Courtesy and non-Trust Transactions

Courtesy or non-trust transactions are either created outside the accounting workflow using ACORD forms, or by using accounting line items that are not associated with any bank account, such as the default "Insured Payment Direct to Company" item for receipts.

Whether created via the invoice ACORD form or via accounting workflows, these transactions do not affect the customer's balance, and they are not included in the list of trust accounting transactions on the client or in trust accounting reporting. Courtesy invoices and receipts are non-functional reminders and only exist as PDF attachments on the client once created.

If your agency has a need to report on courtesy transactions, you may want to create an activity tag that users can select when creating log notes at the end of the workflow. This will enable you to run activity reports based on that tag to quickly see when, and for which clients and policies courtesy transactions have been created.

This is HawkSoft's recommended workflow for creating courtesy invoices, as it ensures users do not accidentally create balance-affecting invoices when they mean to create a courtesy invoice.

Required permissions

In order to complete this task, user permissions must be set to include:

Client Actions > Action Menu
Client Access > Client and Customer Types appropriate to the client you are creating the invoice for

See User Permissions for more information.

1. Retrieve a client, and then select the policy you are creating the invoice for.
2. Click Action, and then select one item in each of the first three lists to describe what prompted this transaction.

3. Select ACORD Forms.

   The Edit – ACORD Forms dialog opens.

4. Click New.

   The Select Form dialog opens.

5. Enter Invoice in the Search field, select the Invoice form, and then click the Create button.

   If you do not see the Invoice form, click the Category drop down, and then select (All Forms).

   The HawkSoft FormWriter window opens with a new Invoice form

   The agency mailing information floods from your agency settings.

   The Bill To: field defaults to the customer.

6. Conditional: If your agency uses invoice numbers for courtesy invoices, enter an Invoice #.

7. Conditional: If you are backdating or post dating the invoice, update the Invoice Date field.

8. Enter a Due Date.

9. Enter the Policy Type in the first line item.

10. Verify the Company name is correct.

    The Company name floods from the selected policy.

11. Verify the Policy Number, and then enter the Amount due for the first line item.
12. Itemize any additional line items as needed.
13. Enter the combined amount due from all line items into the Sub Total field.
14. Enter the total amount of Sales Tax and Fees due (such as agency fees or broker fees), if applicable.

15. Enter the combined amount due from the Sub Total, Sales Tax, and Fees fields into the Total field.

    The Total field is not automatically calculated based on the invoice. You need to calculate the total manually.

    By default, HawkSoft populates the Total field with the total premiums on the coverages from the policy, not including fees entered for an Auto policy.

16. Optional: Enter comments in the unlabeled fields, as needed.

    If invoicing to escrow, you can enter the required mortgagee clause.

17. Click Print/Send/Attach.

    The Print or Send Document dialog opens.

    This dialog enables you to email, print, and attach the invoice, as well as send the invoice for signature.

    Print or Send Document options

    The following options can be applied to your document before you email, print, send for signature, or attach.

    You can use the Back button at the bottom of the dialog to return to your form if additional changes are needed.
    Example: You can perform any action, such as attach the form, and then go back and modify the form and attach the modified copy as well.
    

    Apply Agent Signature on Action

    HawkSoft enables you to select an electronic signature from the Apply Agent Signature on Action drop-down list to add to forms that have an Agent or Producer Signature field.

    You must have a signature stored in your HawkSoft profile to use this feature. See My Account Information and Signature to add a signature to HawkSoft.

    In addition to your own, signatures for other users are available from the drop-down list if they have been shared with you.
    See My Account Information and Signature for more information.

    Page Range

    Select the specific pages to be included with any of the actions selected below. For example, if a page of the form has exclusions that don't pertain to your state, you can remove that page before sending or printing the form.

    Click to see your signature or to verify that you have selected the correct pages.

    Attach a copy of the document to the client file on action below

    Select this check box before emailing, printing, or sending the document for signature, and if you want to attach a copy of the document to the client/policy Attachments tab when you are done performing actions.

     HawkSoft recommends attaching a copy to the client/policy Attachments tab.

     Click to open the Edit Attachment Properties dialog to assign a task, modify the Description, as well as other modify attachment details, as needed.

