AgencyPro^TM

07/01/2023 10:18 AM PST

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What's New in Recent AgencyPro Updates

Export and Import Certificate Holders

Check out this video on our new Export/Import Holder feature that allows you to export your holder list to a CSV file, as well as import holders from a (properly formatted) CSV file into a certificate.

Automatic Signature

You can now set up a signature to be present on all forms by renaming the desired signature to ‘default.bmp’. See more at the end of our new Electronic Signatures tutorial!

Numerous bug fixes and minor program enhancements

There is no such thing as bug free software but we strive for it every single day!

VIN Lookup

You can now populate basic vehicle information listed in the National Transportation and Safety Administration database (information includes the year, make, model, body style) by clicking the lookup icon in the vehicle screen with an ACORD Form open. See the Vehicle Schedule tutorial for more information.

Added Licensed State to Family and Commercial Drivers

You will find that a Licensed State field has been added both to the Family Members and Commercial Drivers sections, both available from the Personal window or applicable ACORD forms.

Text from Client

Our texting features have now been expanded to include a Send a Text option available from the client screen. To utilize the system’s texting features check out the TechTalk videos on Setting up to Text and Setting up to Email.

Password Encryption

An extra layer of security has been added that encrypts all system password fields. This ensures that your password cannot be obtained outside the proper system decryption only available to the logged in user with the proper access. While this feature will not be apparent, it does require the proper registered DLL files. If you have applied this update and are receiving a Class not registered message follow these instructions to resolve.

Class not registered error fix

The Class not registered message may occur getting into the program, opening an email dialogue, or attempting to decrypt an encrypted field. This message is a result of an unregistered DLL file. Resolve this message by:

• Close the program (if it is open)
• Locate the Utiliites (for your product) folder on the Desktop
• If you do not have this folder on your Desktop browse to the location of your ASI program. You can do this easily by right-clicking your program icon and selecting ‘Open File Location’
• From within this folder open TechToolsv9.exe
• From the TechTools utility locate and choose the Register OCX/DLL files
• Click the blue button labeled ChilkatAx-9.5.0-win32.dll
• Close TechTools and rerun the program.

Prior Updates

Accordian Schedules

Our new Accordion Schedules is a feature for ACORD forms that have Vehicle, Driver, Equipment, Additional Interest, or Property databases attached to them. It automatically overrides what's on the screen with records that are marked to print, and prints as many pages as are needed - just like the Certificate Holder function. For example, if you have 20 vehicles marked to fill onto a Vehicle Schedule (which only accommodates 5 vehicles per page) you will get 4 pages when printing, emailing, or saving as PDF. Note that to print the form exactly as it looks on the screen, you must now unmark all the vehicles so that they don't override what's on the form.

Auto Mark Yes/No Answers

This new time saving feature will automatically populate Yes/No questions on ACORD forms to the default answer of 'No' upon adding a new ACORD form. By default the feature is on, but can be disabled by unchecking “Enable Auto Mark Y/N answers to ‘No’” in the Options menu of any new version ACORD form.

Text ticklers

You now have the option to Text tickler alarms to either the account Rep or the Client from the Calendar window. Simply configure the rep in the Employee screen to include email and cell phone information, then set and schedule an alarm as the type ‘Text Alert’ to have the program text the tickler to the chosen recipient(s). The program will then display a list of any cell phone numbers found for the selected customer, or account rep attached to the tickler.

Download Percent Change

Do you utilize our convenient download features? We have recently added a feature to the download that will compare your renewal premium to the summarized premium of the last term policy. So when you download a renewal of a policy already in the program the download will wrap up the prior term premium and report a percent change. Look for the updated Download Report – All Companies and the additional report, Download Report – Renewal Percent Change.

Certificate Holder Email Function Expanded

You can now customize the email going out to the selected certificate holders to include custom wording and even additional attachments.

