BrightLeaf Financial Network, a consumer financial planning service offered exclusively through credit unions, has introduced a new version of its Web-based service.To help members assess their plan strength, BrightLeaf (www.brightleaffinancial.com) gives each member a letter grade of A, B, C, D or F that indicates how likely they are to achieve their financial goals. The BrightLeaf service examines five interrelated areas of financial planning: spending, debt management, insurance, retirement and future goals. After completing the online process, members receive a set of reports that provide specific steps to achieve targeted goals, such as paying off debt or saving for retirement. The two primary reports are the FIT List (Financial Improvement Tasks), which deals with near-term financial issues, and the GET List (Goal Execution Tasks) for longer-term goals.Credit union members will see the familiar "Sophie" character that was featured in the service's previous version as a personal guide. Unlike the old version, Sophie is now an opt-in tool so members don't have to hear her repeating the same prompts, according to BrightLeaf.Created in 2008 by MEMBERS Development Co., BrightLeaf has ten credit union clients and is based in Winston-Salem, N.C.–[email protected]

DI Offers Finance Solution

Digital Insight is now offering a version of its FinanceWorks online personal finance solution tailored for small businesses.Following on the release of the consumer version last year, Small Business FinanceWorks adds billing and invoicing, remote deposits and legal filings such as incorporation documents. Payroll functionality is expected soon, the company said.Both combine parent company Intuit's Quicken functionality with Digital Insight's online banking platform."We developed Small Business FinanceWorks to provide banks and credit unions with a unique and powerful solution that would help them attract and better serve this large and drastically underserved segment of their customer base." said Sasan Goodarzi, president of Digital Insight in Calabasas, Calif.The company said more than 30 financial institutions are either live, in the process of going live or have contracted to offer Small Business FinanceWorks."We anticipate Small Business FinanceWorks will help us deepen our small business relationships online because we are able to provide the right services they need in a simple format," said Melina Schoonover, assistant vice president at Alliance Credit Union (www.alliancecreditunion.org) in San Jose, Calif.–[email protected]