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Pralana Online Has Been Released for Pralana Gold 2023 and 2024 Users

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(@smatthews51)
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Pralana Online has been released for purchase as an annual subscription by current licensees of PRC2023 and PRC2024 Gold. As mentioned previously, we plan to roll it out slowly so we can assess its behavior under increasing load levels and with the variations associated with real users. We intend to remove the “Upgrade to Pralana Online” buttons when the number of users approaches 100 and we will work with those users for a while before opening it up to all comers.

To get it, you will need to login as usual, and go to the Members page where you should see one or more buttons (depending on your current PRC license) through which you can initiate your upgrade. Prices are as described in a prior Newsletter: $89 for the first year if you are starting with a PRC2023 license and $40 for the first year if you are starting with a PRC2024 license.

After doing the upgrade, you should receive a Thank You email that contains a link to take you securely to the Pralana Online site. When you logout there, you will be returned to the main Pralana site. To access the tool again, you will need to click the Member Login link at the top of any page and go to the Members page. You should then see the button to click for accessing Pralana Online. That button will be there as long as your subscription remains active.

While doing this development, I thought we would be able to do a couple of things that we have ended up abandoning (at least for the initial release) due to the technical issues we encountered in trying to do the implementation:

  1. Allowing you to start with mid-year account balances rather than start-of-year balances. This is a real can of worms so, just like PRC, you must enter your initial balances as of January 1 in the starting year.
  2. Allowing you to not save your data on the Pralana server and, instead, downloading it to your local computer and then uploading again at the start of each work session. You can delete your data but there is currently no capability to export or import your Pralana Online data. You CAN import your data from a PRC2023 or PRC2024 export file.

Pralana Online contains a Feedback mechanism through which you can submit problem reports. You will find the link to this in the upper right corner of every page. To use it, just click the link and a dialog box will appear that allows you to describe the problem. This will be the preferred method for submitting problem reports, at least for now, but you can also send an email to me at mail@pralanaconsulting.com and to Charlie at charlie@pralanaconsulting.com. You will also receive information on the disposition of the feedback items you submit via this same mechanism. If you need to send any screenshots, email will be the way to go for now.

Thanks very much for your interest in this project and your patience in waiting for us to complete the development. There will probably be some growing pains as we roll it out to a larger audience, so thanks in advance for being willing to jump in early. We will do the absolute best job we can to stay on top of any issues that arise.

Stuart

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3 Replies
(@wilsonsne)
Joined: 4 years ago

New Member
Posts: 3

@smatthews51 I have an older version (maybe 2020) and would like to move to the online version. If I purchase the 2024 version (today) will I then have the option to upgrade to the online version (again today) or is it limited to those who had 2023/2024 when you went live?

BTW, I went ahead and tried to purchases 2024, and my card was declined. Is that expected?

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Admin
(@smatthews51)
Joined: 4 years ago

Member
Posts: 899

@wilsonsne Hi AJ, no, there should be no restriction on buying PRC2024 today and then doing the $40 upgrade for Pralana Online. I assume you're attempting to do the PRC2024 purchase from the GetPRC page?

Thanks,

Stuart

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(@wilsonsne)
Joined: 4 years ago

New Member
Posts: 3

@smatthews51 Yes I am. I will try another credit card and see if that works any better.

Update: Another credit card worked fine. I am excited to start using the online version.

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Posts: 11
(@pierce259)
Active Member
Joined: 4 years ago

Hi Stuart,

I'm looking to upgrade to Online from 2023. When I click the "Upgrade to Pralana Online (Platinum, $89)" button, a new browser tab is opened, but to the exact same page. There isn't a way to make a purchase. I tried on my normal Safari and Chrome on my Mac as well as Edge on a separate Windows PC. They both operate the same way.

Thoughts?

Thank you,

- Ron

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6 Replies
Admin
(@smatthews51)
Joined: 4 years ago

Member
Posts: 899

@pierce259 Please stand by, Ron, I'm investigating. You're the second person today to report this issue.

