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IPS has a strong reputation for quality software products and unmatched levels of customer service. Today, a large, diverse base of companies is utilizing IPS software to manage their disbursement systems. Payments processed for Accounts Payable, Payroll, Claims and Refunds are just some of the applications that IPS payment software is being utilized for.
 Affinity Insurance Services Achieves Payment Flexibility with C.O.D. Software from IPS of Boston. Affinity, a specialized insurance provider to professional groups such as lawyers, nurses and insurance agents, reduced disbursement costs substantially and achieved operational flexibility by implementing payment software from IPS. Servicing multiple insurance companies with multiple bank accounts AON was able to eliminate their 19 different preprinted check stocks while also making their payment process faster and more secure. |
 Kaiser Permanente Eases Northeast Merger and Streamlines Payroll Payment Process with C.O.D. Software. Immediately after a merger the number of payroll checks to be printed nearly doubled. The old payroll check processing system took five people eight hours to complete, however, with C.O.D. installed it takes one person four hours to print double the number of checks! The flexibility of C.O.D. allowed for the checks to be printed on self-mailing check stock eliminating reducing processing costs while the use of IPS’ positive pay software reduces the exposure to check fraud. |
Affinity Insurance Services Achieves Payment Flexibility With C.O.D. (Checks On Demand!™) Software from IPS of Boston.
"We represent many different insurance companies and maintain 19 bank accounts," begins Ben Betzer, treasury manager for Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., one of the nation’s largest providers of specialty insurance coverage. "C.O.D. software from IPS of Boston has allowed us to eliminate pre-printed checks for each premium account, and made our entire premium payment process faster and more secure."
Affinity Insurance Services, based in Trevose, a northern suburb of Philadelphia, provides specialized insurance coverage to professional groups, including nurses, accountants, lawyers, insurance agents, and many others. Affinity is a subsidiary of Aon Services Group, a division of Aon Corporation, a Fortune 500 insurance holding company based in Chicago.
A prime example of Affinity’s focus on specialty markets can be found in nursing. There the company is the largest provider of professional liability coverage, with over 600,000 insured nurses nationwide. The company also provides nurses with life insurance, hospitalization, cancer coverage, long-term disability, and accidental death and dismemberment coverage.
C.O.D. Flexibility
"Flexibility was the key aspect that attracted us to the C.O.D. system," notes Betzer. "We have to maintain multiple bank accounts because the different insurance companies that we represent do not want their funds co-mingled. We needed the flexibility to set up accounts quickly, and not have to wait weeks for pre-printed check stock to arrive. C.O.D. eliminates that problem."
C.O.D. (Checks On Demand!™) software from IPS of Boston provides a complete payment management solution, including laser check printing that eliminates the need for pre-printed check stock. With C.O.D., users manage the entire payment process from a central repository with password security.
"I just added a new account the other day," Betzer continues. "The day after I received word that the account was active, we were cutting checks from the C.O.D. system. A year ago, before we had C.O.D., I would have been waiting for weeks for two-part check stock to arrive."
In fact, any change to checking account information can be accommodated more easily using C.O.D. Betzer pointed out that Affinity would soon be moving its office to Warminster, PA, about five miles away. "All we have to do is change the address block in our C.O.D. system, and our checks are current. We don’t have to wait for new checks or lose any pre-printed check stock. The information on our checks is always up-to-date."
Shredded Checks
According to Betzer, the conversion to the C.O.D. system has also freed up a substantial amount of secure storage space that was previously devoted to pre-printed check stock. "Before C.O.D., we had to store and keep secure 19 different pre-printed check stocks" he notes. "We had a large locked storage cabinet and we even kept some stock in a safe. Now, I use that locked storage area for other security-sensitive documents and to store laptop computers. In fact, I just shredded the last of the pre-printed check stock the other day."
Betzer now uses a single blank check stock to print Affinity’s checks. The C.O.D. system uses magentic ink character recognition (MICR) technology to print the necessary bank account numbers and codes found at the bottom of all checks. In addition, the C.O.D. system prints bank addresses, logos, and appropriate signatures on the blank stock. Checks from multiple accounts and banks can be printed in the same check run without changing stock or stopping to use a mechanical endorser.
"We save a lot of time not having to run checks through a separate endorsing machine. It was a messy process that often resulted in checks that had to be printed over again, anyway," Betzer notes.
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Blank Stock Costs Less
He also appreciates the fact that blank check stock costs far less than pre-printed checks. "We run nearly 2,000 checks a month," he explains. "Most checks are for our nurse insureds and are used to refund premium payments when nurses leave the system for any number of reasons. Pre-printed checks used to cost us over 30 cents each. Now, blank check stock costs less than five cents per check. We’re saving about $500 a month just on check stock. And, ordering new stock is a breeze. We have it in a matter of days, not weeks."
