HawkSoft 6 > Feature Differences


This page explains which features in HawkSoft 6 will be different than the current version of HawkSoft. Click below to learn about different types of features. 

On this page:

 

 

Watch our feature overview video and hear thoughts from an agency using HawkSoft 6!


See more thoughts from agencies who have seen & used HawkSoft 6 here

 

 

New features


This section includes completely new features that did not exist in previous versions of HawkSoft.


Agency data stored in the cloud
The biggest change in HawkSoft 6 is that your agency data will be stored in the cloud by HawkSoft rather than on a local server (for local installations) or on HawkSoft Online through a third-party hosting partner. See all the benefits that brings for existing local and online users here.


Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
HawkSoft 6 has its own multi-factor authentication process upon login to HawkSoft, enabled for all users by default. Recognized devices will be allowed to log in, while unrecognized devices will be sent a verification code by email. This provides an important layer of security for agency data in the cloud. See our blog on MFA for more details about what MFA is and why it’s important.



Reimagined features


Reimagined features have significantly different workflows compared to prior versions of HawkSoft, with major enhancements to increase efficiency and ease of use. These features may require some additional training for users.

 


Tasks (replaces Suspenses & Documents for Review)
Browser accessible elements: user and agency tasks

The Suspenses features has been completely reimagined as Tasks, making time-based tasks more flexible and easier to manage in one consolidated place in HawkSoft. 

  • The new Tasks tab shows all open tasks on a client
    View all open tasks for a client at a glance, or select to view closed tasks as well.
  • The new Task Center makes it easy to view individual and agency tasks
    Quickly sort and filter the list of tasks assigned to you, or all agency tasks (for admins).
  • Create tasks quickly with task templates
    Create templates assigned to agency roles, or due dates based on policy dates. Tasks can be assigned to multiple people!

 


Activity Tags (replaces Communications & Tfile customized lists)
Browser accessible elements: activity tag management (in Agency Setup), activity tag report (in Reports)

Activity tags are the new way for HawkSoft users to track and report on specific actions performed by a user during a client interaction. 

  • Better activity tracking
    Multiple activity tags can be added to a single log note, and tags are highlighted in the log list, making it easier to tell at a glance what a log note is about.
  • Enhanced activity reports
    The updated activity Reports make it easier for agencies to see and report on what activities their users are performing.

 


Quick Reports (replaces Advanced Reports & Activity Report)
Browser accessible elements: Included Quick Reports and Activity Reports

The new browser accessible Quick Reports allow you to easily run the same types of reports agencies previously created using Advanced Reports, with less complexity and a more user friendly interface.

  • Streamlined  report view
    The report view has an updated look, but includes the same report summarizing and filtering options with some added enhancements.
  • Simpler report creation with Quick Reports
    Quick Reports make it much faster and easier to run frequently used reports. Rather than creating Saved and Memorized reports using filters, agencies can run high-level preset reports by client, policy, profile, claim, tags, or activity. These reports can still be summarized to drill down further or exported to Excel, as with the previous Advanced Reports.
  • Faster report processing
    Reports run much faster than in previous versions of HawkSoft, and do not require additional processing when data columns are added to a report, as they did previously.

 


Carrier Downloads (replaces current download processing, configuration, reporting, and Unmatched Downloads)
Browser accessible elements: dashboard, reports, download settings, unmatched downloads

In HawkSoft 6, carrier downloads have been completely reimagined to make downloads a seamless background process that requires far less manual work for the agency.

  • Downloads are now retrieved automatically as they occur
    Downloads are retrieved continuously 24/7 via Ivans Web Services, so agencies will no longer need to manually process downloads on a daily basis.
  • New Downloads Dashboard
    The all-new Downloads Dashboard lets users see recent downloads and analytics at a glance, identify action items, and access important links.
  • Enhanced Download Viewer
    The updated Download Viewer makes downloads easier to view and get the data you need.
  • Enhanced Configuration Rules
    There are now more options for managing Y-accounts, applying rules globally or by carrier, and adding carrier exclusions to individual download rules.
  • Enhanced Unmatched Downloads process
    Matching logic has been enhanced, and a new process for unmatched documents makes them easier to view and match in one click.

