Kellie Uhlhorn

Transaction Reports in Applied Epic (Part I)

December 9, 2022 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

As we near the conclusion of our Applied Epic Reports Series, this article will highlight the last section of Reports – Transaction Reports. Due to the large number of reports available in this section, we will be breaking this into two parts. Utilizing transaction reports assists with tracking client balances, general ledger payables, and more. We cover some of the most useful reports below, but also recommend checking out all reports available in that section to see if there are others that fit your agency’s needs.

Aged Outstanding Current Balances Report

When a transaction is created or a payment is applied to a client account, it creates a receivable entry that will show up on the Aged Outstanding Current Balances Report. This report shows an aged date to help you determine if a client still owes payment for a policy, if credits/debits need to be applied, or if a refund is due to the client. It is useful to run this report at least monthly so that outstanding items are taken care of in a timely manner. If a client has not paid for a policy transaction, their account could fall into Notice of Cancellation status, so this report can help track the aged date of items due.

Balancing Current Premium Payables

When it comes to agency bill transactions, you want to make sure that your agency has paid your carriers/brokers in a timely manner. To see what payables haven’t yet been created/reconciled for a determined time period, run this report to see what accounts still have open payables in the general ledger account. We recommend running this report quite frequently in order to make sure payments have not been missed and prevent Notice of Cancellations or E&O risk.

Balancing Producer/Broker Payables

This report will only be useful for agencies who have the ‘reconcile producer and/or brokers’ option configured in their Epic system. If you utilize and reconcile Pr/Br Payables under General Ledger > Reconciliations, this report will show items that have not yet been reconciled and remain in the producer/broker payables GL account for the specific time period selected. This helps to ensure your producers and/or brokers have gotten paid for all accounts, and it is recommended to run this report when determining payroll for the month. To enable this reconciling option, go to Configure > Accounting > System Settings, then select the appropriate option that fits your agency needs.

Commission Tracking Report

This report tracks agency commission for each policy by client to ensure that commission is received as expected. It will display every transaction for that policy in the policy term. You can also analyze premium and commission discrepancies that exceed a certain threshold. This report can be helpful to determine that all policies have estimated premium and commission amounts entered and that commissions have been reconciled for each policy. It will identify missing data and help determine that commissions have been received from the company or broker. It is useful to run this report at least monthly to ensure that commissions are being received and transacted in a timely manner.

Direct Bill Report

Use this report to view direct bill revenue that has been received or is still outstanding. This report has multiple criteria options depending on what kind of information you are looking for. If you select the Unpaid criteria, this will list items found in the Direct Bill Commissions reconciliation area. If you want to see commissions received, set your criteria to items Partially Paid, Fully Paid or Paid. If you want to see items that have been reconciled but do not have a receipt associated, select the Reconciled, Not Paid criteria before running the report.

Earned Commissions Report

This report is a very helpful summary when wanting to identify total commissions earned by a company or broker. It summarizes the earned commission detail for each transaction for a policy and breaks it down in PPE order by premium earned, Pr/Br commission amount as well as agency commission earned. At the end of the report, a summary page is included for totals by PPE. It provides good insight as to how much the agency is earning from each company and broker and what the Pr/Br commissions are for a designated period. This is also a useful report for management to assess total sources of revenue by company and broker.

Conclusion

As mentioned throughout this article, many of the reports mentioned are most helpful when run frequently to keep the length of the report minimal and ensure your General Ledger remains balanced. When it comes to month or year-end balancing, reconciling outstanding balances and payables becomes more time consuming and confusing when you have 20+ pages per report.

Our Agency Consulting team here at KiteTech, specializes in how to implement these reports, set up automatic report scheduling, and can also assist with balancing the General Ledger when the workload becomes too much. For questions or to discuss how to properly utilize any reports mentioned in the series, contact us today at consult@kitetechgroup.com. Check back next month for the Part II of Transaction Reports, which will conclude our Reports Series.

Kellie Halfpap

Agency Consultant
Kite Technology Group

Buffy Johnson

Agency Consultant
Kite Technology Group

Check out the other articles in our Applied Epic Report Series:

Policy Reports in Applied Epic (Part II)

November 11, 2022 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

The second part of this installment will cover the remaining reports found under the Policy section. These reports can provide beneficial information, reduce E&O risk, and ensure policy workflows are being followed. Be sure to check out Part I of Policy Reports in case you missed it. As previously mentioned, make sure you have the new Report Pack downloaded from Applied to ensure you have access to all Reports available. We will not cover all reports found under this Policy section, but instead highlight the ones that are typically most used by multiple types of agency staff.

Expiration Report

This report can be very useful when shared with staff – either emailed monthly or sent to their Report Quickview. The Expiration Report lists policies that are due to expire within your set desired time range. This report will also show policies that already expired and were never renewed, allowing servicing staff to catch up on missed renewals. To prevent E&O risk, it is crucial to check each policy on the report to ensure there are no gaps in coverage. If a policy should remain cancelled/expired, the cancellation Service Summary Row should be entered with the line status changed.

New Business – Multi Layouts*

If you want to track policies with the NEW line status, use this report which will help track agency revenue. The multi-layouts option allows you to select how you want this report sorted – by ICO, PPE, Policy Type, Department, Producer, First Producer, or Branch.

Policies With No Transactions

It is important that all Agency Bill policies are transacted in order to ensure accurate reporting, revenue, and commissions. Use this report to find those policies that do not have transactions entered. This can also be a helpful report to regularly send to servicing staff, either emailed or sent to their Report Quickview.

Retention Report – Multi Layouts*

If you want to track your agency’s retained business from the past year, use this report which will calculate your retention percentage by diving retained business by overall total business. The multi-layouts option allows you to sort by Premium Payable, Producer, Branch. This is useful report for management to be able to track how the agency performed for the overall year.

Verify Policy Commissions- Premium Payable Agreements & Producer/Broker Agreements

If a policy has an outdated agreement, or an agreement missing, this will cause out of balance commission reports. To ensure the correct agreements are being applied to a policy or account, use these two separate reports to help you find gaps in data or data that needs to be updated. The Premium Payable Agreements will compare the premium/commission on existing policies to the commission agreement that is listed on that policy. The Producer/Broker Agreements report does that same thing, only with producer and/or broker agreements on a policy.

While not every report under the Policy report section is highlighted on this two-part series, we recommend checking out all reports found under this section in case they can prove useful to your agency’s needs. In the next Reports installment, we will highlight Transaction reports which will also be a multi-part series, so be sure to check back as we conclude this series. If you have any questions regarding reports, we would love to help! Contact us at consult@kitetechgroup.com today!

Kellie Halfpap

Agency Consultant
Kite Technology Group

Check out the other articles in our Applied Epic Report Series:

Account Reports
Activity Reports
General Ledger Reports
Interface Reports
Management and Opportunities Reports
Policy Reports (Part I)
Policy Reports (Part II)
Transaction Reports (Part I)
Transaction Reports (Part II)

Policy Reports in Applied Epic (Part I)

October 18, 2022 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

In this installment of our Applied Epic reports series, we’ll go over some of the most helpful reports found under the Policy Reports tab. When you want to find specific information regarding a policy, the reports found under the Policy section will provide a myriad of data depending on what you are looking for. Many of these reports will help reduce your E&O risk and find gaps in data on an account. Since there are so many reports in this section, we will be splitting our review of Policy reports into two parts. As a reminder, if you do not already have the latest Report Pack installed, contact Applied to get those uploaded to your Epic database. Many of the reports we will review are from that pack.

Audit Workflow – Expired Policies, Not Renewed

This report provides a great resource to locate the policies that were never reviewed in Epic. Assuming that these policies should have been renewed, this report lists the expiration dates in the past. It can also point out rewritten policies that were not processed correctly. If a client’s policy was never renewed in Epic, it could mean the renewal process was never started causing a lapse in coverage. Use this report to reduce your E&O risk and find those missed renewals to ensure coverage has not lapsed by mistake.

Audit Data – AB policies with 0% Agency Commission& Audit Data & DB policies with 0% Agency Commission

Though these are two separate reports, the information they provide is similar. These reports will list policies that have been entered into Epic but are missing the Line commission (the agency’s commission) on the policy application. If the agency’s commission is zero, then the calculation for the producer/broker’s commissions will also be zero. This will cause your Production reports, Income statement, and any other transaction reports to be incorrect. Depending on the volume of your agency, this report should be run quite frequently.

Audit Data – Policies with Blank Pr/Br*

This report will identify policies where the line Pr/Br tab is blank. Blank Pr/Br will impact your Producer Commission Reports, and if your agency pays producer commission, it is crucial that there is a producer and/or broker commission amount listed on the Line Pr/Br tab. *Bonus Tip – if you are entering Pr/Br on a package policy, be sure to click ‘Apply to All Lines’ so that it is displayed on each line. This will ensure that, no matter the line selected when reconciling commission for that policy, the commission will be included.

***Audit Workflow – Policies with In Process SSRs* & Audit Workflow – Policies with Submitted SSR’s***

Again these are two different reports that provide similar information. To make certain that a workflow has been completed, you want the Service Summary Rows (SSRs) to end in Issued or Not Issued stage. When a SSR is left in the In Process or Submitted stage, it raises the question on whether that workflow has actually been completed. It will also prevent Download from updating a policy if left In Process. While Submitted stage typically mean that an application has been sent to the carrier (maybe for a quote or change in coverage), some agencies consider Submitted stage as Bound coverage. Depending on the date that it was submitted, that SSR could probably be moved to the Issued Stage. Reduce your E&O risk and make sure workflows are being fully completed with these reports.

Book of Business – Line Book & Book of Business – Policy Book

Depending on whether you want to see information by Line or by Policy, a Book of Business Report will detail an agency’s current book of policies. The Modify Criteria options allows you to filter information if needed or see everything on your book. While reports are typically run as PDFs, you can edit this layout to drop more information on the report and run as an Excel, which will provide an easier way of filtering information on the report and break down everything into its own column. Using a Book of Business report is a great way to find gaps in data by policy, like missing premium or commission, missing Producer/Account Manager, etc.

