Last reviewed: September 2026.
The Meeting Worksheet is the Homework Value Add. It is a two-page sheet that an advisor uses during a client meeting. Page 1 holds the meeting line, the clients, key financial figures, cash flow, an agenda, meeting notes, action items, and homework. Page 2 holds the trailing 12 months of withdrawals and deposits and the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) table.
This article explains what the sheet shows, where each figure comes from, what is automatic, what you type yourself, and what you can change in Settings.
What the Meeting Worksheet is
It is an internal worksheet for the advisor. It is not a client-facing report.
It prints no disclaimer and no firm footer. Settings has a Homework Disclaimer field, but the sheet does not print it.
In Settings and on the household page it is called Homework. The title printed on the sheet comes from Homework Title and defaults to "Homework Sheet".
When it is turned on, the sheet is included in Surge packets like the other Value Adds.
Requirements and how to turn it on
Requires the Pro plan. The Homework sheet is available on the Pro and Enterprise plans. It is off by default for every firm. Only a firm Admin can change Value Add settings.
Go to Settings › Value Adds.
Find the Homework card.
Turn on the toggle.
Open a household, go to its Value Adds, and open the Homework tile.
On the Free plan, the Homework card is still visible in Settings. If you turn the toggle on, it switches back off and an upgrade prompt opens. The prompt tells you that the Pro plan is required.
Firm settings for the Homework sheet
Click Show Settings on the Homework card. These settings apply to every household in your firm.
Setting | What it does | Default |
Homework Title | The title printed at the top of the sheet. | "Homework Sheet". If you clear the field, the sheet prints "Homework". |
Homework Disclaimer | Stored with your firm settings. The sheet does not print it. | Not printed. |
Hide historical account data (page 2) | Removes page 2 everywhere the sheet is used, including Surge packets. Page 2 holds the Withdrawals table, the Deposits table, the RMD table, and the Client Questions box. | Off. |
RMD Calculation | Controls the RMD table on page 2. See the next section. | SurgeTK defaults. |
RMD Calculation settings
Only Admins can change these settings. They apply to every household in your firm the next time a sheet is built. The card says: "Reports you have already saved as snapshots, and Surge packets already generated, keep the figures they were built with." A Worked example at the top of the group updates as you change the controls, before you save.
Setting | Options | Default |
Beginning age | A whole number from 72 to 80. An account appears in the year an owner reaches this age, as the IRS counts it, even if the birthday is still ahead. | 73 |
Base value | "Use the December 31 value, fall back to the current balance" or "Use the December 31 value only". On the stricter setting, an account with no December 31 value on file shows no RMD amount. | December 31 value, with fallback to the current balance. |
Account types | Checkboxes for IRA, 401(k), 401(a), 403(b), 457(b), TSP, and Profit sharing / Keogh. Only checked types get a row. | All seven checked. |
Always include inherited accounts | On: an inherited account appears whatever the beneficiary's age and is divided by the IRS Single Life table. Off: an inherited account is treated like any other account. | On. |
Show rows with no RMD amount | On: accounts that compute to $0 are listed, which helps you spot a missing December 31 value. Off: those rows are hidden. | Off. |
Life expectancy table for account owners | IRS Uniform Lifetime Table or Custom table. Click Show table to see or edit the factors. Reset to the IRS table restores the IRS figures. Inherited accounts always use the IRS Single Life table. | IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. |
Reset RMD settings to platform defaults | A button. Returns every RMD setting to the SurgeTK defaults. | Not applicable. |
You can also change three of these settings from the sheet itself. The RMD heading has an info marker. Its card, How this RMD is calculated, shows the table, the beginning age, the base value rule, the account types, and a worked example. An Admin can change the beginning age, the base value rule, and the zero-row setting in that card. Save RMD settings recalculates the RMD table on every Homework sheet in your firm.
