Managing invoicing and accounting workflows across insurance policies can be challenging, but with the right settings in place, there are ways for Applied users to simplify the process.
From configuring how invoices are generated to handling surplus lines taxes and fees, and improving accuracy with split receivables and multi-payables, flexible solutions can support real-world agency needs.
We spoke with Brenda Nevil, assistant vice president and program manager, IT, for Alliant Insurance Services, Inc., following her session at Applied Net 2025, to learn how to streamline operations and reduce manual effort for staff.
What invoicing challenges were addressed in the session that commonly impact front office staff?
During our time at Applied Net, the invoicing session received questions from the conference app’s Q&A functionality. There were 10 questions on several varied and important topics impacting transacting in Applied Epic. Detailed instructions were included in the session handout for most of these topics.
- Direct placement with a non-admitted market.
- Activating multiple payables.
- Annualized premium on agency bill.
- Transaction reporting criteria.
- Amending Pr/Br Commission tab on transaction.
- Difference between transaction add icon at top and bottom of screen.
- Asking for a best practice regarding which departments typically create transactions.
- Predefined invoice messages.
- Dummy invoicing.
- Epic Thin Client vs Epic Browser.
How does Applied Epic simplify invoicing across multiple policies?
When an account is added to Epic, staff can configure how invoices will generate by default, either by policy, client or item.
Multiple transactions can be created before staff complete the second part of the process and generate an invoice.
If transactions are on multiple policies and you have set up the system to generate transactions by policy, individual PDF copies of the invoice will be created by policy.
If multiple transactions were created on a single policy before generating an invoice, one invoice would be created, showing more than one transaction.
If invoices were generated by client, and if multiple transactions were created before generating an invoice, this would create one PDF invoice. Surety may have one project with multiple bonds and find this helpful to generate one invoice covering multiple bonds for the client.
What are the best practices for surplus lines taxes and fees?
Invoicing surplus lines taxes and fees when included in a quote from a wholesaler, where they are responsible for paying the government entity(ies) and processing the paperwork, is straightforward. Other than creating Surplus Lines Tax and Fee Transaction codes where the Payee (PPE) will default to the Wholesaler no additional configuration is required when another party is responsible for paying Taxes and Fees to the Government Entities and submitting paperwork.
If your agency is placing business directly with a non-admitted carrier where you will be responsible for calculating and collecting Surplus Lines Taxes and/or Fees and processing paperwork there are configuration steps your agency will need to complete. These Surplus Lines Tax and Fee transaction codes will be different than the codes you use when you invoice taxes and fees when someone else, like the Wholesaler, is responsible for processing and the Payee (PPE) will be the state-specific Government Entity Vendor that needs to be configured. Government entity vendors need to be added for the various states where the tax and fee percentages can be configured and automatically populated when invoicing. The process for invoicing the surplus lines taxes and fees is different (using the Generate Tax/Fee option in the transaction screen) where the unique tax and fee codes are presented.
For either scenario it’s important to remember that the clock starts ticking for getting the paperwork filed and fees paid as soon as coverage is bound.
How does splitting receivables and multi-payables improve accuracy?
For split receivables, if staff have an insured that wants to allocate premium to various entities, staff could create a dummy invoice from an Excel spreadsheet where they have allocated premium by entity and then invoice the full premium in Epic. This approach is flawed since you cannot tell immediately which entity has paid their portion of the premium and which has not.
Using the split receivable template functionality allows staff to set up various entities and the amounts they will pay. When the template is imported while creating a transaction, Epic will create a separate receivable for each entity by name showing how much they owe.
When monies are posted, Epic will show who has paid and who has not. It also automatically creates one payable to the insurance company. This approach saves time where staff would otherwise be required to manually check in Epic for who has paid.
For multiple payables, when staff write a quota share policy (multiple carriers sharing the risk in one policy), instead of entering multiple insurance policies in Epic, staff can activate the multi-payable option on their policy. They can set it up behind-the-scenes to show (1) each carrier, (2) their policy number, (3) commission percentage and (4) premium amount. Visually in Epic, users only see one policy, but accounting will see each carrier and their amounts for payment.
What is one thing you hope attendees took away from your session?
Accounting functions for front office staff who are generally creating transactions can seem daunting. By understanding configuration objects and learning how to create various transactions, my intent was to take the mystery out of creating transactions.