Book of Business Report: A How-To Guide for Running this Essential Applied Epic Report
- March 18, 2024
A major advantage of having an agency management system like Applied Epic is that you can wield reports for evaluation, decision making, identifying problems, and much more. One of the most powerful tools in your arsenal is the Book of Business report.
However, a lot of agencies we meet struggle with matching the data generated from this report with what they know to be true about their business. This is typically for two reasons: the report criteria are set incorrectly and data is missing and/or incorrect.
To squeeze the most out of this report, let’s dig into the Book of Business report process: from which reports and criteria to run, to evaluating the output data.
Which Book of Business Report Should You Run?
Your first step is to decide which Book of Business report to run. In the last 3 years, Applied developed a new Report Pack that included several options for layouts. My preference is the Book of Business – Billed/Est – Multi Layout, which is located in the Policy section of Reports/Marketing.
This report comes with several pre-configured Layouts, both Summary and Detail versions. Check or uncheck the Print box at the bottom of the Layouts portion of the open report. Out of the box, the Book of Business report comes with major groupings by ICO, PPE, Pol Type, Dept, Producer, First Producer, and Branch. These layouts are easy to copy (Actions > Copy Layout to). They are also straightforward to update to create a version that is grouped by Account Manager or Profit Center.
(Side note: If you want a refresher on some of the key terms in Applied Epic, we created a glossary you can reference.)
Considerations for Criteria
As for the criteria on the report, decide what you are looking for. Do you need policies written over the last year, whether or not they have already expired? Or do you instead need everything in force today? I prefer the latter since it gives a nice overall snapshot of what’s going on in your agency.
The best way to answer the question, “What is in force today?” is to use the Policy Expiration Date = Open – Today and Policy Effective Date = Tomorrow – Open. From there, consider what other criteria you may need. For example, you may only want active policy statuses (NEW, REN, REW). Sometimes, I include REI and SYN if I think an agency is not keeping its data clean (Important Note: these should always be updated back to NEW, REN, REW so your New Business report is not skewed).
Layouts for Your Reports
When running the Book of Business report, I typically select the Summary by PPE, Dept, and Producer, then add the Account Manager view. For a Detail layout, I select the Detail by Branch or by Producer or Account Manager.
The Summary by PPE quickly identifies any carriers that have more than one code being used as the Billing Company (look for Travelers, Progressive, etc). This layout can also be used to compare Billed and Estimated premium and commission to see if there are missing commission payments.
The Summary by Producer and Account Manager gives a quick look at the volume your staff is handling and will also show if you have policies not assigned. The Detail version of these reports will identify the individual policy errors.
Evaluating Your Data
Once you run the report, take a look at the different layouts, paying special attention to the Detail. If your agency totals don’t match what you expect, you will need to determine if your report is missing data. The Book of Business report runs based on Policy level Estimated and Billed Premium and Commission. If the policy downloads, the download should be updating estimated premium on the policy and line level. If the policy does not download, servicing staff should be manually entering it.
Epic has a built-in Commission/Premium Calculation tool that can be scheduled to run each day. If estimated premium and line commission percent are entered on the line level, the utility will calculate estimated commission and roll it up to the policy level for you.
Always make sure servicing staff enter the agency commission percent. Even better: enter company commission agreements so that your servicing staff only needs to check a box.
Identifying Errors by Opening the Monster Book of Business Report in Excel
If you’re familiar with Excel, download your monstrously big Book of Business report there. Once opened in Excel, you can add filters to look for data errors or create Pivot Tables to summarize.
When using this file for data cleaning, add in quoting statuses and remove the effective date to see your renewals. You can add data to the Detail layout (it doesn’t have to line up or be pretty, just put it in the Details section). Add Service Summary fields to catch SSR’s that are still In Process or Submitted or find policies that have been cancelled but still have an active policy status. Add Servicing roles to find blanks or former employees.
Harnessing the Book of Business Report for Agency Insights
Using the Book of Business report enhances many aspects of running your agency, including evaluation, decision making, identifying problems. The more comfortable you become with running this particular report, the greater your agency insights will become.
If you need more assistance with your Book of Business report or any other reports, be sure to check out our Applied Epic resources on our website and our YouTube channel. We have blogs, prerecorded webinars, and Consulting Corner webisodes available. We also offer Consulting Services, so schedule a time to talk with us!
Jenny Honican
Agency Consultant
Kite Technology Group
