Last reviewed: September 2026.
Your firm and team settings are done. Here is the order for the rest: get your data in, set up your Value Adds, check a household, then create a Surge.
Step 1: Get your data in
Pick one path.
Path A: Connect a CRM
If your firm uses Redtail or Zoho, go to Firm Settings › Integrations and connect it. The sync creates and updates your households, clients and accounts. Do not import clients or accounts from a file as well.
Then import what the sync does not bring. Billing Data always comes from a file import. See Syncing with Redtail, Syncing with Zoho and Sync Filters.
Path B: Import files in this order
Clients & Households: Importing Clients.
Financial Accounts: Importing Account Data. Use the same Client IDs.
Then, in any order: Beneficiaries, Insurance, Liabilities, Physical Assets, Billing Data, Household Taxes and One-time Transactions.
Every import starts from Households › Add Household › Import Data or Imports › Import Data. Options you cannot use yet are dimmed. See What to Import First.
Step 2: Set up your Value Adds
Go to Firm Settings › Value Adds. Each Value Add has a Show Settings button.
Buckets and Guardrails are on by default.
Beneficiary, Net Worth, Homework and 1099 require the Pro plan to turn on.
Roth Conversion Letter and One Page Plan are available to every firm.
Guardrails and Buckets rates for new firms: 5.40% Available, 6.48% Upper, 4.32% Lower. Firms created before April 2026 may still show 6.00% and 4.80%.
Step 3: Open a household and check its Value Adds
Open Households and click a household.
Clear any banner at the top of the Households page first: Fix Clients, Fix Accounts, Fix Beneficiaries, Fix Insurance, Fix Liabilities, Fix Assets.
Click the Value Adds tab. Each Value Add is built from the data on that household.
If a client or account is missing from a report, see Why a Client or Account Is Missing From a Report.
Step 4: Create a Surge
Go to Surge in the left sidebar and click Create New Surge. A Surge bundles Value Adds for a set of households into advisor packets. Packet preparation requires the Pro plan. See Creating Surge with SurgeTK.
The demo households
Every new firm starts with five sample households. Their clients have the last names Demo, Demo2, Demo3, Demo4 and Demo5. Use them to try Value Adds and a Surge. Delete them like any household when you are ready: go to Households, select them, and click Delete. Only Admins and Lead Advisors can delete households.