 


Trust Accounting (replaces current Trust Accounting workflows)
Browser accessible elements: end of period processing & reports, QuickBooks transfer, settings

HawkSoft’s Accounting workflows have been redesigned to be more consistent throughout the system and to incorporate feedback from agencies on the challenges with existing workflows. To learn more about the new workflows see our e-learning module on the changes to trust accounting, or our Trust Accounting Overview in the Help Portal. For information about additional enhancements coming in future and details on what accounting data will migrate to HawkSoft 6, learn more here. 

  • Reimagined transaction list
    The new Trust Accounting tab (replacing the previous Invoicing tab) has a refreshed look and enhanced options. All accounting items on a client now appear in the transaction list on this tab.
  • New: draft invoices
    Agencies can now create agency bill draft invoices, allowing for invoices to be created on a client that do not affect the client’s balance and that can later be modified and issued.
  • Streamlined workflow for voiding items
    Voiding an accounting item can now be done within a single workflow, rather than needing multiple steps and workflows in various locations to void an item.
  • Enhanced Trust Accounting report
    Items now display more consistently on the report, as all items (invoice, credit memo, Receipt, payable/Checks) have their own reference number.
  • Enhanced QuickBooks integration
    The new QuickBooks integration now has a 1:1 item ratio between HawkSoft and QuickBooks, allowing payments and credits to be applied to invoices. 

 


Commissions workflows & reporting (replaces current Commissions workflows)
Browser accessible elements: commission reports

Commissions workflows and reporting will be rebuilt in HawkSoft 6, making the commissions process easier and more intuitive. Commissions features were released throughout Phase 2 and 3 of the HawkSoft 6 release, with more enhancements coming in future (see details here). For more information on the new workflows, see our e-learning course on the changes to commissions, or our Commission Tracking Overview in the Help Portal. 

Commission settings and past reconciled commission transactions (history) will not be migrated to HawkSoft 6, and reporting will not include any transactions prior to migration.

  • Easier commission entry
    The process for importing or manually entering commission transactions has been streamlined.
  • Configurable roles & rules
    There will be more flexibility in commission tracking and reporting, with the ability to configure commission roles and set up rules for more robust and accurate commission compensation calculation.
  • Streamlined statements & comprehensive reporting
    The process for creating paid commission statements will be streamlined, and more comprehensive commission reporting will be available.

 


Agency Setup (replaces Agency & User Management)
Browser accessible elements: offices, users & permissions, seats, settings

Agency and user management settings and configuration options have been streamlined and are now accessible by web browser, making large user lists faster to load.

  • Searchable office & user lists
    The user and office list are now searchable, for faster access to specific users and offices.
  • Easier permission management
    User permissions across offices are now easier to view and edit for agencies that have user permissions by office enabled.  
  • Client lock management
    Users with permission to the user list can now view which client files are locked for editing, and unlock files if needed.

 


Carrier Setup (replaces Policy Company Setup)
Browser accessible elements: carrier profiles/settings

Carrier Setup will have an updated look and feel and will be accessible by web browser. There will no longer be Base Policy Types (Auto, Home, Boat, etc), which allows for more robust and flexible policy management. Users can configure all lines of business relevant for a carrier in a single profile rather than creating duplicates for each state or Base Policy type. This also allows for the ability to add multiple homes on a dwelling policy, home and auto on the same personal package policy, and more.

  • Simplified carrier profiles (one profile for all LOBs and states)
    A single carrier profile can now be created for all states and LOBs, with customization of coverages, limits, and deductibles by state.
  • Enhanced carrier list
    The carrier list is now searchable and can be filtered by state. It displays carrier state, status, and whether the carrier is certified by HawkSoft for downloads.
  • Enhanced profile creation options
    HawkSoft Download Certified Carriers now autopopulate their names, Writing Carriers, and NAIC Codes when selected. Multiple addresses and a customer website can now be added to carrier profiles, and enhanced LOB options are available.