The Homework page and its buttons
Control | What it does |
Live (dropdown) | "Live" is the current sheet, built from current data. Saved snapshots are listed below it. Pick one to view it. |
Refresh | Rebuilds the live sheet from current data. |
Save | Saves a snapshot of the sheet as it is now. You see "Snapshot saved!" and the snapshot is added to the dropdown. |
Opens the browser print dialog for the sheet. | |
Download | Downloads a PDF of the live sheet, or of the selected snapshot. |
Annotations | Shows or hides the info markers on the sheet. They are on by default. Your choice is remembered in your browser. Markers never print. |
"Add notes…" | A note box next to the sheet. Notes are kept with the sheet. They are not printed on it. |
There is no Email button on the Homework page. If the household is archived, the sheet is read-only: Refresh is off and inline editing is off. Save, Print, and Download still work.
Header
Title. The Homework Title from Settings.
Logo. Your firm logo from Settings › Firm Info.
"*Reported as of {date}". The most recent as-of date found across all accounts in the household. If no account carries a date, today's date. The format is M/D/YYYY, for example "9/24/2026". It cannot be edited.
Client name line. "Last, First" with the age as a small superscript. Two clients with the same last name print as "Last, First & First". Different last names print as "Last, First & Last, First". Three or more clients print as "Last, First +2 more". A client with no date of birth shows "--" in place of the age. Deceased clients are left out when at least one living client exists.
Page 1, section by section
Meeting line
The first line prints the meeting type, the date, the time, and the location, for example "Review Meeting: 10/2/2026 | 2:30 PM | Zoom".
The meeting type defaults to "Meeting".
When no date and time are set, the line prints "No meeting time yet defined".
The location is left out when it is blank.
The time zone is never printed. See "Meeting date and time" below.
Clients table
Three rows for the first two client records on the household.
Row | What it shows |
Clients: | "First Last | age". The cell is shaded by the gender on the client record. A cake icon and the birth month and year (for example "Oct 1962") appear when the client's birthday is within 7 days before or after today. Today means the day the sheet was built, not the meeting date. The icon appears whether or not a meeting is set. |
Job / Employer | Occupation / employer from the client record. |
Retirement Date | The retirement date from the client record. "- -" when blank. |
To change these values, edit the client record. The client's info card on the sheet offers Edit client. Deceased clients are not filtered out of this table.
Financials column (blue)
Row | Where it comes from |
Net Worth / Invest Assets | Net Worth = the value of open accounts, plus the value of assets owned by the household's clients, minus liability balances. Insurance cash value is not included. Invest Assets = the total value of open accounts that SurgeTK classes as investable. |
Distributions Gross / Net | Systematic withdrawals set up on the household's accounts, converted to a monthly amount (quarterly ÷ 3, semi-annual ÷ 6, annual ÷ 12). This is the same rule Buckets and Guardrails use. Net = gross minus the withholding on those accounts. One-time transactions are not included. |
AGI / Taxable Income {year} | Adjusted Gross Income and Taxable Income from the household's Taxes tab, latest tax year. See "Tax figures on page 1". |
Total Taxes / Tax Bracket | Income Tax After Credits from the Taxes tab, and the ordinary-income bracket SurgeTK derives for that year. |
Primary Residence | The value of the asset whose type contains "Primary". In parentheses: the total balance of the home loans (liabilities whose type contains "Primary" or whose creditor name contains "Mortgage"), then "@" and the interest rate. On the next line: the monthly payment. With no rate on file, the "@" part is left out. With no payment on file, the line shows "- -". With no asset and no loan, the cell shows "- -". |
Outside Investments | Auto rows come from accounts marked Exclude from AUM on the account's Exclusions tab. Manual rows are the rows you add in the Outside investments card. Each prints as "Label: $amount". With none, the cell shows "- -". |
Cash Flow column (green)
Row | Automatic or manual | Rule |
Checking | Automatic | The total of open accounts whose type contains "checking". |
Savings | Automatic | The total of open accounts whose type contains "saving". |
Income | Automatic when any living client has a Monthly Income above $0 on the client record. Otherwise manual. | Automatic: the sum of Monthly Income across all living clients in the household, not only the two shown. Manual: the figure you type on the sheet. Once the sheet switches to automatic, the manual figure is no longer shown. |
Spending | Manual | The figure you type, printed as "$X/month". |
Debt | Automatic | One line per liability, printed as "Label: $balance". Liabilities labeled as the primary residence are left out. With none, the cell shows "- -". |
Agenda column (yellow)
Six cells. Each cell is click-to-edit and shows "Add agenda item…" when it is empty.
