Use Copilot in Excel to lay planning scenarios side by side for the advisor
For Paraplanners ·
What This Does
Planning software gives you outputs for each scenario, often on separate pages or reports. Copilot in Excel can reshape those exported figures into one side-by-side table and a chart the advisor can scan in a minute. It only rearranges and presents. Every figure stays exactly as the planning software produced it.
Before You Start
- Excel for Microsoft 365 is open and shows a Copilot icon in the lower-right corner. Microsoft's help page says it may be missing if your subscription or your organization's settings do not include it. Ask IT, and read Microsoft's own pages for licensing.
- The CCO has approved Microsoft 365 Copilot for client data.
- The export carries a household code only. Delete any client name, account number, date of birth or address from the export before you paste it.
- You have the original export file untouched in a separate place.
Steps
1. Paste the raw outputs onto their own tab
Name a tab Raw. Paste the scenario outputs exactly as exported. Do not retype or round anything. This tab is your source of truth for the rest of the guide.
2. Open Copilot
Select the Copilot icon in the lower-right corner of Excel. Microsoft's help page says edit mode is the default and that Copilot in Excel creates charts and PivotTables from your data. It also says you can pause or stop at any time with the Stop button in the chat input field. Edit mode changes your workbook, so work on a copy of the file, or ask Copilot to put its output on a new tab.
3. Ask for the table and one chart
The Raw tab holds exported planning scenario results for one household. Build a new tab called Comparison with one row per measure and one column per scenario, using the values exactly as they appear on Raw. Then add one clustered column chart comparing the scenarios on the projected portfolio value row. Do not calculate, round, project, estimate or fill in any value. If a value is missing on Raw, leave the cell empty and tell me.
The last sentence is the important one. You are asking for a layout, not for analysis.
4. Check every cell against the export
Copilot rebuilt the table, so verify the rebuild. On Raw, find each source value. In a spare column on Comparison, enter a check formula such as =B2=Raw!C5 that points to the original cell. Fill it across all the numbers. Any FALSE is a cell to inspect. Then read the row and column headers against the export labels, because a swapped scenario heading is the likeliest slip.
5. Hand it to the advisor as a draft
Add a line at the top: "Draft for advisor review. Figures as exported from the planning software on [date]." The advisor decides what the comparison means for the client. You do not add commentary about which scenario is better.
Real Example
Scenario: The advisor for Household 112 wants to see retiring at 62 against retiring at 65. The figures are invented for this example, and the success scores are shown as the planning software would label them.
Raw tab (invented):
| Measure | Retire at 62 | Retire at 65 |
|---|---|---|
| Annual spending goal | 96,000 | 96,000 |
| Projected portfolio at age 85 | 410,000 | 780,000 |
| Plan success score | 78 | 91 |
What you get: A Comparison tab with the same three rows and two scenario columns, plus one column chart. You run the check column. All six values return TRUE, and the headers match. You then add the draft line and save it to the meeting packet folder.
Tips
- If Copilot offers to add a "difference" or "improvement" row, decline. That is a calculation the planning software did not produce.
- Keep the scenario labels exactly as the software names them. Renaming them to be friendlier makes the audit trail harder to follow.
- Chat only mode is a safe way to ask questions about the Raw tab, such as "Which measures appear in only one scenario?"
Tool interfaces change. If a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area. Source for the Copilot steps: support.microsoft.com, "Get started with Copilot in Excel", read 2026-10-06.