Q&A and resources from the HawkSoft / HUG Town Hall Webinar on  July 9, 2020


Town Hall Resources



QUESTION CATEGORIES

Click on a category to be taken to that section of the Q&A. 

Self-service Certificates

Partner API Integrations

Strong Authentication / Password Security

New Cloud Search

Agent Portal

Reporting

HawkLink for Google Chrome

Cloud & HawkSoft 5

Miscellaneous

 

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS


Self-service Certificates

1. How does Self-service Certificates verify coverage is in force?
A. The policies associated with that certificate are stored in the cloud. If/when they become inactive (expired or cancelled) it will begin telling the insured to contact their agent when they try to log in.

Partner API Integrations

2. Is HawkSoft going to provide a way to have sales and retention automations? If not, we must have integration with Partner CRMs. Agents do not want a tech stack that does not communicate with one another and have to make duplicate entries. 
A. Moving to the cloud is about freeing up your data to do more automation, which is extremely difficult to do in a desktop-based system. HawkSoft will continue to build out core automation functionality as we migrate to the cloud, but we look to our Partner API integrations to help supplement the automation with the extra bells and whistles. Our Partner API integrations allow us to exponentially grow the functionality of HawkSoft. 

3. Will you have two-way API integration? 
A. At this point, it is one-way. We hope to allow for two-way integrations in the future.

4. Are you doing two-way integration with InsuredMine and when will it be available? 
A. Due to a contractual obligation, HawkSoft is unable to coordinate with InsuredMine with regards to integration until later this year. HawkSoft's Partner API does not currently support two-way integration for any integrated vendor. We aim to introduce this functionality in the future.

5. What is the integration with AgencyZoom? 
A. AgencyZoom is a marketing and sales automation platform. Like all integrated vendors, it has one-way integration with HawkSoft via the Partner API. You can learn more about AgencyZoom here: https://www.agencyzoom.com/apps/hawksoft.

6. What is the integration with Podium? 
A. Podium allows independent agencies to use a single dashboard to monitor and respond to online interactions across multiple channels like text messages, online reviews, website chat, and more. There is a recorded Podium webinar reviewing their system and its integration with HawkSoft here: https://hawksoftusergroup.org/events/webinars/ 

7. Does AgencyZoom get information from HawkSoft CMS? 
A. Yes, AgencyZoom, when integrated with the Partner API, can pull Client and Policy information from HawkSoft.

8. If something is done in a partner's CRM, is that data transmitted back to CMS by any partner at this time or in the near future? 
A. The Partner API does not currently support data traveling into HawkSoft, only out of HawkSoft to the Partner. There are other tools that may enable a vendor to be able to send specific information back to HawkSoft, but that is not done via the Partner API.  

9. Can you give partners all the profile data so we can market and communicate with more than the 1st and 2nd insureds? We need to be able to connect with our youth drivers and send them birthday wishes and drip marketing communications. 
A. We are continuing to iterate on the Partner API and are working with the vendors to learn about each vendor's data needs.  As they provide feedback, we will prioritize it and implement it based on need, volume of mutual customers, and how the suggestions align with our roadmap. 

Strong Authentication / Password Security

10. Will the strong password integrate with password managers? 
A. Agent Portal will be in a browser so those credentials will be saved as allowed and supported by password managers for web.  However, for CMS you would have to have a password manager that supports applications that run on Windows.  We do not plan to implement support for any specific password manager at this time.

11. With the requirement of a strong password, will it automatically log us out of a HawkSoft window while we are working in another window? Currently if I have an attachment open or a report open they will close out (after X amount of time) even though I have the main HawkSoft window open and active. 
A. HawkSoft windows shouldn't close by themselves, especially if you have at least one CMS window open. The issue described here sounds like it could be environmental. If you have any questions about current functionality of CMS please reach out to Product Support at 1-866-884-4680 option 3. 

New Cloud Search

12. Are we able to search by location? 
A. With the new search functionality, you will be able to search by mailing address, physical address, and risk location using the Address search field.

13. Will we be able to search by account number and claimant in the claims file? 
A. Not currently, but we will investigate this possibility at a later date.  

Agent Portal

14. When you use the Agent Portal and dial out from your cell phone will the recipient see the agency phone number or our personal cell number? 
A. At this point, if you are on your phone and your default app you use for making phone calls is your cell phone, then it would be your personal cell phone. If you have a VOIP service like RingCentral, you can use their app and have the call come from your agency. This functionality is not from Agent Portal, but how your phone reacts to phone number links.

15. Will you be able to generate a new CID through the Agent Portal? 
A. We currently are focused on being able to view your client information in the Agent Portal. We do have goals to enhance the Agent Portal with the capabilities for updating client files, generating forms, etc.

16. Does HawkSoft capture emails, phone calls, etc. in log notes if initiated from the portal, or is it only for viewing the client information? 
A. We are presently focused on view only, and ensuring the data in the cloud is accurate, fast, and accessible. In the future, we will look to add enhancements to Agent Portal that will create log notes, edit client files, etc. 

17. Does Agent Portal cost additional fees? 
A. No, Agent Portal will be included at no additional cost with the release of HawkSoft 5. 

18. Can we use Agent Portal if we're server based? 
A. There should not be any limitation based on how you host your main HawkSoft installation. 