 

Enhanced features


Enhanced features have updates to their look and feel or functionality, but are structured similarly to prior versions. Little to no additional training should be needed on these features. 

 


Policy Management
All client and policy main views and detail screens will have an updated look and feel for the cloud platform, but will retain similar structures and workflows as the previous versions of HawkSoft. Now utilizing data in the cloud, this is a major milestone to making more client and policy data available via web browser in the future.

Policy management has also been simplified by removing the concept of Base Policy Types, like auto or home, that had fixed edit screens. Any combination of LOBs can now be added to any policy (e.g. Home and Auto on a single package policy), and Home policies can have multiple locations and enhanced schedules.


Log Notes
Log notes have a new look and feel, with enhancements that make them easier to view and track. You can now sort your logs to filter out downloads, quickly search for logs and see how they fit into your main log list, or create a new log without going through the Action Menu. It’s also now easier to read logs with multiple references like Activity Tags, attachments, or tasks.


Customized Toolbar
Enhanced toolbar customization options combine the features of the current Action Menu hot buttons and External Tools buttons and makes them customizable at the agency level, not just an individual level. Users can create custom toolbar buttons to launch websites, applications, or Action Menu shortcuts.


Agency Intelligence and Sales & Retention Reports
Browser accessible elements: included dashboards/reports

These reports will have an updated look and feel with the same workflows and metrics displayed as in current versions of HawkSoft. Now powered by data in the cloud, reports will be faster to generate, and it will be easier to add further functionality to the reports in the futures.


Custom Client Fields (previously Client Miscellaneous Info)
Browser accessible elements: custom client field management (in Agency Setup)

Custom Client Fields will allow multiple miscellaneous info fields to be added to a client at a time, with up to 30 possible fields and the ability to archive fields.

 

 

Agent Portal 
Browser accessible elements: all features (Agent Portal website)

Many enhancements have been made to the Agent Portal website in HawkSoft 6, including look and feel improvements, additional client data fields (including client tags, warnings, and client source), the ability to view and add logs and attachments, and new user permissions.

 

 

Features in development


While HawkSoft 6 was released with the majority of the features and workflows that most agencies use in HawkSoft today, a few less-used features and services have been added during later phases of the release or are still in development, based on development complexity and agency utilization. This approach allows agencies to move to HawkSoft 6 more quickly, depending on their feature needs. 

The below features are currently in development or were added during later phases of the HawkSoft 6 release. Please be aware that the exact timing for the release of features in development is fluid and subject to change. 

Features currently in development



Recently added features (available now)

 

 


Commissions workflows & data migration (available now - additional features coming in future)
Comprehensive commissions capabilities currently used by less than 30% of agencies

Due to extremely high development complexity and the fact that many agencies currently track commission outside of HawkSoft, comprehensive commissions workflows were added throughout Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the HawkSoft 6 release. Please be aware that there are significant changes to commission workflows compared to HawkSoft 5 (learn more here). Additional features and enhancements are planned to be added in the future, as outlined below.

Important:

  • Commission settings and past reconciled commission transactions (history) will not be migrated to HawkSoft 6, but can be accessed in the agency's read-only copy of HawkSoft 5 (see details below). 
  • HawkSoft 6 does not currently automatically create “estimated” commission transactions based on policy events like renewal, as in HawkSoft 5. For the time being, transactions from any sources outside of downloads (such as PDF statements) must be imported via spreadsheet or entered manually.

 

Features available now (added during Phase 2): agency-level commission capabilities

  • Commission transactions created from commission statement downloads from carriers, with the ability to match transactions to a client/policy. 
  • Ability to import commission statements from carriers via spreadsheet, or manually create commission statements from other sources (such as statements received by PDF).
  • Ability to reconcile commission statements, including the ability to edit or void commission transactions on statements.
  • Agency Commission Paid reports in Quick Reports that allow the agency to view all reconciled commission transactions for a carrier within a date range, and filter or summarize further as needed.