Meeting Notes, Action Items, and Homework
Meeting Notes: a free-text box ("Add meeting notes…").
"{Firm name} Action Items": a Department / Task table with five rows ("Dept…" and "Add task…").
"{First & First} Homework": a free-text box for the clients' tasks ("Add homework…"). The heading uses the clients' first names joined with "&". With no first names on file it says "Clients Homework".
Editing the sheet
Click to edit
Users with permission to edit Value Adds see the sheet in edit mode. Click a field to change it:
The meeting type, the meeting date and time (a date and time picker), and the location ("Add location…").
The six Agenda cells.
The five Action Items rows, both Department and Task.
Homework, Meeting Notes, and Client Questions (page 2).
Income, only while Income is manual. Spending.
Edits save automatically a moment after you finish. There is no separate save step for these edits. Print, Download, and Save wait for a pending edit to finish first. If a save fails, you see "Could not save sheet edits:" followed by the reason, and the sheet reloads.
Info markers and cards
Small info markers sit next to many items on the sheet. Hover over a marker to preview its card. Click it to pin the card. The cards explain where a figure comes from, and some let you edit:
Meeting details: the fields Meeting type, Meeting date & time, and Location, with a Save meeting button.
Outside investments: + Add row and Save rows. Auto rows are read-only here. To remove an auto row, change the account on its Exclusions tab.
The tax cells (AGI, Taxable Income, Total Taxes, Tax Bracket): Edit tax year or Add tax year. Both open the Tax Year modal, the same one the Taxes tab uses. You need permission to edit households.
The client columns: Edit client.
Income (from client records): click a client to edit their Monthly Income. Income (manual): edit the figure in the card or on the sheet.
Monthly spending (manual): edit the figure in the card or on the sheet.
Primary residence: lists the matched asset and loans so you can open and edit them.
How this RMD is calculated: see the RMD section below.
Meeting date and time
SurgeTK stores every Homework meeting time with a default time zone of America/Los_Angeles (Pacific Time). This default is the same for every firm. You cannot pick a different zone, and the zone is not printed on the sheet.
Known issue. When you type a meeting time on the sheet or in the Meeting details card, the printed time can differ from the time you typed. An early-morning time can even print on the previous day. This is being fixed. Until then, check the meeting line on the sheet before you print or download it. If it is wrong, adjust the typed time until the sheet shows the time you want.
When a Surge packet is built, SurgeTK writes the meeting type, the date and time, and the time zone from the scheduled Surge meeting. Those times print correctly.
Tax figures on page 1
The four tax figures come from the household's Taxes tab. The sheet uses the latest tax year on file, and the row label shows that year. With no tax year on file, the label shows last calendar year and the cells show "- -".
AGI = Adjusted Gross Income. Taxable Income = Taxable Income. Total Taxes = Income Tax After Credits. Tax Bracket = the ordinary-income bracket SurgeTK derives from that year's Filing Status and Taxable Income, using the federal bracket table for that year. Tax Bracket needs both figures and a bracket table for that year. Otherwise it shows "- -".
"- -" means the figure was not entered. "$0" means it was entered as zero. The Tax Year modal says: "Leave a figure blank if it is not available — blank and $0 are stored differently."
To change a figure, use the Taxes tab (Add Tax Year, or open a year) or the tax cell cards on the sheet. After you save, click Refresh on the Homework page to rebuild the sheet.
Page 2: withdrawals, deposits, RMD, and client questions
Page 2 covers the trailing 12 months: the current month and the 11 months before it, oldest first. Column headers look like "Oct 25" through "Sep 26".
Withdrawals table
One row for every account except cash accounts. Cash means a type or name that contains checking, savings, money market, CD, or cash. A row appears even when every month is $0.
