Insurance agency accounting may not be at the top of your mind. But it’s still taking up your time – 40% of small business owners in 2015 spent 80+ hours a year managing accounting tasks.
Is your agency accounting giving you a migraine or at least a mild headache? Consider the benefits of switching to an integrated system. An integrated accounting system syncs accounting with your insurance agency management system, creating one cohesive operation. With the right system, you end up saving time and money while improving your reporting.
Read more about integrated systems in Working Together: The Power of Integrated Systems
Benefits of Integrated Accounting
The benefits of integrating accounting with your agency management system include:
Save Time
Integrated accounting cuts keystrokes, improves operations and delivers real time financial information. It eliminates time wasted switching between two systems, entering the same information twice. And once you set invoice and payment schedules, they update themselves as information changes within your agency management system. After switching to integrated accounting, one agency cut accounting time from 30 to three hours per month, saving hundreds of hours a year.
Improve Reporting
Imagine setting up reports once and never thinking about them again. Such immediate integration reduces the chances of human error, relieving E & O stresses. And, taxes are easier with integrated accounting: simply run the necessary reports and hand them off to your CPA or tax accountant.
Integrated accounting centralizes information for better customer service, too. Each individual’s financial history shows alongside their other agency interactions for a complete picture.
Agency and producer commission templates can be created with an integrated system, automatically calculating commissions due to the agency and producer. Templates can segment producer payments by new business or renewal.
Reduce Expenses
Integrated accounting is perfect for the resource-constrained independent insurance agency: it’s less cost with more capabilities. Adding accounting to your current agency management system is cheaper than purchasing and paying for two systems. Plus, integrated accounting aids in another money-saving effort: going paperless.
What to Look For
Not all integrated accounting systems are created equal. To gain maximum benefits, look for a system with:
Key reporting templates include:
- Producer reports
- Balance sheet
- Income statement
- Expense report
- Aged accounts receivable report
- Branch reports
- Direct bill commission download
- Multi-level commissions splits
- Budgeting features, including payroll options
- Tax templates, including withholding for federal, state, and city
- Branch, division, and department segmentation
- Diverse reporting templates
A final must-have is a provider that listens and adapts to your agency’s needs. SIS is that provider. Our recent 2016 Partner XE agency management system update was 100% customer-driven and we continue to hold client workgroups to hear first-hand feedback. Check out our client stories to find out more or contact us at 800.747.7005.
Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Strategic Insurance Software (SIS) is the team behind Partner Platform — the agency management system that sets independent agents free from the status quo of over-paying and under-utilizing their agency software. “Partner” is more than a name – it’s who we are. For more information, please visit https://sispartnerplatform.com.