Features available now (added during Phase 3): agent-level commission capabilities

  • Ability to set up commission rules, including agent splits, using Agent 1/2/3.
  • A new Agent Payout workflow that determines how much commission should be paid to each agent.
  • Agent Paid reports and Agent Commission Paid statements.
  • Ability to create agency bill commission transactions from trust accounting workflows
  • Ability to add or modify a commission transaction manually from a client/policy
  • Ability to download Agent Paid Commission Statements as PDFs


Commission enhancements to be added in future (in planning or development)

  • Simplified creation of commission statements for carriers that don't download or provide importable commission statements
  • Complex commission roles and rules
  • Additional reports, such as a comparison report for paid commissions against commission statement downloads

 

Commission data migration

The following commission items will be migrated to HawkSoft 6:

  • Unreconciled commission statements from the last 3 months (downloaded and imported statements)
  • Term overrides or agent-specific overrides set on individual policies
  • No migration of past reconciled commission statements or transactions (history)
    • The agency can use the read-only copy of HawkSoft 5 provided after migration to reference historical items if needed.
  • No migration of unreconciled commission transactions (including automatically generated "estimated" transactions)
    • The agency may export a reconcile report in HawkSoft 5 and import the CSV into HawkSoft 6 after final migration if desired, to use it as a statement to reconcile.
  • No migration of commission settings (carrier/company settings and user settings)
    • Commission settings for carriers and agents will be configured again in HawkSoft 6 using the new Commission Rules functionality.


Important: Commission history (legacy transactions from HawkSoft 5)
Commission settings and past reconciled commission transactions (history) will not be migrated to HawkSoft 6, and reporting in HawkSoft 6 will not include any reconciled transactions prior to migration. Upon moving to HawkSoft 6, the agency principal will retain a read-only copy of their previous HawkSoft 5 database, allowing them to refer to past commission transactions at any time, or run reports on those transactions. Learn more about the read-only database here. 

  • Reports can be run in the read-only copy of HawkSoft 5 to view legacy commission transactions and prior reconciled statements.
  • Details of commission transactions cannot currently be viewed on the client/policy in the read-only copy of HawkSoft 5. We are currently working to resolve this and expect it to be available shortly.

 


Accounting workflows & data migration (available now - additional features coming in future)

Trust accounting workflows and QuickBooks integration are available now in HawkSoft 6. Please be aware that there are significant changes to trust accounting workflows compared to HawkSoft 5 (learn more here). See below for information on what accounting data will be migrated to HawkSoft 6, and on enhancements planned to be added in future. 

Trust accounting enhancements to be added in future (in planning or development)

  • Reports for past due invoices, paid invoices, and all invoices
  • Option to automatically export items to QuickBooks upon creation (for both receipts and company payables)
  • Calculation of retained commission on invoices and credit memos
  • Ability to search for specific item numbers or ranges
  • Printing customer statements in bulk from the customer accounting reports
  • Completed: Summary options in the trust accounting report that include a breakdown of all line items and pay methods found in invoices/credit memos and receipts, respectively
  • Completed: Configuration of logo for accounting items (PDF attachments)
  • Completed: Printed comments list in Trust Accounting Setup
  • Completed: Multiple QuickBooks integrations (including multiple company files)

 

Deprecated legacy features (not planned to be added)

  • Legacy account types: Income, Expense, Other Income, Other Expense, Non-posting account
  • Configuration of class codes for QuickBooks integration
    • NOTE: If you use this feature, let us know why and how you use it!

 

Accounting data migration
Due to the significant changes to the accounting workflows in HawkSoft 6 and the inherent complexity involved, migrating all previous accounting data and items to HawkSoft 6 is not feasible. The below items will be migrated to HawkSoft 6:

  • Trust accounting settings (configuration)
  • Open transactions from the last 2 years (open invoices, payments, credit memos, unpaid payables)
  • Attachments and PDFs (including receipts, invoices, credit memos, etc)
  • Not migrated: closed transactions (history)
    • The agency can use the read-only copy of HawkSoft 5 provided after migration to reference or report on historical items if needed.

Important: If an agency migrated to HawkSoft 6 before accounting data migration was made available in Phase 3, accounting data can NOT be migrated retroactively at a later date.

