Chapter 2: Strategy Overview and Scenarios

Welcome to Part 2 of the guide! After you've completed the intake form and clicked "Generate Tax Plan," you'll land on the Strategy Overview page. This is the heart of the Tax Plan Generator, where the AI's analysis is transformed into a set of actionable, client-ready recommendations.

What This Page Does

The Strategy Overview page allows you to:

• Review all AI-generated tax strategies in one place.
• See the financial impact of each strategy with 1, 5, and 10-year savings projections.
• Filter and sort strategies by status, entity, or savings potential.
• Create alternative scenarios to compare different strategic approaches.
• Customize strategy descriptions and numbers to match your client's specific situation.
• Approve, reject, or flag strategies for follow-up.
• Finalize the plan before generating the client-facing report.

The Strategy Overview page is packed with powerful features. Let's break down each component.

Top Header

• Preview Mode Banner: A yellow banner at the top reminds you that "Numbers and text are not final. Review and approve before sending to client." This is a critical quality control step.
• Re-Run Math Button: If you go back and change any numbers in the intake form, click this button to have the AI recalculate all strategies with the updated data.
• Help Button (?): This opens the Field Guide panel, which provides contextual help, an AI assistant, and a notes section. (This is covered in detail in Part 3).

These buttons allow you to filter the list of strategies to focus on what's most important.

• All: Shows every strategy the AI identified.
• Passed: Strategies that meet all criteria and are ready for implementation.
• Needs Review: Strategies that require your professional judgment or additional client input. This is where you should focus your attention first.
• Failed: Strategies that don't apply to the client or have issues to address.
• N/A: Strategies marked as not applicable.
• Flagged: Strategies you or the AI have marked for special attention or follow-up.

• All Entities Dropdown: By default, you see strategies for all entities combined. Use this dropdown to filter the view and see strategies for a specific entity, such as the client's 1040 personal return, an S-Corp, or a rental property.
• Add Entity Button: If you discover a missing business or property during your review, you can click this button to add a new entity without having to go back to the intake form.

This provides a high-level overview of the total potential tax savings from all recommended strategies.

• Year 1 Savings: Immediate impact of the plan.
• 5-Year Savings: Mid-term value.
• 10-Year Savings: Long-term wealth impact.

Why it matters: This summary is a powerful tool for demonstrating the value of your services to the client.

Strategies are organized into cards and grouped by the relevant tax form or entity (e.g., 1040, 1120S, Schedule E).

Each strategy card contains:

• Strategy Name: A clear description (e.g., "Large Charitable Deduction").
• Status Badge: A color-coded label (Passed, Needs Review, Failed, Flagged).
• Info Icon (?): Click for a detailed explanation of the strategy.
• Expand/Collapse Arrow (>): Click to open the detailed view.

Expanded Strategy View

When you expand a strategy, you get access to the full details and editing tools.

• Savings Breakdown: Shows the 1, 5, and 10-year savings for that specific strategy.
• Description: An explanation of what the strategy is and how it works.
• Action Buttons:
  • Edit Text: Modify the description to personalize it for your client.
  • Edit Numbers: Adjust the underlying numbers used in the calculation (e.g., change the amount of a charitable contribution).
  • Reject: Remove the strategy from the plan if it's not a good fit.
  • Approve: Mark the strategy as reviewed and approved. You must resolve all "Needs Review" items before you can finalize the plan.

This is one of the most powerful features for professional tax planners. The Base/Manage toggle allows you to create and compare different versions of the tax plan.

What is the "Base" Scenario?

The Base scenario is the default, AI-generated plan. It represents the initial set of recommendations based on the data you provided. The Base scenario is read-only—you cannot edit or change it. It serves as your starting point and a permanent reference.

What is the "Manage" Scenario?

The Manage view is your editable workspace. When you switch to Manage, you are creating a copy of the Base scenario that you can modify. In this view, you can:

• Approve or reject strategies.
• Edit the text and numbers for each strategy.
• Create a customized plan to present to your client.

Why it matters: This workflow allows you to preserve the original AI recommendations (Base) while creating a customized, professionally reviewed plan (Manage) that reflects your expertise and the client's specific needs.

Beyond the simple Base vs. Manage view, you can create multiple, distinct scenarios to compare different strategic approaches. This is perfect for showing clients conservative vs. aggressive options.

Step 1: Open the Manage Scenarios Modal

Click on the Manage button at the top of any entity section to open the Manage Scenarios modal.

Step 2: Add a New Scenario

Click the "+ Add a scenario" link. This will open the Add Scenario modal. In this modal, you can:

• Name your scenario (e.g., "Aggressive Charitable Contributions").
• Use the tabs (Deductions, Credits, Health & HSA) to find the input you want to change.
• Adjust the numbers. For example, you could increase the "Charitable Contributions" from $0 to $50,000.
• Click "Recalculate" to see the immediate impact on tax savings.
• Click "Save" to add this new scenario to your plan.

Step 3: Compare Scenarios

Once you have more than one scenario, open the Manage Scenarios modal again. You will now see your new scenario listed alongside the Base Scenario.

• Select the scenarios you want to compare using the checkboxes.
• Click the blue "Compare" button.

This opens the Comparison of Scenarios view, which provides a side-by-side breakdown of:

• Each strategy included in the scenarios.
• The projected savings for each.
• The total combined savings for each scenario.

Why this is important: This feature allows you to clearly demonstrate the financial impact of different decisions to your client, empowering them to make informed choices. You can present a "Conservative Plan" vs. an "Aggressive Plan" and let them choose their comfort level.

The Field Guide (?)

Clicking the question mark icon opens the Field Guide, your in-app help center. It has three tabs:

• Guide: Detailed explanations of every field and feature on the page.
• AI Assistant: A chatbot where you can ask questions about tax strategies.
• Notes: A scratchpad for your internal notes about the client or plan.

Finalizing the Plan

Once you have reviewed all strategies, created your desired scenario, and received approval on all items, you are ready to finalize the plan.

Confirm & Lock Button: This button will become active once all "Needs Review" items have been addressed. Clicking it locks the plan and prepares it for client presentation.

You've now completed Part 2 of the guide. You've learned how to:

• Navigate the Strategy Overview page.
• Review, filter, and sort AI-generated strategies.
• Understand the difference between Base and Manage scenarios.
• Create and compare multiple custom scenarios.
• Use advanced features like the Field Guide and Re-Run Math.
• Finalize a tax plan for client presentation.

Next Steps: Continue to Part 3: The Field Guide and Client Reports to learn how to use the AI Assistant effectively, take and manage notes, and generate the final, client-facing PDF report.