Binder Reports

There are multiple reports for Binder detail. The standard Binder Report will list all binders entered and will indicate their status. But if you want to find out the specific date a binder was closed, if binders were closed more than 30 days from system date, or confirm all open binders have been closed, there are specific reports filtered to find this information. Each of these reports can be found if you sort your screen by Based On, to bring these reports to the top of your screen.

Conclusion

While there are numerous reports available under the Policy section, the ones highlighted in this review can prove to be extremely valuable in finding gaps in data and reducing your E&O risk. Be sure to check back next month for Part II of the Policy Reports where we will highlight even more helpful reports.

If you have any questions regarding the use of any of these reports or are interested in any of our other Agency Consulting Services, be sure to contact us today!

Kellie Halfpap

Agency Consultant
Kite Technology Group

Check out the other articles in our Applied Epic Report Series:

Account Reports
Activity Reports
General Ledger Reports
Interface Reports
Management and Opportunities Reports
Policy Reports (Part I)
Policy Reports (Part II)
Transaction Reports (Part I)
Transaction Reports (Part II)

General Ledger Reports in Applied Epic

July 18, 2022 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

In this third installment of our Applied Epic reports series, we’ll go over some of the most helpful reports found under the General Ledger tab. The reports found under this tab are very helpful when it comes to month-end reporting and are recommended to run throughout a month to ensure you remain in balance. If you have a dedicated accounting person or department in your agency who handles bank reconciliation, it may be helpful to copy these reports to their My Reports so they can run them frequently and get them prepared to send to management for each month-end review.

Balance Sheet

Your GL accounts are broken out into different groups – Asset, Liability, Equity, Income & Expense, which are then broken down further into subaccounts. The Balance Sheet report will list the amounts that are in your agency’s asset, liability, and equity accounts for a specific period (you can modify the criteria to view the timeframe needed). Use this report to ensure that General Ledger is in balance. You can also modify the criteria on this report to include the subaccounts if needed.

General Ledger Register

If you want to see an overall view of what has occurred in the General Ledger area of Epic, run this report. It will provide a detailed overview of any receipts, disbursements, journal entries, voided entries, vouchers, etc. You can also set the criteria on this report to filter by specific GL accounts if needed.

Income Statement

While the Balance Sheet report reflects asset, liability and equity, the Income Statement report will provide details on agency net profit/loss, income, and expenses for a time period that you can filter in Modify Criteria. It will provide current and year-to-date figures and you can also choose whether to include or exclude the subaccount detail. It is important to note with this report that if the Income account(s) have a debit balance, the balances will display as a negative; if the Expense account(s) have a credit balance, the balances will also display as a negative.

Status of Accounts

As mentioned previously, there are multiple GL accounts within Epic to reflect deposits and disbursements. To ensure GL accounts remain in balance, we recommend running this report frequently. This report includes opening and ending balances, transactions affecting the balance, and the net change in the balance. For example, if you have recently migrated to Epic, you may still have outstanding transactions from your previous system. You would not transact on the client accounts again in Epic since they are already billed in your previous system, so you would take the outstanding balance for the Premium Payable Entity (PPE) and reflect that under an Opening Balance GL account in Epic. As you are paying funds to the PPE for those outstanding balances, you would apply those disbursements to that GL account which would chip away from that balance. You can then run this report, which would show you the opening balance, all the payments made so far, and what balance still remains.

Conclusion

The reports under the General Ledger tab will be very helpful for anyone who manages your accounting within your agency as well as for management to ensure that General Ledger figures remain in balance, especially when it comes to month-end reporting. We recommend reviewing all the other reports not mentioned as well by checking out our other articles about Account reports and Activity reports. If you have any questions regarding the use of any of these reports or are interested in any of our other Agency Consulting Services, be sure to contact us today!

Kellie Halfpap

Agency Consultant
Kite Technology Group

Check out the other articles in our Applied Epic Report Series:

Account Reports
Activity Reports
General Ledger Reports
Interface Reports
Management and Opportunities Reports
Policy Reports (Part I)
Policy Reports (Part II)
Transaction Reports (Part I)
Transaction Reports (Part II)

Account Reports in Applied Epic

May 18, 2022 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

Applied Epic offers an array of reports based on the Account Detail screens. While most reports are based on Client accounts, don’t forget that the Account report group consists of Employees, Companies, Brokers, and Vendors as well. Most data fields can be selected within the Modify Criteria selection of the report detail.

Data at the Account level enables agencies to aim their marketing to specific targets. The Account report group is useful for both cleaning up data and creating mailing lists. Export filtered lists into Excel for import into third-party email distribution platforms, or use Epic’s Marketing Options in the report’s Delivery Options section to both run the report and generate an email to clients.

Remember to always copy from the main report group to My Reports by clicking Actions > Copy Report To or right clicking the mouse.

Here are some useful Account Reports in Epic:

Audit - Current Clients With Blank Primary Contact Emails*

This report shows accounts where the Primary Contact has a blank email address. This is a useful report to use for cleanup within your Epic system. When the email address is listed for the Primary Contact, this allows more streamlined and automated communication. Criteria should be only active accounts with condition of policies being At least one current/renewed policy.

CSR Usage - Attachments Accessed*

If your agency utilizes CSR24, there is a shared documents feature which allows your clients to access documents that are attached in Epic. These documents can either be accessed by either the portal or mobile app, and you can determine which clients can see certain documents. Use this report to determine which clients are accessing the shared documents feature to improve client customer service. Modify the criteria based on the date attachments were accessed as well as the folder or sub folder accessed.

Company Commission Agreements & Producer/Broker Commission Agreements

Use both reports respectively to identify all Company and Producer/Broker Commission Agreements that have been established in your Epic system. Modify the agreement effective and expiration date criteria to match a current book of business criteria to view all current agreements. Example: Effective date = Open thru today’s date and Expiration date = Tomorrow’s date thru Open.

Current Clients, All Contacts - Multi Layouts*

This report will list all current clients, including their contact information, that are sorted by Classification. There are numerous criteria that you can set to filter your results, including department, number of claims, policy expiration date, where they live, etc. This report is useful for targeted marketing those specific clients based on their designated Classification.

Current Clients, Primary Contacts - Multi Layouts*

Like the previous mentioned report, only sorted by SIC and NAIC codes and targets business accounts based on those codes.

Active Accounts With No Active Policies

This report can be used for cleanup to locate active accounts that no longer have active policies on them. Criteria should include all active clients with a policy condition of no current/renewed policies. Once you have cleaned up the accounts, you can run this on a regular basis to identify accounts to inactivate.

These are only a sample of the various Epic reports that can be immensely helpful to your agency. There are numerous reports within Applied Epic that can be beneficial to your agency depending on the information that you are striving to achieve. From gaps in data, to workload management, to cleanup, there is a report that can provide the data you need. In this blog series, we’ll highlight a different section within Applied Epic’s Reports each month, so stay tuned to learn more about specific reports that your agency can leverage.

If you have any questions regarding the use of any of these reports, or are interested in learning more about KiteTech’s Agency Consulting Services, be sure to contact us today!

*NOTE – Any report with an asterisk ( * ) next to it is a part of the latest Applied 2021 Report Pack. If you have not already done so, be sure to contact Applied to request that this back be uploaded to your system to access these reports.

Kellie Halfpap

Agency Consultant
Kite Technology Group

Check out the other articles in our Applied Epic Report Series:

Account Reports
Activity Reports
General Ledger Reports
Interface Reports
Management and Opportunities Reports
Policy Reports (Part I)
Policy Reports (Part II)
Transaction Reports (Part I)
Transaction Reports (Part II)

Direct Bill Commission Reconciliation in Applied Epic

April 21, 2022 by Kellie Uhlhorn

In the first installment of our Epic Accounting Series, we discussed the importance and steps involved with Premium Payables. For the second in the series, we will be going over how to fully reconcile Direct Bill commissions for an agency set up on a Cash basis, which will include the different areas to use within General Ledger. As mentioned in our previous article, the goal is to have a better understanding of the main General Ledger, as well as achieving more accurate reporting but to also ensure your producers and brokers are being paid accurately. While there are other available options within Epic, this is our most recommended of methods for entering and reconciling Direct Bill commissions.

Enter Receipts for Commissions Received

When you receive commissions from carriers, the first thing you want to do is enter it under Receipts in General Ledger. This ties the commission to the appropriate subaccount, which will provide cleaner and easier reporting, and will give you a way to mark the actual reconciliations as paid. This is done by going to General Ledger > Receipts > and adding a new Receipt.

Enter the details on the Add Receipt Screen. Direct Bill Commissions should be associated to the Operating Account, and the effective date should be the date it was received in the bank. Make sure the Accounting Month is correct (if you are not performing Month-End closing or changing the default month, this field may be incorrect). Enter your description and click Continue.

The Detail screen is where you enter the total commission information from a carrier. Locate the company, input the payment method, payment date, and paste the description from the previous screen. Enter the amount select General Ledger to apply it to. Locate your Direct Bill Commission Income GL Account and input that carrier’s code for the subaccount (this will further help with accurate reporting). If you have multiple entries from one day’s deposit, or need to record MVR fees, you can enter additional entries on one receipt by clicking the Add button at the top of the screen. The Add button at the bottom will create a whole new receipt. When you are finished with a receipt, you can click Finish which will close it and take you back to the main Receipts screen.

If no further action needs to be made, the next step would be to finalize the receipt by highlighting that entry and clicking Actions > Finalize Receipt. This will give it a Refer number, which you will use to tie it to the matching reconciliation entry.

Enter in all the Receipts you have for the commissions you have received. Once you are finished with this area, the next step would be to record the Direct Bill Reconciliations.