Affinity Insurance Services acts as a third party administrator for the insurance companies it represents. Affinity provides the deep understanding necessary to market specialized insurance coverage to professional groups. Affinity succeeds by providing carefully tailored coverage at affordable rates.
Managing multiple accounts and multiple insurance providers is challenging enough, so Betzer and his team really appreciated the ease-of-use features incorporated into C.O.D. "A member of the IPS technical staff came down for a day," Betzer says. "He spent a short time in the morning installing the software, and spent the rest of the day training our staff. The system is easy to use and technical support is always courteous and helpful."
Among C.O.D.’s standard ease-of-use features can be found electronic check templates that can provide over a dozen pre-defined formats to choose from; the ability to assign varying levels of account access and dollar limits to employees; a preview option that lets users view and/or print a listing of checks prior to a check run; security audit trail; ability to handle multiple bank accounts; and a final payment register.
Reconcilable Differences
This last feature is used by Affinity to help reconcile its largest bank account with CoreStates Bank each month. A file containing a final payment register is provided to the bank and used to cross reference checks as they come in for payment. "They match the checks they receive with the ledger we provide," Betzer explains. "The bank provides us with a listing of the checks paid and those still outstanding, which is a nice feature that really saves us a lot of time in the reconciliation process."
When it comes to security, Betzer likes the fact that he can lock up the special printer cartridge containing the signatures, in digital form, required for the C.O.D. laser check writing system. This fact, combined with the system’s password security and built-in audit trail gives him peace of mind.
IPS of Boston installed its C.O.D. software on one of Affinity’s PCs running the Windows operating system. A few simple keystrokes are all that’s required to download check print files from the company’s IBM AS/400 server to the PC and its C.O.D. software.
Betzer notes that his colleagues were initially reluctant to accept the new laser check writing system, but "they’ve grown to love it!" And with C.O.D., Affinity Insurance Services is ready for whatever the financial future may hold. C.O.D. optional modules can be added that allow Automated Clearing House, Financial EDI, Electronic Funds Transfers and other types of electronic commerce.
Kaiser's James Valenti and Kevin Hamill are happy they found the IPS C.O.D. laser check writing system.
"We print 8,500 checks monthly with our C.O.D. laser check system. We’ve saved time, improved security, and cut costs. It’s the only way to go!"
- James Valenti, Systems Administrator
Human Resources/Payroll
Kaiser Permanente
Northeast Division
Kaiser Permanente Eases Northeast Merger and Streamlines Payment Process with C.O.D.® From IPS
When 400,000-member Community Health Plan (CHP), of Latham, New York, merged in 1996 with Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest health maintenance organization (HMO), major changes in operation were inevitable. However, thanks to the C.O.D. (Checks On Demand!®) laser check writing system from IPS of Boston, increased demands on the CHP payroll system were easily accommodated. C.O.D. use has also spread to Kaiser accounts payable, and may be adopted by other areas as well.
"Almost overnight, the number of payroll checks we had to cut nearly doubled," recalls James Valenti, systems administrator for human resources and payroll in Kaiser Permanente’s Northeast Division. "We also had to change the information that is printed on our checks, including the logo and account numbers. With the C.O.D. system from IPS, printing more checks with each check run and making other changes was easy. It gave us the flexibility we needed."
C.O.D.
C.O.D. software from IPS of Boston provides a complete PC-based payment management solution, including laser check printing that eliminates the need for pre-printed check stock. With C.O.D., users manage the entire payment process from a central repository with password security.
For Kaiser’s payroll department, the C.O.D. system allowed the company to replace five different pre-printed, pre-numbered check stocks with a single blank security stock. In accounts payable, C.O.D. enabled Kaiser to reduce 40 different check stocks to a single security stock. The C.O.D. system uses magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) technology to print the necessary bank account numbers and codes found at the bottom of all checks.
In addition, the C.O.D. system prints bank addresses, logos, and appropriate signatures on the blank security stock. If necessary, checks from multiple accounts and banks can be printed in the same check run without changing stock or stopping to use other equipment.
With C.O.D., Kaiser has also eliminated the need for the separate envelopes and insertion equipment that had caused so many processing delays in the past. "We use a self-mailing check," Valenti explains. "We print, fold, and mail it. We’ve eliminated the insertion step and the equipment that required."
Among C.O.D.’s standard ease-of-use features can be found electronic check templates that can provide dozens of pre-defined formats to choose from. In addition, the system provides users with the ability to assign varying levels of account access and dollar limits to employees; a preview option that lets users view and/or print a listing of checks prior to a check run; security audit trail; ability to handle multiple bank accounts; and a final payment register.
