Choose Simple when one recurring amount describes the projection.
Enter the amount in Payment ($) using the Versatile sign convention.
Set Start Year. A value of 1 starts the payment in the first projected year.
Use Increase (%) to grow the entered payment each year after it starts.
Set Timing to BoY for beginning of year or EoY for end of year.
Choose Schedule when payments differ by year. Select Open Years, enter the amount for each year, and confirm the sign of every amount. The grid control beside a Simple payment copies that amount into the year-by-year schedule, which is useful as a starting point before changing individual years.
Inflation also affects the modeled payment stream. Review the table after adding an increase or inflation rate rather than assuming the nominal amount appears unchanged in every year.
How do Simple, Schedule, and Random returns work in Versatile?
Simple return
Choose Simple and enter Return (%) to apply one annual return assumption. The grid control copies that return into a year-by-year schedule.
Schedule return
Choose Schedule, select Open Years, and enter a separate return for each year. Use this mode to test a known sequence or a hand-built stress scenario.
Random return
Choose Random, then enter Mean and Std. Dev. Versatile generates 1,000 random annual-return sequences and plots five representative ranked paths labeled Worst, 25th, Median, 75th, and Best.
Use Sequence shown to choose which path drives the table, summary, and Solve calculation. The chart continues to show all five paths. Select Rerun to generate a new set of return sequences.
Random returns help an advisor explore sequence risk. They are not a probability of success for the client's full plan and do not include all of the household cash flows, taxes, account rules, or retirement assumptions in a Retirement Goal.
How do Taxes, Inflation, and Investment Fee work in Versatile?
Taxes (%) applies a tax rate to positive modeled investment returns. It is not a tax-return calculation and does not tax withdrawals or other household income.
Inflation (%) expresses the modeled balance and payment stream in inflation-adjusted terms over time.
Investment Fee (%) reduces the balance using half of the annual fee near the beginning of the year and half near the end.
These settings compound across the projection. A small fee, tax, or inflation change can produce a large difference over a long period, so name the scenario and explain the assumptions before sharing the result.
How do I solve for a return, starting balance, or payment?
Versatile can solve for Rate of Return, Present Value, or Payment needed to reach the End Value.
Enter the assumptions that should remain fixed.
Enter the desired End Value under User Settings.
Under Solve, choose Rate of Return, Present Value, or Payment.
Select Solve.
Review the changed field and the resulting table. Kerdora writes the solved value into the active scenario.
Solving for Rate of Return changes the return mode to Simple. Solving for Payment changes the payment mode to Simple. Duplicate a Schedule or Random scenario before solving if the original assumptions need to be preserved.
The Payment result follows Versatile's sign convention: a positive solved payment is a withdrawal and a negative solved payment is a contribution.
How do I read the Versatile result?
Start with the three summary values:
Ending Balance is the balance at the end of the final projected year.
Total Payments is the total modeled payment flow using Versatile's sign convention.
CAGR is the compounded annual growth rate of the selected return sequence.
The Balance projection chart shows how the ending balance changes over time. Expand it for a larger view. When Random returns are selected, compare all five displayed paths and confirm which one is selected under Sequence shown.
Use the table to audit the calculation year by year. It includes Year, Age, Beginning Balance, Payment, Return (%), Return ($), Investment Fees, Taxes, and Ending Balance. An Account depleted indicator appears when the modeled balance runs out.
Why does a Versatile result look wrong?
Check these items in order:
Payment sign. A positive payment reduces the balance; a negative payment adds to it.
Start Year and Timing. Confirm when payments begin and whether they occur at BoY or EoY.
Simple versus Schedule. Open the year schedule and check for blanks or stale amounts.
Return mode. Under Random, confirm the selected sequence and remember that Rerun changes the paths.
Taxes, Inflation, and Investment Fee. Any of these can materially reduce the ending balance.
Years and Start Age. Make sure the horizon matches the question.
End Value. It affects Solve, not the normal projection by itself.
Reset Inputs returns the active scenario to its defaults. Duplicate the scenario first when the existing assumptions may be needed again. If a scenario was deleted after confirmation, recreate it or use a preserved duplicate; there is no restore control in the calculator.
What does Versatile not do?
Versatile does not update client accounts, cash flow, Goals, Taxes, or Changes. It does not choose suitable assumptions or make a recommendation. The projection is a deterministic result for Simple or Schedule returns and a limited sequence exploration for Random returns.
Before using the result in a meeting, confirm the scenario name, input signs, timing, selected return path, fees, taxes, inflation, and table. Use Print when a fixed copy of the active scenario is needed, and explain that the output depends on the assumptions entered.