Recording Direct Bill Commissions

There are three ways to record direct bill commissions: Download, Import, and manual entry. Utilizing Download will be the most efficient way to record commissions received from carriers, but you need to work with IVANS to make sure the carriers you work with are able to download commissions to your Epic system. Once that is turned on and set up, your first step for recording with Download is navigate to the suspended commissions by going to Procedures > Interface Management > Assign Items in Suspense > Direct Bill > Run. From there you will see the list of various commissions received. It’s important to set up the necessary columns so that you can easily find each commission grouping.

Each grouping is assigned a Batch ID, which you can sort by to gather all commissions in that batch together. You want to look at each entry in the batch to make sure there are no blanks in information, and to make sure the Accounting Month is correct. If you find an entry without its lookup code, for example, that means that Download could not find that account in your system to tie it to. This could mean that the policy number in Epic is entered differently from the carrier’s records, or maybe the policy has not been renewed yet. Make sure to locate and fix any accounts with blank information while on this screen, or it will not process and move out of Suspense. It is also crucial to look at the Premium Payable Entity listed for each entry in the batch – make sure they all match and list the same entity. Make sure any changes you make on this screen, you also make on the account’s policy level so that going forward, this information will be correct the next time commission downloads for it.

To move a Batch out of Suspense, click Actions > Update Items in Suspense > Direct Bill.

The next screen will show you everything from Download Suspense. Click Deselect All so it does not select everything. You want to filter to the specific Batch ID then click Select All – this selects everything in that batch. Before clicking Finish, click on the edit pencil under the Comm Log section at the top of your screen and select Notify Only so that it does not print. You can now Finish. It will take a few seconds to process depending on the size of the statement. Once finished, navigate over to General Ledger > Reconciliations > Direct Bill to see the entry that you just processed.
The next most efficient way to record direct bill commissions is to use the Import feature in General Ledger. If you can receive or pull Excel statements from the carrier, you can easily create a Mapping File and copy that information to your Mapping File template. Some set up under Configure will be needed to set up your Mapping File, which will match your Excel template.

After your mapping file is configured and your Excel template is created, you can copy/paste the commission statement information onto your template. Save and close the template then navigate to General Ledger > Import > Direct Bill Transactions. Add a new import and complete the Add Batch screen.

The next screen after clicking Finish will take you to the Import suspense screen. You will see your Import which may say Processing – click refresh after a few seconds to see the completed import. If the total does not match the carrier statement, open the import to locate errors (ex: it cannot find the policy, or the billing type is incorrect). Locate the accounts and fix then re-upload the import. When the total is correct, you can proceed with moving the import by clicking Actions > Import Batch. It will take a few seconds to process but will disappear from this screen once completed and move over to Reconciliations > Direct Bill Commissions screen.

The third way to record Direct Bill transactions is by manually entering them. This is done by going to General Ledger > Reconciliations > Direct Bill Commissions. Click on the + button to add record a new commission entry.

In the next screen, select whether you are recording a Company or Broker statement, then also select whether you are recording commissions or reconciling commissions. The difference between the two is that when you select Record commissions, you are adding items right from a carrier statement that is not already transacted in the system. Reconcile commissions, used when your agency is on an accrual basis, means you have transacted the items in the system and are now comparing them to the statement. Select the appropriate choice, your carrier entity, description, accounting month and select Detail.

When you select Record commissions, the next screen shows you a list of filtered policies of all accounts written through that carrier. You can expand your search to find specific policies, or you can clear that filter, select the add button in the middle of the screen and do a manual search for the accounts listed on the carrier statement.

When you click the Add button, it takes you to the screen where you can search for your account. Select how you want to locate by (client name, policy number, etc.) and find the client. Choose the correct policy and make sure you select ‘Both’ under Record Transaction. If you know the type of transaction (new business, renewal, endorsement) select that code. If not, select the Direct bill code, and input the amount and commission details. If you have additional accounts on the carrier statement, click Add to find another account and repeat the process until you are finished with the statement. When you are done you can click Finish. Verify that the total commission amount matches your carrier statement and close the record.

With that record highlighted you can now proceed with finalizing and tying the entry to the Receipt entered previously. To finalize, you click Actions > Finalize Statement.

After that, you want to click Actions > Associate GL Item. A window will appear which will allow you to associate to the Receipt. Select the Operating Bank Account and enter the associating refer number. Next to Detail, click on the dropdown and select the receipt line that matches the Direct Bill amount. Click Finish. This completes the Direct Bill reconciliation process.

Following these steps and incorporating any of the three ways to record direct bill commissions will ensure proper reporting and that your producers and brokers are properly paid. As always, KiteTech is available to assist with standardizing your accounting procedures or to help you take your Applied Epic utilization to the next level. Contact us today to find out more.

Kellie Halfpap

Agency Consultant
Kite Technology Group

Premium Payables in Applied Epic Accounting

February 17, 2022 by Kellie Uhlhorn

When it comes to the General Ledger section of Applied Epic, we find that there tends to be numerous accounting workflows with additional steps that agencies do not realize need to be completed. When these workflows are not completed in their entirety, it causes unbalanced and inaccurate reporting, which can then create pain-points especially when using these reports for month-end bank reconciliation. In the first of our Accounting Series, we will be going over Premium Payables and the steps that must be taken to fully reconcile agency billed policies to achieve accurate reporting. The goal of this series is to help you gain a better understanding of the main areas of General Ledger and enable you to utilize Applied Epic’s accounting features to the benefit of your agency.

RECONCILE PREMIUM PAYABLES

When paying carriers or brokers for agency billed policies, it’s important to reconcile and reflect those as paid. This is done by going to General Ledger > Reconciliations > Premium Payable and adding a new Reconciliation entry.

Once the appropriate entity and amount due is selected, the next step is to click Actions > Pay Statement. This action finalizes the entry and reflects it as a Disbursement to the carrier or broker for the payment.

If the statement is for a returned premium from the carrier or broker, you will need to finalize the reconciliation (Actions > Finalize Statement) for the returned items and Associate the GL Item from Receipts where you deposited the return.

You can also finalize the statement and then enter the Receipt for it to select the statement in the Receipts area.

RECONCILE MANUALLY REVERSED AGENCY BILL TRANSACTIONS

Sometimes you will come across a zero-dollar reconciliation. This can occur when you are flagging items that have been manually reversed. It is important to know that you should NOT close these items without paying, as this will result in those transactions remaining on your Premium Payables reports. The proper way to reflect those items as “paid” is to create a $1 Journal Entry in Epic. Create a new Journal Entry and add a $1 debit from your premium payable GL code and a $1 credit to the same code. Save the Refer # from this journal entry to use for all zero-dollar premium payable reconciliations going forward. When you have finalized a zero-dollar reconciliation, you then associate that statement to the $1 Journal Entry refer number that you created.

PREMIUM FINANCING IN EPIC

If your finance company sends the premium directly to the carrier, you will reflect the amount financed and paid to the finance company by using the CFIN – Company Finance Transaction – code. This removes the balance from the client account. It will also be reflected in the Premium Payable Reconciliation for you to flag to reduce the amount you will be sending to the carrier.

Alternatively, if your finance company sends the premium to your agency for you to forward to the carrier or broker, you will need to use Actions > Finance Transaction from the client transactions screen. This will remove the financed amount from the client’s balance and move it to the Finance Company receivables. When you receive the premium from the finance company, you’ll apply it directly to the Finance Company receivables. You would then enter the amount paid to the carrier or broker as a Disbursement.

If there is an instance of a return premium due to the finance company, you will still finance these transactions and they will still need to be reconciled in Premium Payables under General Ledger. The difference is that the premium balance is moved from the client to the finance company.

REPORTS FOR PREMIUM PAYABLES

There are multiple reports that you can run monthly to find and balance any outstanding Premium Payables:

Balancing Current Premium Payables – Use this report to balance to the Premium Payables General Ledger account for prior periods. You also can view the client’s receivable balance and whether the agency has paid the carrier or received premium from the carrier.
Aged Current Premium Payables – This report will reflect the age date of a premium payable due to the carrier or broker.
Premium Payables – This report is very similar to the Balancing Current Premium Payables report. However, the Balancing Current Premium Payables report includes a summary page at the end in addition to this information.

There are some newer versions of these reports available from Applied; contact Applied Support to have the new reports loaded to your Epic system if you have not received them yet. As always, KiteTech is available to assist with standardizing your accounting procedures. Email us at consult@kitetechgroup.com to find out more.

Kellie Halfpap

Agency Consultant
Kite Technology Group

5 Habits for Ensuring a Successful Insurance Workday

January 12, 2022 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

Whether you are working from home or are back in the office, creating and maintaining a proper routine is vital for a successful workday. How you structure your day can essentially set up how productive the rest of your day, and even your week, will be. To help you maintain focus and motivation throughout the day, below we share five strategies that you can use to maximize your efficiency and keep that overwhelming feeling at bay.

1. Write Out a Daily To-Do List

Start your day by asking, “What items are of utmost importance? Is there anything I promised to deliver today?” Write it all down and prioritize it, with the most important at the top. That way, you know you need to accomplish these items by the end of the day, no matter what. Having a visual list of tasks also ensures nothing is missed and provides you a sense of accomplishment when you cross a completed item off. You can move anything that did not get accomplished to the next day’s list, but make sure urgent items remain a priority.

2. Check Email, Voicemail and Your Epic Home Screen

Review your inbox and make sure that there are no more than 100 emails. The goal is to have all insurance emails attached in Epic, so be sure to frequently review your correspondences to identify what you should move to a client file. If you have any voicemails, address those first, especially if a client called to request a change in their policy or has a question regarding coverage. Next, review your open activities on your Epic Home Screen. It can be overwhelming to see a long list of open activities; however, taking the time to triage them helps you avoid becoming stressed throughout the day. Work on what is urgent first and go down from there. If there is an activity that is not urgent and you do not think you will be able to address it that day, update the follow-up date to the next day. Again, just make sure that it is still taken care of in a timely fashion.