Policy Premium Wrap-Up

Would you like to know the total premium of the term of the policy without adding up the premium from the policy and endorsements? This is now simple to see by opening any policy transaction and the total policy premium will report at the bottom of the policy window in the Gross Amount Due. This is just one of the ways the up and coming policy structure change will enhance the flow of the program.

Certificate Holder Moved to Better Fit Window Envelopes

We have worked to make adjustments to the information filled to the Certificate of Insurance (among other forms) to better fit the common #10 window envelope.

Receiving Payment against Multiple Policies

A new icon has appeared next to the old payment icon in the Client A/R. This new feature allows you to take a single payment and apply it against multiple policies. Simply allocate the payments toward the policies at the top, and record the payment details at the bottom, and the policy will do the rest. This window also allows you to hide the historic items that you would not wish to have payments applied on.

Bank Reconciliation Reporting

Next time you perform your bank reconciliation you will see our new Reconciliation Report, which reports beginning and ending balances, cleared and even uncleared transactions. Not only has the report been added, but the reconciliation process has been improved to enable reconciliation batches. This means that you can simply click on a reconciled item and recover a report (by clicking the Reconciled Report icon) showing all items in that reconciliation batch.

Search Text Features

The ability to search the text of notes (New Notes only) and the Title of your attached images has been added. Simply click the Search icon on either of these tabs to access this feature.

Append to Existing Note

Our notes are not editable for your E&O protection, however, we have recently added the ability to append to an existing note. Simply click in the body of an existing note, then click the Append to Existing Note icon (available only from the New Note style). A New Note box will appear, type your additional notation and click OK and this notation will be added to the bottom of the existing note.

Email Certificate Holders Directly

If you send certificates out directly to the holders, and utilize outgoing email through the program, then you are going to love this! You now have the option (in the new style forms) to add email addresses for your client’s certificate holders. When you mark the holders to print, a new option will appear to email holders directly. If the holder’s email address is missing, it will prompt you to enter it, then send the certificate for that holder to that holder….simple as that!

Coverages Report

The Coverages Report is a little-known feature that has been hiding in the Limits section of the policy for quite some time. This (newly designed) report compiles all of the information attached to the policy, such as limits, vehicles, properties, additional interest, etc. We have created a link to this coverages report on the policy tab; simply click on the desired policy, then click the printer icon at the top of the window to see all of the details for that policy. Note: With the addition of this feature we have disabled the Download View tab on the policy level (for those using Download Plus), as this is a more efficient method of reporting the policy details.

New Style Schedule Reports

We have a fresh design for our schedule reports, such as the Vehicle Report or Cert Holder List. The new style generates a PDF file, which can be easily saved and sent to the client. Simply access these reports from the schedule as always.

Reattach Download Records to Different Client

Have you ever attached a policy to the wrong client during download? Now you can click the paperclip icon in the suspense manager, find the mismatched records in the list, and reattach them to the correct client.

Prior Updates

AgencyPro 'HD' is Finally Here

A complete revamp of our graphical interface gives AgencyPro a modern, sleek appearance. New animated icons, selectable themes, crystal clear grids and user selectable fonts throughout the program provide the insurance industry's first customizable management system! We've also provided enhanced search functionality, a new sticky note, and the ability to customise the data labels on the Client screen. Look for the new 'Customize Program' icon (it looks like a gear) on the bottom right-hand portion of the AgencyPro program.

To view a brief tutorial of the new features click here.

Download E-Docs and Claims Directly from your Carriers

For our customers using our Download Plus Module - we are excited to announce the ability to download E-Docs (DEC sheets, notices of cancellation, and other PDF documents) directly from your carriers into our Images area. We also now download claims from select carriers. For a list of carriers who support these types of downloads, please see: https://www.agencysoftware.com/download-partners

Enhanced ACORD Forms

We have released over 500+ ACORD forms in a new PDF format which provides increased functionality and a cleaner look. Because of the radical difference between the two styles of forms, old versions will not prefill data onto the new versions – but all future forms will prefill between each other.