Change For the Better
Before converting to the C.O.D. payment system, Valenti says it used to take over eight hours to process the health plan’s payroll checks. "That’s if the equipment was functioning correctly, which rarely happened," he notes. "Something would inevitably malfunction. The pin feed printer would jam and ruin checks. The signature machine would smear. The check inserter would jam. You name it, and it would happen. It was a nightmare!"
Now, it takes just four hours to run twice as many checks as before. "Our efficiency has gone up dramatically," Valenti says. "And, the quality of our checks—there’s no comparison. We went from our old dot matrix to crisp laser printing. It’s cleaner, faster, and more professional looking."
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Security Improved
In addition, security was a problem with the old system. "We had to physically carry the checks from the information systems building where they were printed over to the finance department to be signed," Valenti explains. "Once they were signed, we had to carry them over to the distribution center to be folded and inserted in envelopes and mailed. The whole process involved about five or six people. The inserter was a nasty machine. We often had to call the vendor to get it repaired. Finally, we said enough is enough!"
The compact nature of the PC-based C.O.D. system also meant that the entire operation could be contained in single room, greatly enhancing physical security. In addition, the built-in security features of the C.O.D. system and network it runs on have improved security, too. "You need a password to get on the AS/400, another password for our financial software, another for our network access, and another for access to C.O.D.," Valenti stresses. "Even if you could get through all of that, the system logs every use and the access location. The IPS system, in combination with our building security system has dramatically improved our security and confidence level."
In addition, Kaiser is using the C.O.D. Positive Pay File option, which enables the company to issue a file to its bank after each check run containing information that is used to verify the authenticity of checks before they can be cleared. In this way, exposure to check fraud is further reduced.
Manual Checks Are Easy
Pre-printed, pre-numbered checks also posed other problems for CHP. Each time a "manual" check was needed for expenses, vacation time, or some other reason, the department would use a typewriter to create them. These checks also required extra effort to track. The same was true when jams would occur, the check numbers of voided checks had to be manually recorded and logged. The C.O.D. system enables Kaiser to print "manual" checks whenever they are needed and the check is automatically recorded in the system’s audit trail and history report.
Following the merger with Kaiser, the number of employee checks that had to be run every two weeks jumped from approximately 2,800 to about 4,000. In addition, nearly 500 manual checks are run each month, bringing the total payroll check run to over 8,500 a month. Payroll-related checks include regular payroll checks, direct deposit statements, and dependent care checks. In Kaiser’s accounts payable area, C.O.D. is used to print approximately 2,000 checks each week.
"…so smooth, it was scary!"
As system conversions go, making the leap to a laser checking system was much easier than Valenti expected. "Ease of use is probably the biggest plus with the C.O.D. system," he stresses. "It was easy to install, easy to learn and easy to use. It was so smooth, it was scary! The IPS folks scheduled us for a full day of training, but after about three hours we sent them home. This may sound corny, but everything they promised us, they delivered."
"We looked at other laser check systems, but we picked IPS and C.O.D. because we believed we would get superior service, and we have!" Valenti says. "I’m continually amazed by how responsive they are. Even after four years of use, anytime I call their office, I get someone right away. They make it easy to solve problems."
IPS of Boston installed its C.O.D. software on one of Kaiser’s PCs running Windows. A few simple keystrokes are all that’s required to download check print files from the company’s IBM AS/400 server to the PC and its C.O.D. software. Kaiser’s payroll department uses two HP 5SI laser printers to meet its check printing needs. The health plan’s accounts payable department has an additional HP laser printer for its own check runs.
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente, named after industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, has nearly nine million members in 17 states and the District of Columbia, making it the largest nonprofit, group-practice health maintenance organization (HMO) in the United States. Kaiser Permanente began as a provider of industrial health care for construction, shipyard, and steel-mill workers for Kaiser-owned companies during the 1930s and 1940s. It was opened to the general public in 1945.
In late 1996, Kaiser merged with Community Health Plan of Latham, NY and designated CHP’s Latham offices as its Northeast headquarters. Kaiser Permanente Northeast Division serves more than 617,000 members in eastern and central New York, western Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut.
C.O.D. Future
The future of the C.O.D. payment management system at Kaiser Permanente Northeast Division is strong. After four years of use, Valenti and others at the health plan are pleased with the improved efficiency, security, cost-savings, and professional appearance the laser checking system has provided. One area where change is expected is in operating systems. The Kaiser accounts payable department is already using the C.O.D. system with the Windows NT operating system. The payroll group plans to follow suit in the near future.
If needed, Kaiser can add optional C.O.D. modules that allow Automated Clearing House, Financial EDI, Electronic Funds Transfers, EOB printing and other forms of electronic commerce.