The source is the one-time withdrawal transactions recorded on the account (the account's Transactions tab). Systematic withdrawals are not in this grid. They feed the Distributions figure on page 1.
Cells show the net amount: the withdrawal minus withholding. Each account has a Taxes row with the withholding. There is a Total column and a Total row.
Withholding for a month comes from, in this order: estimated tax payment transactions recorded for that month; otherwise the federal and state dollar amounts recorded on the withdrawal; otherwise the account's Federal Tax Withholding (%) and State Tax Withholding (%).
If your firm syncs a Zoho distribution history module into SurgeTK, the grid ends with the last completed month instead of the current month, cells show the gross amount, and the Taxes row is the withholding recorded on each ledger row.
Deposits table
Same accounts and same months. Cells show the one-time deposit transactions recorded on each account. There is no Taxes row. There is a Total column and a Total row.
Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) table
Column | What it shows |
ACCOUNT | The account type, the last four digits of the account number, and the owner. |
Total Value | The base value used in the calculation. This is not always the current balance. See "Base value" below. |
RMD | Base value ÷ the life expectancy factor for the owner's age. Calculated automatically. |
Remarks, Notes, Processed | Free text from the account's RMD Details section (open the account, then the Tax & RMD tab). The placeholders read "e.g. Aggregated with other IRA", "Internal notes", and "e.g. 2025 submitted". There is no checkbox. Type what you want printed. |
A Total row sums Total Value and RMD for the rows shown.
Base value. SurgeTK uses the account's 12/31 Value (on the Tax & RMD tab) when it is above $0. Otherwise it uses the current account value, unless your firm chose "Use the December 31 value only", in which case there is no amount. The 12/31 Value is one number with no year attached, so update it each January.
Which accounts appear.
The account type is one of the checked types. IRA includes SEP, SIMPLE, rollover, inherited or beneficiary IRA, and QCD IRA. 403(b) includes TSA. 457(b) qualifies, 457(f) does not. Profit sharing includes Keogh and money purchase plans. Coverdell and Education IRAs never qualify. SurgeTK reads every type field on the account, including the raw type from your CRM.
A pension, or an account whose type names no plan (for example "Retirement Plan" or "Variable Annuity"), is not recognized. Set a precise account type to bring it in.
Roth accounts are excluded unless they are inherited.
An owner's age counts as the age reached in the calendar year (this year minus the birth year). An owner who turns the beginning age later this year already qualifies. Any owner at or above the beginning age qualifies the account. The factor uses the oldest owner. An account whose owner has no date of birth is excluded unless the account is inherited.
Accounts owned by any member of the household count, not only the two clients shown in the header.
An account closed during the current year is still listed. An account closed before this year is not.
Inherited accounts (when Always include inherited accounts is on).
An account counts as inherited when its type text says inherited, beneficiary, decedent, stretch, or BDA, or when the Inherited Account section on the account (Details tab, checkbox "This account was inherited") has a deceased name, a date of death, or a relationship filled in.
It appears whatever the beneficiary's age, and it is divided by the IRS Single Life table.
Spouse: the spouse's own age each year.
Anyone else: the beneficiary's age in the year after the death, less one for every year since.
Death in 2020 or later, and the beneficiary is not a spouse, a minor child, a disabled child, or a chronically ill individual: the 10-year rule applies. Annual amounts are shown until the final year. The final year shows the full balance. An inherited Roth under the 10-year rule shows no annual amount.
No date of death on file: SurgeTK estimates from the beneficiary's current age.
For an exact figure, record the relationship and the date of death in the Inherited Account section.
Hidden rows. A row whose RMD rounds to $0 is hidden. Turn on Show rows with no RMD amount in Settings to see those rows and find accounts that are missing a December 31 value.
Seeing the arithmetic. The RMD heading opens the How this RMD is calculated card. Each row has its own marker that shows the base value, the factor, and the result for that account, and names a missing date of birth or December 31 value.
What SurgeTK does not model. The figure is a planning aid, not a tax determination.