ASI Printer Version 10

A new version the ASI Printer provides more compatibility with Windows 8 and 10.

Crypto-Virus Resistance

We have rewritten our backup and restore routines to provide more protection against ‘ransomware’ type viruses. There are currently over 200 variations of this virus so we can’t prevent all of them from encrypting your data. But we have had great success restoring backups using our new routines.

Hundreds of Stability and ‘Under the Hood’ improvements

In the last 12 months, we have logged over 400 stability improvements, user suggestions, and tweaks to improve program performance and your agency software experience. We appreciate you as a customer!

Enhanced Commercial Lines Download

For our customers using our Download Plus Module, we have dramatically improved Commercial Lines Download. We now download full commercial policy images, including limits, drivers, vehicles, property locations, and additional interest schedules. Supported lines include Commercial Package, BOP, Business Auto, G/L, Property, Workers Comp, Commercial Umbrella, Crime, and Contractors Equipment Floater. For a current list of our certified commercial download partners, please see: https://www.agencysoftware.com/download-partners

Encrypted Client Social Security Numbers, DOB's and Drivers License Numbers

The Setup Tab now has the option to encrypt all of your client’s Social Security Numbers. This must be done by a user marked as a Supervisor within the program. The social security numbers will then only be show one at a time when you click the icon that looks like a lock next to the SSN field. Once your client’s SSN’s have been encrypted, the encryption cannot be reversed. This feature will greatly reduce your liability should your computers get stolen. We also have the option to encrypt all of your personally identifiable data with industry standard 128 bit encryption. To learn more about this please give us a call. It is strongly recommended that your agency consider using these security features, and Agency Software, Inc. accepts no liability should you decide not to use them.

Installment Grid

AgencyPro now provides the ability to change installment dates and amounts before committing changes to accounting. If you enter a policy with installments, you will be prompted with a new Installment Grid that will allow you to customize the installments before they are posted.

Custom Non-Premium Items

You can now make up your own customized non-premium items by clicking the icon that looks like gears while the non-premium grid is opened on an existing policy. These items automatically integrate with your agency accounting.

Writing Companies vs Brokers

The Setup Tab now provides the option to choose between using Writing Companies or Brokers on the Policy screen. The difference is that if you choose the Broker Option, and then add a Broker to a policy, the payables are then forwarded from the company to the broker when the accounting is generated – but the Company name is always stamped on the ACORD forms. If you choose the Writing Company option, then the accounting always goes to the Company – but the Writing Company is stamped on the ACORD forms.

Commission Grids

Under the Employees and Companies buttons on the Setup tab you now have the ability to enter default commission percentages for your reps and companies. These defaults will automatically prefill when you add a new policy, or download policy information from your carriers – thus greatly reducing your workload.

Emailing from Images

You can now email multiple images at the same time from the Images Tab. Simply hold your Ctrl key down while marking the images to send, then click the Email button (looks link an envelope). All of your marked image filenames will appear in the ‘Attach’ section of the email screen.

Additional Interest Database

AgencyPro now provides a database to store Additional Interests, and then prefill them to ACORD forms. Additional Interest are always attached to assets such as autos and property locations. They are not attached to policies. Therefore, you will find the Additional Interest icon on the Vehicle Detail or Property Detail screens. You will also see this icon on the Invoice screen. For the invoice, you can select from all Additional Interests listed for all of the customer’s assets. The selected Additional Interest’s information will then override the customer’s information for billing.

Numerous program enhancements and fixes

We have logged 493 programming enhancements and fixes over last year. We diligently listen to customer feedback to provide the best possible insurance agency software experience. We appreciate you as a customer!