Stuart

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Admin
(@smatthews51)
Joined: 4 years ago

Member
Posts: 899

Ron, please try it again at your convenience. I didn't find a problem but I deleted the button and totally rebuilt it. It seems to work for me on a Mac with Chrome, and a PC with Windows and Edge.

Stuart

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(@pierce259)
Joined: 4 years ago

Active Member
Posts: 11

@smatthews51 Thanks Stuart. I had to logout and back in, not just close the tab and re-visit the page. No issue with that. I can now see the purchase page.

One additional minor hitch is with the Terms and Conditions. They are for the Excel based version, not the new Online Version. I know! Someone actually scrolled down in the T&C box! How could I?? 🙂

- Ron

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Admin
(@smatthews51)
Joined: 4 years ago

Member
Posts: 899

@pierce259 You should see the Terms of Use for both products near the top of the Members page. Have you tried to click the Upgrade to Pralana Online from PRC2023 button yet?

Stuart

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(@pierce259)
Joined: 4 years ago

Active Member
Posts: 11

@smatthews51 I see the links on the "Members-Only" page with the buttons to "Upgrade to Praline Online from PRC2013". Those links work fine. I am talking about on the actual checkout page. Just below entering your "Credit Card (Stripe)", there is a checkbox to check that is required that you "Agree to the website terms and conditions". The words "terms and conditions" is a link that expands into a text box with the actual "terms and conditions" listed. These T&C are for the Excel version, not the Online Version. See Attachment showing the expanded window after clicking on the "terms and conditions" link.

Since you have the T&C for both versions on the "Members Only" page, it isn't a big deal, but something to look at.

- Ron

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Admin
(@smatthews51)
Joined: 4 years ago

Member
Posts: 899

@pierce259 Oh, gotcha! Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I'll get that resolved ASAP.

Thanks!

Stuart

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Posts: 4
(@samuelsen099)
Active Member
Joined: 4 years ago

Hi Stuart,

I'm excited to see this release and looking forward to working with the online version! I just subscribed ($119 since I was not current on the 2023 version). After my payment was accepted, there was a button to go directly to Pralana Online with a note indicting that future logins would take a different path through the Members Only page. When I clicked that button, I received an Error 502 (?). Sorry I didn't get a screenshot or write down the exact error message but it didn't let me through. I was able to navigate to the Members Only page and got in that way.

Next I tried to import my last Excel export file which was from the 12/31/2022 and the 2022 version. I was not able to import and received a message indicating that the export file must be the 2023 version. Is there a way for a user like me to import older version data without going back and obtaining the 2023 or 2024 versions simply to update the export file? I have no plans to continue using the Excel version.

Thanks!

Neil

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5 Replies
Admin
(@smatthews51)
Joined: 4 years ago

Member
Posts: 899

@samuelsen099 Hi Neil, my records show that you do have a license for PRC2023. If you don't have a copy, you can login and get one, then import your data from the 2022 model into it, and then create a 2023 export file which you can import into Pralana Online.

Now, about your other issues....You should not have been able to make a $119 purchase today, but in trying to deal with a small issue on the site, apparently I exposed that button on the Members page which was there for testing purposes. Anyway, I've closed the door on that now but since you've made the purchase, we'll deal with it. With that said, which button did you click to get the 502 Error? I checked and you do have the Platinum membership now, so you should be able to login and access Pralana Online from the Members page.

Stuart

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(@samuelsen099)
Joined: 4 years ago

Active Member
Posts: 4

@smatthews51 Hi Stuart, you are/were correct. I didn't notice my 2023 version of my backup file and wrongly thought I was still on the 2022 version and tried to upload it without success. I found and uploaded the 2023 version into Pralana Online and it went fine.

