In the insurance industry, mastering accounting workflows in Applied Epic can significantly enhance operational efficiency and financial clarity. From streamlining premium payables to reconciling commissions and managing direct bill sweeps, Applied Epic offers powerful tools — if used correctly. By adopting smart accounting practices and leveraging system features effectively, agencies can reduce errors, save time and gain deeper insight into their financial performance. Here are 10 practical tips and tricks to help your team optimize accounting accuracy and consistency in Applied Epic.

1. Record Every Transaction

Every financial movement, whether income or expense, should be entered into Applied Epic. Enter all your bank accounts and agencies into Epic to ensure your financial data reflects the true state of your agency’s operations. If you enter only one account and use an outside program for another account, you won’t be able to see a full financial picture from Epic. You may also be entering expenses in bulk by entering a single entry for credit card expense instead of breaking down the statement and allocating to specific expense accounts. Breaking those expenses down more accurately provides detailed data for projection and budgeting. 

2. Document Payroll Accurately

Payroll entries, whether processed internally or through a third-party provider, must be recorded in Epic to guarantee payroll expenses are properly reflected in your financial statements. Be sure you understand how producer expenses are being posted. If producer commissions are configured to automatically post to GL, their earned commission is automatically debiting producer expense and crediting producer payable.

3. Reconcile Direct Bill Commissions

Download, import or record all direct bill commissions and associate them to the appropriate GL item and detail. This step ensures commissions are accurately reported as income and your earned commissions report will align with your income statement. Break down any charges in a commission receipt so the line you will associate with the reconciliation exactly matches the amount of the statement. When downloading a direct bill commission statement, download one batch at a time to check that all transactions have come over correctly. You can also associate your GL item before bringing transactions into the reconciliations area. By doing this, you can see the difference in the total of commissions and the total of the deposit. Don’t forget to attach all direct bill commission statements for reference and backup.

4. Manage Premium Payables Diligently

For agency-billed policies, it’s essential to invoice clients, record payments, reconcile payables and disburse funds to carriers. Each step must be tracked to maintain financial integrity. Every dollar that is paid or received in the premium payable general ledger account should be associated to a matching premium payable reconciliation. Not doing so will result in your premium payables being out of balance.

5. Track Direct Bill Sweeps

When acting as a pass-through for client payments to carriers, record these as premium advances. This keeps your premium bank account and accounts receivable in sync. When possible, use the client’s check to process the payment electronically on the carrier website to avoid passing funds through the agency.

6. Reconcile Producer and Broker Commissions

Confirm commissions owed to producers and brokers are calculated and paid accurately. This supports internal trust and ensures accurate expense reporting. Check that commission agreements are configured and applied to each policy for transactions to accurately reflect payable commission to the producer or broker. When a producer or broker earns commission based on the accounting methods configured in Epic you would be able to pull them into a Pr/Br reconciliation and reflect the commissions as paid, similar to processing a premium payable reconciliation.

7. Perform Monthly Bank Reconciliations

Regular bank reconciliations help catch discrepancies early and ensure your books align with your bank statements. You can reconcile throughout the month or choose to reconcile the entire bank account at the end of the month. Regardless, you should do this monthly to catch issues in a timely fashion.

8. Review Financial Reports Regularly

Use Epic’s built-in reports to monitor performance. Regular reviews help identify trends, catch errors and support strategic planning. The older the error is, the more difficult it becomes to find what went wrong and correct it in the future. Keep in mind that you should always generate month-end journal entries prior to running any general ledger-based reports. This will ensure that all transactions are accounted for in the report itself. If you have multiple months open, you will need to generate journal entries for each month from oldest to newest. For accurate financial reporting, close the months in a timely fashion.

9. Maintain a Clean Chart of Accounts

A well structured chart of accounts simplifies reporting and ensures consistency. Avoid duplications and ensure each account is used appropriately. Every time a company is added and configured as a billing company, Epic will generate sub accounts for each required account in the general ledger required accounts. Anytime a broker is added it will generate sub-accounts. The best way to maintain your chart of accounts sub-accounts is to make sure companies and brokers are added correctly and only configured as billing if they are truly a billing company. Premium payable entities must be cleaned up at the policy level before inactivating any required general ledger sub-accounts that have been generated by incorrect company or broker configuration.

10. Train Your Team

Even the best systems require knowledgeable users. Invest in training to ensure your team understands how to use Epic’s accounting features effectively. It’s important to understand how Epic accounting works in the background so you understand how your actions affect the big picture and financial data. The accounting team should also establish best practices for communication and documentation. Using activities for documentation and follow-up will ensure all information is maintained within Epic. Establish naming conventions for attachments and attach all documents in Epic to have supporting documentation easily accessible.

Why Financial Clarity Is Your Agency’s Competitive Edge

Accurate financial reporting in Applied Epic isn’t just about getting the numbers right. It's about what those numbers unlock for your agency. In my own experience working with agencies, I’ve seen firsthand how clarity in financial data leads to better decisions, stronger planning, and greater confidence at every level of the business. 

When your reporting is reliable and aligned with your goals, it becomes a powerful tool for both compliance and growth. You’re not left guessing where you stand or what move to make next. You’re equipped to lead with intention.