The still-working exception for an employer plan.
The Joint Life and Last Survivor table for a spouse more than ten years younger. Every owner uses the Uniform Lifetime table (or your custom table).
The rise of the beginning age to 75 for people born in 1960 or later. The beginning age is one number for everyone. A firm can set it to 75 sooner.
Ages above 120. Such an age usually comes from a placeholder date of birth, so no factor is used and no amount is shown.
Client Questions
A free-text box below the RMD table ("Add client questions…").
What persists between meetings
SurgeTK keeps one Homework settings record per household. It holds the meeting type, date and time, and location, the agenda, meeting notes, action items, homework, client questions, the manual Income and Spending figures, and the manual outside investment rows.
What you enter stays on the sheet until you change it. Refresh rebuilds the figures but keeps your text.
To freeze a copy of the sheet for one meeting, click Save. The snapshot keeps its figures and text after the live sheet changes.
When a Surge packet is built, SurgeTK overwrites the meeting type, the date and time, and the time zone with the scheduled Surge meeting. Meeting types are written as labels such as "Review Meeting", "Intro Meeting", "Check-In Meeting", "In-Person Meeting", or "VIRTUAL | ZOOM".
Closed accounts and $0 accounts
An open account that holds exactly $0 is left out of the sheet.
A closed account is left out of Net Worth, Invest Assets, Checking, and Savings. It stays in Distributions and in the RMD table when it was closed during the current year. It stays in the Withdrawals and Deposits tables when it was closed on or after the first month of the grid. A closed account with no close date is left out everywhere.
A manual Include or Exclude choice for Homework on the account's Exclusions tab wins over these rules.
Common questions
Why can't I edit Income on the sheet?
At least one living client on the household has a Monthly Income above $0 on their client record. The sheet then shows the sum of those figures, and the field is read-only. Open the Income card and click a client to change their Monthly Income, or edit the client record.
Why does a birthday cake show when the meeting is weeks away?
The birthday check uses today's date, the day the sheet was built, not the meeting date. The window is 7 days before or after today.
Why does the printed meeting time differ from the time I typed?
This is a known issue with typed meeting times, described under "Meeting date and time". Check the meeting line before you print, and adjust the typed time until the sheet shows the time you want. Times filled in by a Surge packet build print correctly.
Why does a deceased client still show in the Clients table?
The Clients table shows the first two client records on the household and does not filter by living status. Only the client name line in the header leaves deceased clients out.
Why is Tax Bracket "- -" when AGI is filled in?
The bracket is derived from Filing Status and Taxable Income for the latest tax year, using the federal bracket table for that year. Open the tax year on the Taxes tab and check that both fields are filled in. SurgeTK has bracket tables for 2023 onward.
Why is there a new account in my RMD table?
More account types qualify than IRA and 401(k): 401(a), 403(b), 457(b), TSP, and profit sharing or Keogh accounts.
Age is counted by calendar year. An owner who turns the beginning age any time this year appears now.
Accounts owned by any member of the household appear.
Inherited accounts appear whatever the beneficiary's age.
Why did an account disappear from the RMD table?
Its RMD rounds to $0, so the row is hidden. Turn on Show rows with no RMD amount to see it. A $0 often means the account has no 12/31 Value and a current balance of $0, or your firm uses "Use the December 31 value only" and the account has no 12/31 Value.
The owner has no date of birth on the client record.
The account is a Roth that is not inherited.
Its type is not one of the checked account types, or the type text is not recognized.
Why does the Withdrawals grid end last month?
Your firm syncs a Zoho distribution history module. In that mode the grid ends with the last completed month, because those amounts are posted after month end.
Can I make the sheet one page?
Yes. Turn on Hide historical account data (page 2) on the Homework card. This removes the Withdrawals, Deposits, and RMD tables and the Client Questions box everywhere the sheet is used, including Surge packets.
I do not see Homework on the household page. How do I enable it?
Go to Settings › Value Adds and turn on the toggle on the Homework card. Requires the Pro plan. Only an Admin can change this.