Important: Accounting history (legacy transactions from HawkSoft 5)
Closed accounting transactions and history will not be migrated to HawkSoft 6 (aside from attachments), and reporting will not include any closed transactions prior to migration. Reporting on previous transactions can be done in the read-only version of HawkSoft 5 available to the agency after migration (learn more here). This includes the following historical items:

  • Fully paid invoices
  • Receipts in the receipt report
  • Fully applied payments
  • Fully applied credit memos
  • Paid payables

 

 

Batch actions from reports - now available; added during Phase 3 of release

The ability to perform batch actions on multiple clients at once from a report (including tasks, logs, and client tags) was added during Phase 3 of the HawkSoft 6 release.

 

 

Ability to merge clients - now available; added during Phase 3 of release

The ability to merge two clients separate clients into one was added during Phase 3 of the HawkSoft release. A number of enhancements were made to this feature, including a summary log with counts of all moved items, and additional data available for merge including contacts, personal profiles, COIs, accounting and commission data, and more.

 

 

Default tasks (replacing default suspenses) - now available; added during Phase 3 of release
Currently used by less than 15% of agencies

In HawkSoft 5, agencies could set up default suspenses that would be automatically created upon certain actions such as policy creation, change form created, etc. Due to high development complexity and the current ability for users to create these manually, this functionality was added during Phase 3. 

 

 

Book of business merges/acquisitions (now available - added during Phase 3 of release)
Currently needed by less than 4% of agencies

Because our first focus is on migrating customers from HawkSoft 5 to 6, the ability to merge multiple HawkSoft 6 databases, which could be needed for agencies who are merging or acquiring a book of business, was planned for later release. Due to high development complexity and the low number of agencies needing this ability, this functionality was added during Phase 3.

 


Different user permissions set by office (now available - added during Phase 3 of release)
Currently used by less than 10% of agencies

Due to high development complexity and low agency usage, agencies with multiple offices will not have the ability to set different user permissions per office in earlier stages of the release. Agencies may set up multiple offices if desired, but users will have the same permissions across all offices they are associated with. We plan for different permissions by office to be available for multi-office agencies in Phase 3.

 


Self-service Certificates add-on in HawkSoft Marketplace (now available - added during Phase 3 of release)
Currently used by less than 4% of agencies

Due to high development complexity and low agency usage, the Self-service Certificates add-on available in the HawkSoft Marketplace, which allows insureds to access and create certificates for new cert holders via a web browser link, will not be available in Phase 1 of the release. No other Certificates workflows will be impacted. 

Self-service Certificates was released during Phase 2 and is now available. 

 


CSV Data Importer (now available - added during Phase 2 of release) 
Currently used by less than 2% of agencies

Due to high development complexity and low agency usage, the HawkSoft Data Importer, which allows users to import new clients and policies in bulk by CSV, was not available during Phase 1 of the release. This feature was added during Phase 2 and is now available. 

 


Batch email sends from reports (now available - added during Phase 2 of release)
Currently used by less than 1% of agencies

Due to high development complexity and very low agency usage, the ability to send emails in bulk from a report will be excluded from the initial release phases of HawkSoft 6. Please note that the ability to send individual emails from the client file, including the use of Correspondence Templates and merge fields, will remain available. 

We have found that it is not an immediate need for most agencies, as most send bulk emails through a separate email or marketing automation provider rather than their personal email address. HawkSoft also offers 2-way integration with several API Partners that provide email automation, which fulfills this need more comprehensively than the current Batch Email feature in HawkSoft.

Batch email was released during Phase 2 and is now available.

 

 

Agent Portal website for client data access (now available - added during Phase 2 of release)
Currently used by less than 2% of agencies

Due to high development complexity, the Agent Portal website for accessing client data will likely not be available for use with HawkSoft 6 during the earlier release phases. Because HawkSoft 6 can be installed and accessed on computers or laptops outside the office, we believe this addresses the immediate needs of most agencies and have assigned Agent Portal a lower development priority than other more vital features. 

Agent Portal was released during Phase 2 and is now available.