3. Schedule Your Time and Set Reasonable Timeframes

Use your calendar to your advantage to block out time to work on specific items. Try to refrain from multitasking, as stretching your attention across multiple tasks could lead to forgetting to fully complete aspects of a workflow. Setting reminders on deliverables will also be helpful to ensure items are completed on time and sent to the client in the timeframe promised. It can also be more efficient to group similar types of tasks together. For example, if you have a bunch of endorsements to complete, work on those concurrently, then move on to the next set (i.e., new business, claims, renewals, etc.). Grouping similar tasks together keeps you focused on one process instead of jumping back and forth through multiple workflows.

4. Work Efficiently in Epic

To make the most out of your workday, make sure you work as efficiently as possible within Applied Epic. First, start by customizing your Home screen. Choose what data you want to see by selecting the appropriate columns and setting how many days in advance you want to see open Activities. Next, make sure you set up Field Defaults – many workflows can be formatted to auto-populate information to save you the time from manually typing it in. For example, configure the Client Add workflow to preselect your Business Type, Format, Structure, and Servicing Roles. That way, when you add a new client, you do not need to add this information manually. When you can auto-fill as much information as possible, it saves you time and navigating Epic becomes faster and more convenient.

Lastly, make sure you attach files and correspondences to the appropriate policy, activity, claim, etc. Associating the attachment correctly in Epic keeps the client file organized and makes finding those files easier and quicker. There are many other ways to ensure efficiency within Applied Epic, so make sure you are familiar with your company’s workflows and check out our previous articles for additional Epic guidance.

5. Give Yourself Breaks

No matter how busy your day may be, your mental health should always remain a priority. To avoid burnout, make sure to take to your lunch breaks. It can be so easy to fall into a habit of staying at your desk all day but take a few minutes throughout the day to stand up and stretch. Whenever possible, spend your breaks outside to get some fresh air. This will help your brain reset, and you will be able to return to your work refreshed and more ready to tackle the rest of your day. It is also critical to end your workday at a reasonable time. While there may be days when working late is necessary to finish an important task, like a client’s policy renewal, that should be the exception, not the rule. A consistent work-life balance prevents job fatigue and keeps you mentally and physically healthy.

Following a daily work routine helps you establish habits that support your goals and ensure you have a successful day. Implementing any of these strategies will assist in maintaining focus and motivation throughout your workday. While everyone’s routine will look different, the important thing is making sure it works for you and that you can stick to it consistently.

KiteTech’s Agency Consulting team is passionate about helping our clients supercharge their productivity. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you optimize your Epic system for better efficiency, reach out to us at consult@kitetechgroup.com. We are here to help!

Kellie Halfpap

Agency Consultant
Kite Technology Group

Transitioning Your Accounting Practices From QuickBooks to Applied Epic

December 9, 2021 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

It has become an ongoing trend that agencies are beginning the transition of moving some or all their accounting information out of QuickBooks to their Epic system. The main advantages to this transition would be that all your agency information would be condensed into one platform, and you would ultimately be able to pull the most accurate reports with all your data being in one place. But there are certain differences and steps that need to be taken for a clean transition and to make sure you are utilizing the accounting features in Epic accurately.

Below we’ll discuss the most important steps, however, it is important to know that appropriate training and assistance is imperative to ensure your agency completes this transition correctly and that your employees understand the features and capabilities Epic has related to accounting.

Perform an Epic “Fresh Start” Cleanup

Even if you haven’t been using Epic for accounting purposes, odds are that there is still some data in your system that needs to be cleaned up. If you are going to transition to Epic, make sure you are starting with a clean system that does not contain old data that could affect your reports. This is a task best handled by a consultant or Applied Epic Accounting Specialist, as they know what steps are needed to clean up your Epic system and provide you with a clean slate configured to fit your agency’s needs.

Set up Your Bank Accounts and Enter Opening Balances

You will want to ensure that your bank accounts are set up and configured within Applied Epic since you will be recording direct bill commissions, premium payables, vendor payables, etc. Typically, you will have an Operating Account (for commission and vendor payables/expenses) and a Trust Account (client receivables and premium payables). After that, select your start month and record your beginning account balances. This way, at the end of each month, you can reconcile and ensure your accounts match what you recorded in Epic.

Determine Who Will Transact on Account and Who Will Access General Ledger

Will account managers/CSRs transact policies on account, or will that be designated to one person? It’s imperative to determine who will be performing these operations within Epic and provide proper training and workflows accordingly. If the account managers or CSRs are not transacting, there needs to be communication between them and the accounting department – this can all be performed within Epic. You can configure specific accounting activity codes to go directly to the accounting contact that will advise them on what action they need to make on a particular account. If you are unsure how to set this up, a consultant can advise on the best way to utilize this feature so that all information stays contained within Applied Epic.

Run Reports to Find Gaps in Data

Before you start reconciling commissions in Epic, you want to make sure that there aren’t any policies with missing or incorrect data. For seamless and easy accounting entry, you will want your existing data to be as accurate as possible. Run a Line Book of Business report to look for discrepancies such as missing or incorrect Producer commission in the Pr/Br tab, incomplete Servicing tab information, and incorrect policy statuses. Cleaning up and fixing any incorrect or missing data will be beneficial, not only for accounting but also for ongoing accurate reporting.

Turn on Download and Set up Mapping Files

Before you begin reconciling commissions, work with IVANS to turn on direct bill download. Find out which carriers you work with that download commissions, and make sure those are ready to start coming in through Download. Utilizing Download will be the fastest way to record direct bill commissions. You will also want to set up your mapping files in Configure, as you may also have commission statement spreadsheets to import into Epic for direct bill transactions. When it comes to direct bill commission entry, importing is the 2nd fastest way to record transactions from a carrier statement. However, for a mapping file to be successful, all policy details need to be correct – this includes correct bill type, PPE, policy number, and effective date.

While moving your accounting information from QuickBooks to Epic may seem daunting, it makes the most sense to have all data in a single platform. Epic also has a multitude of reports available that can provide an accurate overview of your data, but only if all the information is recorded into Epic. Some agencies may not be able to fully transition all their data over to Epic for various operational reasons, but we do recommend utilizing the accounting areas in Epic as much as possible. Each area of Epic affects and connects to another, so recording all information (accounting or otherwise) will ensure data is entered correctly, workflows are followed, and your reports and balances are accurate. If you are unsure how or where to begin, feel free to reach out to KiteTech to schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss your agency’s accounting needs. We are here to help!

Kellie Halfpap

Agency Consultant
Kite Technology Group

Our Favorite Epic Highlights from Applied Net 2021

October 5, 2021 by Kellie Uhlhorn

Though attending Applied Net in person offers a much more interactive approach to the conference, the best part about it being virtual is the fact that it makes it easier to attend multiple sessions back-to-back and re-watch them to gain full understanding of the subject matter. This year, Applied Net was once again filled with fantastic sessions full of knowledgeable material to help enhance your Applied Epic experience. There were many new updates, features and capabilities being rolled out this year. Below we share some of the Epic highlights we’re most excited about and what you can expect from Epic with the recent updates that have been released:

1. Expanded Email Templates

One update that we were most excited to see was the enhanced functionality of the Email Templates. Prior to this latest release, this feature was very limited. Now you can create an email template directly from Outlook which attaches to the client file in Epic. There is also an option to add an email template with Marketing reports. You can set up these templates with your agency’s branding as well as configure templates based on certain workflows to streamline email messaging.

2. EZLynx – Applied Merger

It was announced earlier this year that Applied was acquiring EZLynx, which would bring greater automation in carrier rating and broaden marketing opportunities for agencies. This is integrated with Applied Epic, and it was announced at AppliedNet that by December, there will be 100 Carrier options. EZLynx is a popular rater especially for Personal Lines producers, so this further enhance the comparative rating experience.

3. Indio Submission Activities

Agencies using the Indio integration will now have a more seamless flow between Epic and Indio marketed submissions with the new activity update. You can now enable submissions created in Indio to be associated to Epic activities. When a submission in Indio is updated (for example: submitted, accepted, declined), you will be able to see this status on the activity screen. Viewing the status of a marketed account in Epic, and the ability to push information back and forth between the two platforms, streamlines discussion and workflows between Account Managers and Sales Personnel.

4. Applied Epic Benefits

Many exciting updates came to Applied Epic specifically for the Benefits Department. In the past, Epic was very limited to the type of Benefits-related information that you could put in an application. Now, there are Benefits-specific details in the Accounts Detail section that will then trickle down to the policy. You will also be able to enter $0 premium when reconciling Direct Bill commission statements – previously, you had to enter a non-zero amount in the premium field, which did not provide accurate reporting.

Now, the reports generated will be much more accurate as you will not have a stand-in premium in those fields. Lastly, you will be able to turn on Direct Bill Download for Benefits/Life & Health policies, which will certainly save time by reducing the need to manually input commission statements and reducing your E&O exposure. You will need to contact the carriers you want to receive downloaded commission statements from and ensure you system is set up correctly to receive them.

5. Expanded Sales Automation

Sales Automation is a built-in Epic integration and a very helpful tool for managing your sales pipeline and set your goals for the year. But not every agency is set up for a standard calendar year. Now you can configure your Epic system by selecting Fiscal or non-calendar year if that is your agency’s preference. This will allow a more accurate picture of your sales goals and provides a further tailors Epic to your agency’s needs.

The wonderful thing about Applied Epic is that it’s always evolving and finding ways to improve and expand its capabilities to fit the needs of its agency user base. Applied Net this year once more offered opportunities to grow your knowledge and learn more features and unique ways to enable Applied Epic to meet the needs of your agency. At KiteTech, we always look forward to learning new processes and best practices that we can then pass on to our clients. If you would like to learn more about our Epic Consulting Services and how we can help you get the most from your Applied Epic system, contact us at consult@kitetechgroup.com to schedule a free consultation!