    Available Actions

    Select any or all of the actions below, as needed. You can select each action in any order. After each action, you will return to the dialog to perform additional options.

    A ✓ check mark appears on each action button when completed.

    Send Email – The Email Recipients dialog opens. Select the recipients that you want to send the document to. See Email Overview for detailed instructions.

    A copy of the email, containing the attached document, is saved to the client/policy Attachments list if the Auto Attach Sent Emails setting in General Settings is checked.

    See User Email Setup to configure HawkSoft to send emails through your email provider.

    Print Copy – The Print dialog opens. Select printing options, and then click Print.

    Send for E-Signature – The Send Document for E-Signature dialog opens. Add signers and email addresses, select a template or enter a message, and drag and drop additional documents to send for signature as needed.

    See E-Signature Overview to set up integration between HawkSoft and your e-Signature provider.

    Attach Copy – The document is saved and attached to the selected client/policy Attachments tab.

    If the Attach a copy of the document to the client file on action below option was selected before performing any of the above actions, a green checkmark indicates that the document has already been attached to the client/policy.

18. Click Finish and Close when you are done performing Print/Send actions.

19. Click OK to close the Edit - ACORD Forms dialog.

    The Action menu opens.

20. Click Finish.

    The Finalize Log dialog opens.

21. Add log comments and create a Task as needed, and then click Save Log.

    Your courtesy invoice is attached to the log note.

    See Email Overview to learn how to send this invoice to a client via email through HawkSoft.

Courtesy receipts are similar to courtesy invoices in that they do not affect customer balances or trust accounting reporting, and they use a line item that is not associated with a bank account.

Courtesy receipts are most often used when facilitating a customer payment for which your agency will not hold any funds, such as making a payment in-office using a customer's credit card on the carrier's website.

Required permissions

In order to complete this task, user permissions must be set to include:

Client Actions > Action Menu
Accounting > Enable Client Trust Accounting
Accounting > Enable Payment Creation

See User Permissions for more information.

1. Retrieve the client, and then select the policy you are recording payment for.

2. Click Action, and then select one item in each of the first three lists to describe what prompted this transaction.

3. Click Trust Accounting > Create Payment.

   The Payment dialog opens.

   Depending on existing transactions in the client, HawkSoft may present an Unapplied Credits dialog first. Do not select any credits if prompted. Click Skip to continue.

   If a Search Agents box is visible at the top, the appropriate user initials must be selected. This box appears only if Show Agenct Field on New Payment is selected when configuring Trust Accounting Settings and is used to track fees that are to be split with an agent.

4. Select the "Insured Payment Direct to Company" Invoice Item from the drop-down list.

   If your agency is missing this item, an admin or manager can recreate it in the Line Item Templates list. See Trust Accounting Agency Settings for instructions and item details.

5. Verify the information in the Policy column.

   The Policy defaults to the policy you selected prior to selecting your Action items.

6. Enter the gross amount due in the Amount to Apply column.

7. In the Payment Items section:

   1. Select the Pay Method(s) from the drop-down list.

   2. If applicable: enter the Check or Reference number.

   3. Confirm or modify the Amount Tendered is the amount the insured is paying.

   4. Optional: Enter a message in the Printed Comment field to appear on the generated customer receipt.

   5. Optional: Enter an internal Internal Note.

      This does not appear on the customer receipt but will become part of the documentation in the client.

8. Click Save Payment and Exit button when you have completed the payment.

   The Create Payment Saved dialog opens.

9. Click Close Window.

   The payment is now documented in a courtesy receipt attached to the log note and the Attachments tab of the selected policy. The customer balance is not affected, and the payment is not listed in the trust accounting transaction list on the client/policy, nor in trust accounting reporting.

10. Click Finish in the Action Menu.

    The Finalize Log dialog opens.

11. Complete the rest of the log note, and add any task(s) as desired.

    See Creating a Log Notefor more information, and see Creating a Task for steps on creating tasks.

12. Click Save Log.

The courtesy receipt is attached to the client/policy and log note. Customer balances and trust accounting reporting are not affected. For information on accessing and working with the newly attached courtesy receipt, see Attachments Overview.