Outlook Integration

You can now opt to send your emails directly through outlook instead of setting up your SMTP account information. Simply click the ‘Send Through Outlook’ checkbox on your email setup screen. Also, you can now import your Outlook contacts into Apro by first dragging your Outlook contacts out to the desktop, and then dragging them onto your open AgencyPro program.

Windows 8/10 Compatibility

All of our major programs have been rewritten for Windows 8/10 compatibility. Registry keys are now stored in HKEY_CURRENT_USER instead of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, the Agency Software Printer has been rewritten, and our programs now work with either UNC or mapped drive letter paths. Our programs now work better with User Account Controls enabled.

Report Options

You now have the option to change the font, print in landscape or portrait, add shaded lines, etc. on your reports – making them more attractive and easier to read.

Slider Bars

Look for new ‘Slider Bars’ on the Ledger, Images, and Calendar Tabs. These controls will turn grey when you wave your mouse over them. By dragging the Slider bars, you can control the size of the components on the screen to your liking– making them easier to see.

The ‘Today’ Screen

We are proud to announce the new Agency Software ‘Today’ screen into your AgencyPro software. The first time you enter the Today screen you won’t see much, but as you begin using your Apro system, you will start to see things happening. The Today screen tightly integrates with your Transaction Filing system to keep track of recent changes to Client, Policy, ACORD, Notes, Image and Tickler records. To use the Today screen, simply click on the appropriate icon along the bottom of the Today screen and the last 20 entries will prefill along the left. Items marked in Red will be things that were worked on today – and will be counted in the red status indicator above the icons along the bottom. You can then double click the record along the left to be immediately transported to that Client record, Policy, ACORD form, Note, Image, or Tickler. Also, you can change the currently selected day by clicking the calendar at the upper right of the screen. This will then show you all of the current records for the selected day. A ‘What’s New’ section in the middle of the Today screen shows recent Apro enhancements, and a calculator is provided to the right for your convenience. You can always get back to the new Today screen by clicking or sliding the ‘Show Today Screen’ slider along the very bottom-right of your AgencyPro program. If you choose, you can suppress the Today screen popping up by clicking the ‘Hide Today Screen on Startup’ checkbox to the upper-left. You can always re-open the Today screen and uncheck this box if you decide you want it to pop up later.

Summary

To accomodate new features, this AgencyPro update will perform comrehensive restructuring of your existing data. To prevent possible data loss, you SHOULD NOT INTERRUPT this process once it has started. This means that if you have a lot of data, or if you perform this update over a slow network connection - the update MIGHT TAKE AWHILE. In some test cases the update took as long as an hour (or longer). If your office will need access to AgencyPro soon, you might consider doing this update at the end of your business day.

Installation Instructions

• Make sure everyone is out of AgencyPro including the computer you are downloading from. (Failure to do this may result in a loss of data!)

• Connect to your Internet provider.
• On the File Download screen select: Run this program from its current location, then click OK. (If you are prompted to Save or Open, choose Open).

• If you are prompted with a Security Warning Screen, click YES.

• At the Welcome screen, click Next.

• At the Destination Location screen, make sure that the folder specified under Destination Folder is your Apro folder i.e.: F:\apro where F:\ is the drive to which AgencyPro is installed. Then click Next. (If you are installing from a workstation to the server, the drive letter must be your server's drive i.e.: the server drive is F:\.)

• At the Start Installation screen click Yes.

• At the Password screen enter the password: and then click OK.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: It is normal for the installation to stay at 1-4% for a long time.

• The Apro update will begin installing. (This could take some time depending on how many files need to be updated; the program has not locked up.) If you have not updated for quite some time, expect it to run for a while, possibly a half hour or more. DO NOT (CTRL ALT DEL) OUT OF THE UPDATE, LET IT RUN!
  

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Contact Information

(800)342-7327

(208)762-1265

Agency Software, Inc.

215 West Commerce Drive

Tech Support: support@agencysoftware.com

Best Regards,
AgencyPro Technical Support
800-342-7327 Ext. 31