Kellie Uhlhorn

Agency Consultant

6 Ways an Applied Epic Consultant can Benefit your Insurance Agency

July 15, 2021 by Kellie Uhlhorn

Insurance agencies have an abundance of daily responsibilities on their plates – those can include keeping up with renewals, making sure endorsements are processed promptly, getting policies checked and sent out to insured and keeping up with client relationships. Of course, an agency’s obligations do not stop there, so it can be challenging to delegate the time for crucial operational tasks such as updating and maintaining your agency management system. Because this is the primary component for operating your agency efficiently and avoiding E&O exposure, that is where an Applied Epic Consultant can provide value. Whether you are currently using Applied Epic or are migrating in the future, a consultant can handle those essential responsibilities that ensure you are maximizing the use of your Epic database.

Below are some examples of how working with a consultant can be beneficial to your agency:

1. Create or Update your Applied Epic Workflows

Workflows are how an agency uniquely uses Applied Epic to its advantage. Standardized workflows are vital to the agency’s operations and should assist in creating efficiency and accurate use of the system. Those workflows should also be maintained and updated routinely with the installation of regular updates received by Applied. An agency consultant can work with your agency to develop custom workflows and make sure they are updated as needed.

2. Custom Reports Management

Reports provide valuable information about your Epic data. When run regularly, they help identify data discrepancies, provide a list of policies upcoming for renewal, track your Book of Business, and more. Reports also assist with reducing your E&O risk when reviewed frequently, which is why they should be set up, scheduled to run, and delivered to the appropriate people within your agency. Leveraging the appropriate reports assists with auditing your agency by identifying missing or incorrect data, further reducing your E&O risk. Building custom reports is a great task to delegate to an Applied Epic consultant as it can a time-consuming to set up. A consultant can also provide training on report setup and scheduling and perform audits for your agency.

3. Employee Training

The process of migrating to Applied Epic includes educating all current employees on using and navigating the new system. But what happens when you hire new employees who will then need training on your Epic system and workflows? Or what if current employees can benefit from additional coaching? An agency consultant can step in and provide training if you do not have the capacity or a dedicated trainer in your agency. A consultant can also provide additional training during the initial migration or when you implement new standardized workflows.

4. Epic Migration and Optimization Assistance

During the Epic conversion process, you will need to make numerous configuration decisions for the agency in a system that is all new to you. A consultant specializing in Applied Epic can provide valuable insight and guide you through options in configuration based on your agency’s needs. After migration, many agencies find that they could benefit from additional optimization assistance to further increase efficiency – an Applied Epic consultant can look at your Epic system to find inconsistencies and make suggestions on optimizing your use of Epic.

5. Accounting Assistance

Applied Epic has sophisticated accounting capabilities and procedures that can be challenging to fully utilize and understand. If you are not currently using these features in Epic and would like to but don’t know where to start, an Applied Epic consultant can assist with transitioning your accounting processes and provide training. Just as a consultant assists with training servicing staff, they can also train new accounting staff based on your agency’s unique workflows. Accurately entering accounting information is key to getting reliable reports from your database. If you are unsure about the accuracy of your accounting, working with a consultant can go a long way in improving your agency’s accounting processes.

5. Applied Epic Integrations

Numerous beneficial software integrations are available with unique features that can further boost your agency’s operations and efficiency. Learning more about these products and incorporating them within your agency is another example of how a consultant can work with your agency. To learn more about some of the more popular Applied Epic integrations, check out our previous article.

When implementing Applied Epic in your agency, it is crucial to ensure that you are not only getting the most out of your investment but are doing so correctly and efficiently. With all the daily responsibilities that agencies balance, it can be challenging to prioritize tasks like those mentioned above. An Applied Epic consultant can help guide you towards the best options for your agency and serve as an additional resource to ensure your Epic system is set up and maintained to your agency’s standards and needs.

If you have questions about Kite Technology’s Agency Consulting Services or would like assistance regarding any of the engagements mentioned above, email us at consult@kitetechgroup.com to schedule a complimentary consultation today. We look forward to learning more about your agency’s needs and how we might be able to help.

Applied Epic Integrations – Further Enhancing Your Agency’s Efficiency

April 21, 2021 by Kellie Uhlhorn

One of the many benefits of being an Applied Epic user is the number of integrated platforms developed to enhance your Epic experience and boost your agency’s virtual efficiency. The insurance industry has become much more sophisticated through technology and online processes, so it is vital for your agency to keep up with this trend. Whether you are Management, an Account Manager, or a Producer, there are integrations that you can incorporate with your daily workload. But with so many now available, you may be asking, which one(s) is best for my agency? Below, we’ll review a number of Applied Epic integrations that agencies can take advantage of to help them operate more efficiently and serve their clients better.

CSR24 & Applied MobileInsured

CSR24 and MobileInsured are no-brainers when it comes to Applied Epic integrations that your agency can benefit from. CSR24 brings convenience to Account Managers and clients by providing document and policy management in a portal that is accessible at any time. Clients can request changes to a policy, initiate and track claims, and request or even generate their own insurance certificates. MobileInsured furthers the accessibility by providing a personalized mobile app customizable for each client and your agency.

blueButler

Ensuring your clients are consistently receiving top-notch customer service is crucial for your agency’s continued success. If you want to be able to route calls faster, record those calls to ensure quality service, and reduce E&O risk, blueButler may be the solution for you. It gives you the ability to see client information from Epic when a call comes in. You can make notes and associate that call directly to a policy, contact, or activity within Epic. Management can create tags, scripts, and checklists for consistency in call workflows. It can also show you daily call activity and the recorded audio to ensure the service provided is always precise and meets agency standards.

Indio

When it comes to renewals and remarketing policies, carriers often require their own separate application completed on top of other supplementals to provide a quote. Asking a client to fill out multiple applications can be time-consuming and frustrating, and trying to keep track of each application also comes with its challenges. Indio helps reduce the risk of E&O exposures while saving you time by automating data to populate across multiple carrier applications, custom forms, and questionnaires located in their 15,000+ application library. Within Indio, you can easily track changes in exposures or receive a notification when a client fills out or submits requested information. Clients can even flag questions that they need assistance with, which will notify the Account Manager directly. Agencies have found a higher return rate and faster turnaround time of applications from clients due to the ease of use of this product.

Marketing Automation

Marketing your agency and the services you offer is a vital process for maintaining a strong book of business and ensures your clients and prospects are receiving up-to-date industry content. Marketing Automation allows you to create, send and track email campaigns to target a specific audience. You will have the ability to send a myriad of content found in the Marketing Automation library containing both PNC and benefits materials. You can pull contact information directly from Applied Epic and track your campaigns’ open and click rates. Marketing automation is a great way to regularly stay in front of your clients while also providing them with valuable information.

Applied Epic for Salesforce

For an agency to operate and provide exceptional service to its clients, it’s essential that sales and servicing staff work together efficiently. Applied Epic for Salesforce offers a seamless operation by allowing producers to sell and market on the CRM platform and transfer the data directly into Epic. The Account Manager can then track and keep up with the status of a client account. The dashboard within Salesforce allows you to keep track of sales and performance with detailed reports and enables you to remain up to date on your book of business and opportunities. Attachments, activities, opportunities, and more can be created in either Salesforce or Applied Epic and pushed to the other platform ensuring sales and service are working with current information. If Producers don’t have an Applied Epic license or use it often, having Salesforce is a great way to keep their Account Managers in the loop regarding where they are in the stages of selling and marketing for a specific client.

Benefits Designer

Created to eliminate the traditional “spreadsheeting” process and reduce E&O risks, Benefits Designer allows you to build custom proposals and compare different benefits plans all within one system. Premiums and rates are calculated automatically for you, and you can update costs in real-time to present a side-by-side comparison of coverage based on client budget and needs. Relevant information can be transferred directly into the policy application within Epic, reducing manual entry even more. Numerous plans can be created based on client structure, whether they are self-funded, fully insured, or community rated.

eSignature Solutions

Reduce the need for physical paperwork and decrease wait time by incorporating an eSignature platform into your agency’s operations. Programs like DocuSign and RightSignature help you manage agreements and contracts by providing the ability to prepare and sign them all online. Send and receive signed documents without sacrificing security compliance. These two specific products also transfer signed documents right into Epic, which will notify you via an Activity.

No matter the role you play in your agency, there is an Applied Epic integration that can benefit you and your agency. With the bi-directional integration that each platform offers, you are reducing your E&O exposure and saving time by cutting out the need for manual and duplicate entry. Our KiteTech Consultants are here to help you optimize your Applied Epic system and assist you in deciding which platform(s) would benefit your agency the most. Contact us today at consult@kitetechgroup.com for a free consultation.

An Applied Epic Checklist to Start the Year Right

December 9, 2020 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

As you look ahead into 2021, you may be wondering if there are specific procedures you should be implementing to set your insurance agency up for success and optimize your Applied Epic system. Below we share a few recommendations on items that we feel are important to check off this time of year.

Run Expiration Reports

This is the time of year when many employees are taking time off, so it is imperative to make sure they are aware of all policies that are renewing this month or in early January. Even if employees regularly receive Expiration reports, sending out more frequent reminders during the holiday season will help ensure expiring policies are addressed, which will, in turn, help you avoid a possible E&O exposure.

Employee Performance Reviews

This is typically a great time to meet with your employees and review their performance over the past year. If you have implemented employee auditing practices, you should review the results and utilize them for performance reviews. Auditing reports can be a crucial tool in determining which employees are doing a great job or require more guidance and training.

Clean-up Outstanding Balances and Premium Payables

Insurance Companies and clients will also have limited staff this time of year due to the holidays. Run an Aged Outstanding Current Balances report to view all outstanding client balances and send out statements early to avoid trying to collect or pay multiple outstanding invoices after the new year. Apply Debits and Credits throughout the month to get those cleaned up for Year-End. Running the Balancing Current Premium Payables report will help clean up any manually reversed transactions and identify any transactions that may be outstanding to the carrier or return premium to the agency for the year. This accounting step is especially important if your fiscal year ends in December.