Regarding the 502 Error, it was the initial button that was was on the screen immediately after I completed the subscription payment. The button indicated it would take me immediately into Pralana Online (somehow bypassing navigation through the Members page). When I clicked that button I received the error. Again - apologies for not getting a screenshot.

Thanks, Neil

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Admin
(@smatthews51)
Joined: 4 years ago

Member
Posts: 899

@samuelsen099 Thanks for getting back to me. Since you paid $119 rather than the expected $40, I'll be giving you a partial refund soon.

Stuart

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(@samuelsen099)
Joined: 4 years ago

Active Member
Posts: 4

@smatthews51 Stuart, I believe the refund should be $30 (not $79) since I was on the 2023 version, not the 2024 version. If I understand the initial subscription pricing correctly, I should pay $89 and inadvertently paid $119.

As a separate, general question, where would you prefer us to submit feature/function questions as we dive into the new online system? For example, if I find an issue and am not sure if it is a bug or is by design. In my case, I desire to add a line to the Residence/Relocation table to indicate a planned future move to another state but the table does not let me add a line nor modify the new/first row with an initial year. Is it best to use the feedback button or do you prefer we post questions here in the forum?

Thanks again, Neil

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Admin
(@smatthews51)
Joined: 4 years ago

Member
Posts: 899

@samuelsen099 For now, just use the built-in Feedback link. Thanks! We may change that to a Forum category, but for today it's the Feedback link.

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Posts: 3
Customer
(@ichee_marone)
New Member
Joined: 3 years ago

Stuart, I was going to "beta" test, but see my renewal date would be July 8, 2025. How about giving the testers some extended subscription period?

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2 Replies
Admin
(@smatthews51)
Joined: 4 years ago

Member
Posts: 899

@ichee_marone I think maybe you misunderstood. Beta testing is complete and the tool has now been released to normal users. We're just restricting the number of users for a while to ensure the tool behaves as expected with an increasing number of users and variations of user data.

Stuart

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Customer
(@ichee_marone)
Joined: 3 years ago

New Member
Posts: 3

@smatthews51

Okay, maybe it's a UAT , bit the point remains the same

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Posts: 2
 JDD
(@john-downey)
New Member
Joined: 2 years ago

Stuart:

Now that the online version has been is use by a limited number of users for approximately 3 weeks, can you give us an update on how things have progressed to date and what the current thinking is as to when the online version will be more widely available.

Thanks,

John

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5 Replies
Admin
(@smatthews51)
Joined: 4 years ago

Member
Posts: 899

@john-downey Things are looking good with Pralana Online but we're still proceeding cautiously with the roll-out. We're planning to open up sales to another 100 users on or about August 1.

Thanks for your interest!

Stuart

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(@malik182)
Joined: 4 years ago

Eminent Member
Posts: 16

@smatthews51 Hi Stuart, were sales opened up on or around Aug. 1 for another 100 users? Have been checking the Members Only page daily and haven't noticed anything. Perhaps I missed it. Thanks.

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Admin
(@smatthews51)
Joined: 4 years ago

Member
Posts: 899

@malik182 I just now opened up sales again to the next group of 100 users.

Stuart

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(@hines202)
Joined: 4 years ago

Honorable Member
Posts: 411

@john-downey Hi John I've been using it since the start of beta. Now that it's "official" I'm bringing in some of my client plans, and carefully testing to ensure the results are the same as they were in the latest Gold/Excel release. I've had very good results, spot on. Performance has been excellent (wonderful now that I don't have to rely on my older windows laptop doing all the work so slowly!) for even the very intensive things like withdrawal optimization, Roth optimization, spending algos.

The only things I see currently as nits are simple aesthetics, minor features still being implemented, things like that. I'm really excited about the new capabilities, such as being able to phase things like long-term care and so much more. Kudos to Stuart and the team for proceeding with caution.

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 JDD
(@john-downey)
Joined: 2 years ago

New Member
Posts: 2

@hines202 Bill - thanks for your reply. I am looking forward to getting access to the online version.

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