System Clean-Up and Workflow Review

If you have specific configurations and workflows set up for your agency, this may be a good time to review them to ensure they still make sense for your agency processes and procedures. Start a discussion with your employees or use the employee audits (if implementing) to see if there are any gaps in workflow procedures that you should amend to increase efficiency.

New Product Research

Now is also an excellent time to research new products that integrate with Applied Epic. Programs like Indio, DocuSign, blueButler, or Salesforce can be great software additions to increase your agency’s efficiency and productivity. If most of your employees work remotely, these products can make that operation more seamless by automating certain processes. Learn how these products could benefit your agency. For example, Indio has a great feature that will copy duplicate information across multiple carrier applications saving you or the client from re-writing the same information over and over.

Checking off these items will set your agency up for continued success going into the new year. It is important to run reports periodically this month to make sure you address upcoming renewals and handle any outstanding balances. Touching base with employees and reviewing workflows will ensure continued efficiency within Applied Epic. Finally, take some time to research new products that can prove beneficial for further automating practices that save time and keep remote work seamless. If you would like assistance or guidance with any of these recommendations or would like to learn how we can help your agency utilize Applied Epic more effectively, contact us at consult@kitetechgroup.com.

Applied Epic Post-Migration: Steps for Continued Success

November 11, 2020 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

Did your agency just migrate to Applied Epic, or is in the process of migrating now? Regardless of the platform you are migrating from, transitioning your team to an entirely new system can feel daunting. If you have already completed the training provided and finished transferring your data, you now may be asking yourself, ‘What should be my next step for success?’ We’d like to offer some recommendations on additional steps that you can take to help your staff be fully prepared to utilize Applied Epic effectively and help you experience a successful migration.

Configure Epic to Fit your Agency

Before your employees start navigating Applied Epic, it is essential to configure it properly to fit your agency’s needs. This includes setting up field defaults, required vs. desired fields, folder structures, activity codes and categories, system events, tasks on activities, etc. For example, you can configure specific activity codes to only be visible to a particular department, which reduces options and ensures employees choose the code that best fits that workflow. It is imperative to configure Epic properly as soon as possible because once your employees start to use the system, changing certain settings and functions will be more challenging.

Set up Reports

Reports are a great way to track information entered in Epic. Setting up various reports ahead of time can help you audit your data to make sure information is entered correctly and moved through the different workflow stages timely. Reports can also help employees stay up to date on upcoming renewals, track new and loss business, and help you determine if information is missing on accounts (e.g., Servicing Roles, Estimated Premium/Commission, Pr/Br, and Agency Commission). Once your reports are set up, you can automate delivery to your employees and departments at a specific time or make them available in their Reports Quick View. Expiration Reports, for example, would be a great report to send to your employees’ Reports Quick View as they can refer to this report at any time to see which accounts have policies coming up for renewal.

Create & Standardize Your Workflows

To ensure that your employees clearly understand how to utilize Epic, you must create and standardize your agency workflows. Standardized workflows serve as a valuable guide your employees can follow as they learn the Epic platform and provide a reference for when they need guidance on a particular function. To ensure your workflows will work for everyone within the agency, we recommend that you have a team that includes a member from each department work together to create them.

Provide Additional Training

It is important to remember that as your agency continues to learn and grow within Applied Epic, it will be essential to continue providing additional training to your employees to develop their skills. If a workflow needs to be updated or changed, or employees are struggling to follow workflows, additional training will ensure continued growth and efficiency. You can use reports and perform audits to find possible inconsistencies with workflows and areas where additional training is needed.

Be Patient with the Process

Migrating to a new system can be stressful for both management and employees. It may be tempting to take aspects of how you used your old system and try to apply them in Epic because that is what you are used to doing. Epic has its own unique functions that are different from your old system. Your agency’s workflows are also going to be different, so it is crucial to avoid copying how you navigated your old system in Epic as it will only cause frustration in the long run. Trust the learning process and know that while Epic is an entirely different system, eventually, the workflows and structure will ‘click,’ becoming easier and more comfortable to navigate. Be patient with the process, ask questions, and refer to your workflows every step of the way.

Configuring Epic, setting up reports, standardizing workflows, and providing continued training are essential tools to implement after migration and will set your agency up for success with the Applied Epic platform. It is important to remember that learning a new system takes time, but that daunting feeling will not last forever. By managing your team’s expectations, continuing to have patience, and trusting the process, your agency will be Applied Epic pros in no time.

For help applying these practices or to learn how to utilize Applied Epic more effectively in your agency, contact us at consult@kitetechgroup.com for a free consultation.

Automating Your Workflows: Tips on Optimizing the Use of Applied Epic Download

October 27, 2020 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

The Download feature in Applied Epic is one that can automate tasks and create efficiencies in multiple areas: policy applications, transactions, activities, attachments, for example. While it does require some time to properly configure how Download will influence each of these components, once set up, you will find that having certain functions automated for you saves time and creates efficiency in your daily workload. Here are some features of Download and how they can prove beneficial when implemented into your workflows:

Consider Instant Download Versus Scheduled Download

It is standard to schedule Download to occur one to two times per day, the most common being once in the morning and once in the evening after work hours. Alternatively, you can implement Instant Download, which will pull updates from carriers as they occur throughout the day. Instant Download is particularly useful when it comes to important events like claims or reinstatements. In these cases, it is more beneficial to the insured and you as the Account Manager if Download updates a change to the account in real-time versus at a scheduled time, as it keeps their account the most up to date. Instant Download also takes away the large batches that often come with a scheduled Download: when Downloads are only occurring once or twice a day, the system can get clogged and take longer to process; however, when using Instant Download, they are processing in smaller batches as changes or updates occur, which takes less time to process.

Create Separate Download Transaction Codes from Agency Bill Transaction Codes

To keep an account updated and accurate, consider setting up separate Download transaction codes. Most of the time with Agency Bill, you would be billing the full annualized premium amount, applied to the Annualized field at the Policy or Line levels. But with Direct Bill, it is often difficult to determine if the amounts listed on a statement is for a total annualized premium, an endorsement, an installment, or just commission received. You can configure Epic to have the “Policy” download update your Annualized Premium and have a separate set of Direct Bill transaction codes that do not affect your Annualized Premium. This is a great way to prevent issues with transactions downloaded that may be classified as a renewal but are actually an installment, for example.

Configure EDOCs With Your Agency’s Naming Conventions & Folder Structure

When using EDOCs to attach policy documents, most of the time, the description is ‘Downloaded Policy’ or something similar. You can override the attachment descriptions to match your agency’s naming conventions by pulling in field defaults for Policy type, Effective Date, Policy Number, etc. However, it is important to note that this would not work for endorsements, as EDOC cannot decipher which Service Summary Row to pull the description from. It is also beneficial to set EDOCs to attach documents to the appropriate folder and subfolder, saving you from re-routing the attachments to the correct locations.

For the Activities screen, setting up unique EDOC activity codes that further specify what that activity contains is an easy way to distinguish what is coming in through EDOCs, saving you from clicking through activities to figure out what each is. For example, you can set up an ECLA code for downloaded Claims, an EREN code for downloaded Renewals, or an EPOL code for downloaded policies. You can even put descriptions on these codes like ‘Claims Document Download,’ which provides even more detail about each activity before opening it. Utilizing unique codes and descriptions makes searching for a specific document or activity easier as well.

Implement the Use of Download Activities Instead of Communication Log

While you are most likely used to a printed or emailed PDF Communication Log of what Download has imported each day, you might want to consider using Activities instead. Download Activities is especially important if you utilize the Instant Download feature – a Communication Log generated multiple times throughout the day would not be efficient for the system or your Account Managers. While you can change the report to run at a specific time rather than after each time a Download occurs, Activities will ultimately prove to be easier to manage, and they mirror the same information on the Communication Log.

With most employees now working from home, Download Activities is more practical than printing a daily Communication Log. It is better to keep the information in the system rather than having each Account Manager have multiple printed pages or PDFs to sort through and manage. Activities are also a great way to schedule your time and workload – if you cannot get to a particular activity or account that day, you can easily change the follow-up date on your Home Screen.

Setup Tasks on Download Activities

Though Download does provide a streamlined way to get through your daily workload by processing changes and attaching documents for you, it is still essential that the Account Manager review certain activities Download generates before closing them. Setting tasks on Download Activities provides a checklist for the Account Managers to ensure what Download processed is accurate and complete with no further actions needed for that workflow. Setting tasks prevents any E&O exposures as, while Download is a fantastic feature, it is still important to double-check your work.

To accommodate these Download features, you may find that some workflows may need to be updated, or additional training is necessary. However, proper configuration of each of these tools will lead to more efficiency within Applied Epic. Implementing Download can help you attach documents to accounts faster, provide an improved view of your daily activities and workload, and can update accounts instantly as changes occur. For more information or help setting up Download for your agency, contact us at consult@kitetechgroup.com for a free consultation.

Auditing Your Data In Applied Epic- More Important Now Than Ever Before

August 21, 2020 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

Like most companies, your agency’s staff has probably been working from home or coming to the office intermittently for the past few months. Moving and relocating employees and equipment to home offices earlier in the year was, I know, nothing short of a challenge. While things may have calmed down enough now where a new ‘normal’ has set in, it is essential to know that your staff is still following your agency’s workflows and that nothing was missed during that stressful transitional period. With so many employees continuing to work remotely for the foreseeable future, you may need to amend your agency’s workflows to accommodate the necessary changes required to make this new structure feasible.

There are numerous benefits to implementing auditing within your agency. With employees working remotely, it is essential to ensure that your agency’s workflows are followed and that the data entered in Applied Epic is accurate. Auditing enables your agency to evaluate your current workflows and determine what changes are required. Auditing can also be useful in assessing and balancing the workload among your employees, providing training opportunities, and even conducting performance reviews.

There are three main ways that you can audit your data in Applied Epic:

Reports
Data Audits
Procedural Audits

Though conducted differently, each of these methods of auditing can prove beneficial at ensuring that your agency’s workflows are standardized and followed; that information is entered correctly and promptly, thus lessening the threat of Errors & Omissions claims.

Reports

Auditing with reports provides a higher-level overview of data and processes in Applied Epic. Reports can be crucial to preventing potential Errors & Omissions claims as they offer an accurate read on policies and information that may be inaccurate or missed. One report we find the most useful, for example, is the Missed Renewals report. This report can show a list of policies that are coming up for renewal but have not yet been started in Epic. It can also identify policies that have already expired but were never renewed. You can set this report to run and automatically deliver to management for a department to review and reach out to the Account Manager handling the missed policy.

Reports are also helpful with pinpointing and solving discrepancies in workflows. A common occurrence we often see are policies that are still In Process or Submitted after an extended period. Policies should move through the stages from In Process to Submitted to Issued, so if it has been sitting at In Process or Submitted for quite some time, it is crucial to find out why. We recommend reviewing this report monthly to identify discrepancies and ensure workflows are followed promptly.

Data Audits

Data audits are a review of information in Applied Epic applications, policy documents, binders, proposals, and more. Though you can obtain some of this information through reports, it is best to manually perform data audits to ensure you are getting as much detail as possible. Data audits focus on making sure that information entered in Applied Epic and all corresponding documents match. For example, does the proposed coverage match the issued policy and the application in Epic? Data audits are an excellent way to identify and correct possible discrepancies between Proposed versus Issued Policy versus the Epic application.

Procedural Audits

Procedural audits will help your agency determine if your staff are correctly following workflows. This type of audit can help you evaluate the accuracy of naming conventions, attachment placement, binders issued, policy checked, marketing module use, and more. It can also help you decide if additional training is needed or if changes to your workflows are necessary. If you find that a workflow is consistently not followed, auditing can gauge whether the issue is with the workflow itself or if additional staff training is required. Procedural audits must be manually conducted as you cannot capture this type of information through just running reports.

If you are interested in implementing auditing practices, there are a few procedures that should be in place before you can get started. First, if you already have standardized workflows in place, make sure that appropriate training is provided to your employees. Next, create a plan of action for the results of your audits – what will you do with that information when you have it? As mentioned previously, auditing can be useful for data integrity purposes, workflow changes, additional training, and employee reviews. To get the most value from the data collected, you need to have established a plan for how you will use the results. Finally, determine which type of audit makes the most sense to implement for your agency. You can choose between reports, data, or procedural audits, or incorporate all three for best results.

When considering implementing auditing in your agency, it is also important to determine if you have the resources and expertise to conduct the work internally or if it makes sense to engage an external source. It is often more efficient for an agency to outsource auditing services as it’s one less task assigned to someone’s already full workload. The added benefit of outsourcing auditing is that it eliminates the possible conflicts that could result when you have agency staff auditing their own or other employees’ work.

If you are ready to enhance your agency’s performance in Applied Epic through auditing, Kite Technology’s Agency Consulting Division is here to help. Our experienced consultants understand that every agency is unique, and we will help you develop a tailored plan that best addresses your agency’s needs. Contact us today to learn more.

Tips and Tricks for Improving Reporting in Applied Epic

August 6, 2020 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

Applied Epic’s advanced customization can be tricky for the everyday user to put into practice. Especially when you don’t have the time to sit through a training course to take a deep dive into all the possibilities Epic has to offer. Couple that with the fact that Applied Epic is updated yearly to incorporate improved functionality, integrations and expanded capabilities that users need to learn.

That’s why we put together these tips to help improve your reporting processes and provide you with some practical tools to make work easier. Read through the tips below and, if you’d like to get some more support or training, reach out to our expert insurance consultants.

Our Top Tips for a Greater Understanding of Applied Epic Reports

A greater understanding of Applied Epic Reports leads to a more organized and efficient workflow to help your business grow. Here are our top tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your system.

My Reports and Main Reports

With the number of report customizations available in Applied Epic, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Start with understanding the Main Reports sections.

The Main Reports section contains all the default reports. Each section of these default reports pulls from a different set of data fields in Epic, and those data fields cannot be combined. For example, you can’t get information from a Transaction to show up on an Activity report, because Transaction data fields are separate from Activity data fields.

When you’re ready to work with one of the Main Reports, always copy to the My Reports section first before making modifications to ensure the default reports are kept intact. Once you’ve customized a report for the agency, you can place a copy in the Main Reports section so anyone with reports access can run that report. You may have an expiration report that should be set up for all account managers. By placing a copy in the Main Reports section, others can access that when you have a new employee and set it up to be delivered to them. Just be sure to label your reports and add a description whenever you build a new custom report, so you never forget how it should be used.

Criteria and Layout in Epic Reports

It’s important to remember the difference between criteria and layout when examining reports.

Criteria are how you can filter the information you want to appear in the report.

Layout is the data fields and sort that are included in the final report.

You may want to filter a report by Producer. In that case, you can add the criteria to a report and the report will run just for that one producer. However, if you don’t add Producer as a field on the Layout, you won’t see the producer name/code listed on the report. There are also several shortcuts in Layout you can use to avoid moving sections manually. Just highlight one section and use the Shift or CTRL key to highlight any others you want to include. Then use the tools at the top for alignment, resizing, and spacing.

Every layout field is format-table, and you can change font, color and alignment to keep your page organized. You can also use Major Sort for your primary sorting option and grouping. For example, Book of Business by CSR > Major Sort by Servicing Role 1. Minor Sort is for additional sorting options like the Lookup Code for alphabetical order of accounts. Once you’re done, add a label and update the title of the report so you can use it again.

Delivery Options

There are various delivery options for Applied Epic reports. Get to know them so you can be sure you’re using the best option to meet your needs. You have options to generate reports via print, email, pdf, Excel, and csv.

You can also easily schedule reports to be delivered to others via email. Any time you are running a report on a regular basis, you should set it up to be delivered automatically to save time and increase efficiency. You can also copy the report straight into another user’s My Reports page or deliver the report as a Quick View. Just remember to give access to My Reports in the user’s Security Group so they have permission to use that area of Epic.

Want to Learn More about Applied Epic?

To ensure that Epic is working exactly the way you need it, schedule a free consultation with a member of Kite Technology’s expert consulting team. We’ll review how you’re currently using the system and provide immediate feedback on ways to improve your performance. We can help you make the most of Applied Epic’s robust reporting features. Get in touch with us today to schedule your free consultation

Optimizing Your Agency’s Use of SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams

July 23, 2020 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

You are probably already familiar with and using Microsoft Office applications like Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but what about SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams? Have you explored how useful these applications can be to your insurance agency? They each provide valuable features that can improve your agency’s efficiency and modernize how you manage your documents and collaborate with your colleagues. We’re going to review how agencies can take advantage of the many features within SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams to improve collaboration and maximize productivity.

SharePoint can also be an incredibly helpful tool when used for document management. It allows you to store, edit, and collaborate on documents from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, all within one place. Have you ever asked for a report and received three different versions? SharePoint enables teams to work more effectively by focusing their time on developing great content, rather than wasting time figuring out who has the latest version. Your agency staff can save time by:

Grouping documents in Folders and Sub-folders to improve organization and ease of finding information
Emailing documents directly from SharePoint
Editing and collaborating on the same document simultaneously.

Last but not least, SharePoint has enhanced security features, allowing you to control who can read or edit specific documents.

OneDrive – Safer Than Saving to Your Computer

Maybe you are working on a document or project that you are not quite ready to share or distribute. We've all had it drilled into our heads to save your work frequently; however, only saving it to your Desktop or My Documents is not the most efficient, and you are taking a gamble on the safety of that file. Computers are great until they stop working, and they could decide to stop working at any time. If that occurs- what happens to that project you were working on? If you only saved it to your Desktop or My Documents, the odds of retrieving that file could be slim depending on the extent of the technical issue.

With OneDrive, you get personal cloud storage for all of your files, documents, and projects. By saving your work to OneDrive, you will always be able to retrieve it from any device, anywhere. Not only that but after initially saving your document, OneDrive will periodically save your progress automatically, so you no longer need to worry about remembering to hit Save.

Video Conferencing- Stay safe and reduce travel expenses by scheduling video conferencing calls for renewal meetings. Share files within that meeting to those in attendance and record the session for those unable to attend. You can even view and edit documents in real-time with clients or colleagues.
Chat Functionality- Send fewer emails and save time by texting quick questions to your colleagues via Chat. With as many emails as most of us receive throughout the day, why send more when you can just as easily type a quick chat message to that person instead? Even if they are not available at the time, they are more likely to see your notification on Teams first rather than your message in Outlook, where it can get lost among so many other emails.
Team Organization- Create a Team for each department to organize conversations and save time. For example, Commercial Lines does not need to see Personal Lines topics and vice-versa. Invite employees in those departments to their specific Team so that they will only see messages within their department.
Employee Engagement- Microsoft Teams doesn’t have to be all work and no play. With so many of us working remotely, being intentional about creating opportunities for positive employee engagement is more critical than ever if you want a thriving culture. Create a ‘Fun’ Channel in Teams as a place for your employees to plan, chat, and participate in fun activities. Ideas for your Fun Channel can be anything from Fitness Challenges to Book Clubs to Recipe Sharing – make it something fun that can be an outlet for your employees in-between or after those long workdays.

These are just a few of the ways your agency can take advantage of features within SharePoint, OneDrive & Teams to modernize document management, improve collaboration with colleagues and clients, and maintain a healthy culture. At Kite Technology, we take pride in helping our clients get the most from their technology investment so they can operate more effectively. To learn more about our insurance focused Managed IT and Consulting Services, please visit our website or contact us to schedule a complimentary consultation.

How to Leverage SharePoint in a Modern Insurance Agency

July 2, 2020 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

Many agencies we work with have questions about how to use SharePoint and their agency management system together to increase efficiency.

For example, during a recent technical review with a new independent insurance agency client, we uncovered some surprising confusion and redundancy. In a positive step, the agency’s previous Managed Service Provider (MSP) had migrated their on-premise file server to SharePoint. However, by doing it haphazardly, they lost the opportunity to:

Organize the data
Avoid duplication with files in their agency management system
Take advantage of SharePoint’s numerous storage and collaboration features

Unfortunately, that agency’s experience in moving their file server contents to SharePoint was akin to packing everything from your old house into one large box, then trying to restore the contents to the appropriate rooms at the new house.

We were happy to be able to reorganize their SharePoint data after the fact, but we want to share the lessons learned with other agencies about integration between their agency management system and SharePoint.

5 Lessons for Helping Agencies Improve Collaboration

Lesson 1: Know What Goes in SharePoint vs. Your Agency Management System

Your agency management system will always be the secure and appropriate repository for all insured entity-specific documents such as commission statements and carrier agreements. On the other hand, SharePoint is an ideal and complementary repository for all other documents that don’t specifically reference an insured entity. These document types include:

Forms, templates, and applications
Policy documents and workflow manuals
HR documentation, financial data, and marketing collateral

In addition to providing file storage, SharePoint integrates with all the essential Microsoft productivity apps and provides a secure, user-friendly portal for accessing files and collaborating.

The division of files and data between your agency management system and SharePoint[GD2] can be confusing and nuanced. Here at Kite, we know SharePoint, agency management systems, and the insurance compliance framework allowing you to leverage our knowledge to capitalize on the benefits and features of both SharePoint and your agency management system.

Lesson 2: SharePoint and OneDrive Work Together but Have Different Uses

SharePoint is a robust file storage and collaboration suite that brings together numerous productivity apps, including Word, Excel, and other Microsoft staples. OneDrive is one of these apps, and many users are understandably confused about the difference between OneDrive and SharePoint.

In the simplest terms, OneDrive is intended for individual users to store documents in the cloud. While SharePoint is a comprehensive storage and collaboration platform for multiple users.

For example, while an individual employee is in the process of drafting a new policy document, that document would reside in a OneDrive folder which is stored as identical copies on their device and in the OneDrive cloud. OneDrive enables the user to sync the document across multiple devices and share the draft document with others, even to the point of extending read-only and read-write permissions to various users.

That’s about where the collaboration features of OneDrive end. Once the document is ready to be deployed across a broader audience, such as a project team, department, or the entire organization, the wide-ranging functionality of SharePoint takes over.

Lesson 3: SharePoint Puts Collaboration Tools at Your Fingertips

In a recent teleconference with a new client, a project manager asked his teammates on the call to retrieve a particular checklist. Among the 5 attendees, 3 retrieved old versions of the checklist, and 1 claimed not to have access to it. SharePoint solves this problem and does much more.

Storage, Collaboration, and Communication

SharePoint is a cloud-based storage platform that provides all users access, at the same time, with version-tracking so users can see who made which changes to the files and when. This means every team member is always up-to-date and able to collaborate effectively. SharePoint also takes you way beyond the conventional file-cabinet-like collection of folders and subfolders. It organizes your documents within a secure, user-friendly portal that features personalized news bulletins and notifications allowing you to communicate efficiently with your team members.

Lesson 4: Make a Plan Before Migrating to SharePoint

Your business can deploy SharePoint in a variety of ways, but the keys to success are planning, preparing, and getting the support of a knowledgeable MSP partner. Here are three common approaches our clients follow:

Maintain the traditional desktop experience for your employees while migrating documents to OneDrive and SharePoint using the OneDrive desktop app to sync and update files on the cloud.
Select one department or a small group of users to migrate their documents to OneDrive and SharePoint. Then expand the adoption incrementally to other departments or teams. This approach leverages the desktop sync app and the mobile and web versions of OneDrive and SharePoint.
Adopt SharePoint and OneDrive across the entire agency all at once. This approach is successful after you’ve developed a comprehensive strategy. The outcome is that the agency fully leverages the desktop sync app and both the mobile and web versions of OneDrive and SharePoint.

Remember that one box packed with all of your household goods for moving? The SharePoint migration approach you choose is a lot like how you decide to pack the things from your old house to move into a new one. There are a variety of ways to do it, and the best choice is the one that helps you feel organized and in control. What you certainly don’t want to do is wait until the last minute and throw everything together into one big box without labels, dividers, or bubble wrap.

Lesson 5: Get Migration Support from Trusted Experts

Making a transition always seems daunting at first, but, in the case of SharePoint, you’ll improve your collaboration and productivity with the right support and training. We have a library of onboarding and skills-development trainings – including both webinars and instructional videos. We also have a wide variety of additional media and methods which incorporate more advanced, personalized training that corresponds to your unique needs and SharePoint adoption strategy.

The way to determine which approach is right for your agency is to engage with a trusted, experienced MSP that works with independent insurance agencies and gets to know the details of your specific agency, workflow, and employees.

If you are interested in more information, a personalized consultation, or are raring to get started, drop us a line by email or call 855-290-5483. We’ll get you the answers, solutions, and support you need.

What’s New with Applied Epic 2020?

June 10, 2020 by Kellie Uhlhorn Leave a Comment

With the new release of Applied Epic 2020 coming your way soon, there are a multitude of new features and improvements that will better optimize your performance and make daily navigation through Applied Epic more seamless and efficient. Here are just a few features you can expect with the new update:

1. Contact clients directly from your home screen

Contact Name and Contact Via will now be Select Columns options, which populate contact information associated with an Activity or Opportunity. If a client’s preferred method of contact is Email or SMS a hyperlink will show up in that column, which you can click on and get in touch with that client all from your Home Screen.

2. Apply address changes to multiple areas of a client’s account

Another great feature with the new release will be the ability to apply address changes to multiple areas of a client’s account. A new Apply Address to Other Items button will now be an option on the client and contact detail screens, allowing you to copy an address over to different areas of an account. This will come with a new system event – @ADC – as well as an Excel Spreadsheet that will attach to the client account so you can track and confirm these changes.

3. Improved protection of client credit card information

With data security being of utmost importance now more than ever, Applied Epic is making sure client information is even more protected by removing the ability to enter or store credit card information. This will include all credit card information previously stored and payment authorization screens in policy application detail will no longer show this data.

These are some of the many great updates and additions that will be a part of the 2020 release – be sure to check back with us next month for more highlights and tips that will better improve your agency’s productivity and performance within Applied Epic.

Kellie Uhlhorn

Aged Outstanding Current Balances Report

Balancing Current Premium Payables

Balancing Producer/Broker Payables

Commission Tracking Report

Direct Bill Report

Earned Commissions Report

Conclusion

Kellie Halfpap

Buffy Johnson

Check out the other articles in our Applied Epic Report Series:

Expiration Report

New Business – Multi Layouts*

Policies With No Transactions

Retention Report – Multi Layouts*

Verify Policy Commissions- Premium Payable Agreements & Producer/Broker Agreements

Kellie Halfpap

Check out the other articles in our Applied Epic Report Series:

*Audit Workflow – Expired Policies, Not Renewed*

Audit Data – AB policies with 0% Agency Commission*& Audit Data & DB policies with 0% Agency Commission*

Audit Data – Policies with Blank Pr/Br*

*Audit Workflow – Policies with In Process SSRs* & Audit Workflow – Policies with Submitted SSR’s*

Book of Business – Line Book & Book of Business – Policy Book

Binder Reports

Conclusion

Kellie Halfpap

Check out the other articles in our Applied Epic Report Series:

Balance Sheet

General Ledger Register

Income Statement

Status of Accounts

Conclusion

Kellie Halfpap

Check out the other articles in our Applied Epic Report Series:

Audit - Current Clients With Blank Primary Contact Emails*

CSR Usage - Attachments Accessed*

Company Commission Agreements & Producer/Broker Commission Agreements

Current Clients, All Contacts - Multi Layouts*

Current Clients, Primary Contacts - Multi Layouts*

Active Accounts With No Active Policies

Kellie Halfpap

Check out the other articles in our Applied Epic Report Series:

Enter Receipts for Commissions Received

Recording Direct Bill Commissions

Kellie Halfpap

RECONCILE PREMIUM PAYABLES

RECONCILE MANUALLY REVERSED AGENCY BILL TRANSACTIONS

PREMIUM FINANCING IN EPIC

REPORTS FOR PREMIUM PAYABLES

Kellie Halfpap

1. Write Out a Daily To-Do List

2. Check Email, Voicemail and Your Epic Home Screen

3. Schedule Your Time and Set Reasonable Timeframes

4. Work Efficiently in Epic

5. Give Yourself Breaks

Kellie Halfpap

Perform an Epic “Fresh Start” Cleanup

Set up Your Bank Accounts and Enter Opening Balances

Determine Who Will Transact on Account and Who Will Access General Ledger

Run Reports to Find Gaps in Data

Turn on Download and Set up Mapping Files

Kellie Halfpap

1. Expanded Email Templates

2. EZLynx – Applied Merger

3. Indio Submission Activities

4. Applied Epic Benefits

5. Expanded Sales Automation

Kellie Uhlhorn

1. Create or Update your Applied Epic Workflows

2. Custom Reports Management

3. Employee Training

4. Epic Migration and Optimization Assistance

5. Accounting Assistance

5. Applied Epic Integrations

CSR24 & Applied MobileInsured

eSignature Solutions

Run Expiration Reports

Employee Performance Reviews

Clean-up Outstanding Balances and Premium Payables

System Clean-Up and Workflow Review

Audit Workflow – Expired Policies, Not Renewed

Audit Data – AB policies with 0% Agency Commission& Audit Data & DB policies with 0% Agency Commission

***Audit Workflow – Policies with In Process SSRs* & Audit Workflow – Policies with Submitted SSR’s***