Reporting

19. Will the new reporting add the ability to schedule reports? 
A. This is a great idea and we will investigate the functionality for reporting and/or task management. 

20. Do you have plans to allow historical reporting and open the reporting period to longer than 120 days (i.e. what were written premiums for our agency in 2019 vs. 2020)? 
A. Yes. We’ve started tracking the policy histories so we can create historical reporting. We want you to be able to see year-over-year or month-over-month reporting. We are actively working on this enhancement but do not have a firm delivery date.  

21. Will we have a better way to track short term policies - hole in one, wedding, travel, contract bonds less than six months or even a single day? 
A. Yes. We are currently working on being able to identify a policy as a non-renewing policy, so even those one-month policies can be renewable. This will allow the reports to show the correct numbers. 

22. Will there be reporting on linked clients? Or visual linked trees? 
A. We currently do not have plans to implement a linked client report. Please make sure you post this suggestion or vote for it in the HawkSoft Community.

23. Presently, reports (specifically accounting reports) are not able to be printed out because they are too large. Is HawkSoft looking into making the reports printer friendly? 
A. As we look forward to Cloud Accounting, we will be looking at ways we can improve over our current functionality. Accounting reports have a lot of data and when printing a spreadsheet which extends past the limits of a piece of paper there is little that can be done. The printed spreadsheet would span multiple pages. We will investigate ways to make reports more printer friendly as we implement Cloud Accounting. 

24. In regards to Sources, we have four: Google, Advertising, Referral, and Walk-in. Each of those has multiple sub-sources but we cannot report how many total referrals we get because even Referral has to be Referral-Agent, Referral-Client, etc. and then we have to manually add them up to see how many total referrals we got. Is this being changed? 
A. This is great feedback. We would love to make enhancements to the way sources are created, used, and reported on. 


HawkLink for Google Chrome

25. Is it possible to have the HawkSoft toolbar link customers to Chrome, specifically the capture function? 
A. The release version of HawkLink for Chrome will not include the Capture feature, but it is on our radar to include at a later date.

Cloud & HawkSoft 5

26. When will HawkSoft be a browser-based system?
A. We are unable to provide an exact timeline on when we’ll be a fully browser-based system, but we have made significant progress with recent enhancements such as Self-service certificates, Agent Portal, Partner API Integrations, and the New Search functionality, and will continue to aggressively press forward.

Moving from a robust desktop-based system to browse based, while retaining all of the current desktop features and functionality, is a major undertaking. We like to compare it to flying an airplane and rebuilding that airplane while we are flying it.

Our approach has been to allow users to continue to use their desktop features while we transition those features to cloud based and browser based. Cloud based refers to where your data resides: either up in the cloud on something like MS Azure. This is a data center that HawkSoft has control of, not somebody else (like Kotter). The ultimate goal is to remove the reliance on Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Your data will be in the cloud and you can access it through a local desktop client that accesses the data directly and does not go through other mediums like Parallels, and/or through a browser.

27. Will there always be a local install / server option for HawkSoft? Will we be able to continue to host locally yet still enjoy the features of cloud connections?
A. No. At some point you’ll have to make a choice on whether you want to move your data to the cloud. The cloud will eventually be the source of truth, where all data resides on our cloud-based data centers, not local. This is a gradual migration. HawkSoft 5 is the first step to this migration and moving your data to the cloud – it serves as the decision-making point where agencies will need to draw a line in the sand and decide if they are moving to cloud or staying local. You can choose to stay local, but you will not receive future version upgrades and will remain on a version prior to HawkSoft 5.

We believe most agencies want to move to the cloud. We want to hear your concerns about why you may not want to move to the cloud. Please send us an email at marketing@hawksoft.com or put those concerns in HawkSoft Community.

28. When is HawkSoft 5 going to be released?
A. HawkSoft 5 is scheduled to be released late summer.

29. We are on HawkSoft Online - East. When 5.0 launches, will we be browser based?
A. No, HawkSoft will not be fully browser based with HawkSoft 5. HawkSoft 5 is our first step in that direction and we will continue to release more browser-based functionality as subsequent versions come out. 

30. Does "cloud" source of truth mean Kotter, RDP (or something like this)? Or, Microsoft Azure?
A. Microsoft Azure. HawkSoft is using Microsoft Azure services to develop HawkSoft Cloud infrastructure. This infrastructure is controlled by HawkSoft developers and it will be where your data is stored, making it possible for your local workstations to access your data like you do today, but also allowing access through web browsers, Partner API, etc.

31. If we go to Cloud are we then dependent on Kotter like today’s cloud agencies?
A. No, it will be HawkSoft’s own cloud infrastructure using Microsoft Azure services. This infrastructure is controlled by HawkSoft developers and does not have any dependencies on other hosting services.

32. Is the Cloud-based platform more expensive than the server based? 
A. Great question. There will be no change to your price with the cloud-based features we’re launching in HawkSoft 5.

33. Can I keep my data locally and still have remote ability in cases when we need to work remote? I am spoiled with the speed and functionality of being local. It doesn’t make sense to me to grab data from a cloud when it can be at my fingertips (in the office with me).
A. We share those concerns, as well! When we implement our full cloud solution your data can only have one “Source of Truth” which will be in HawkSoft Cloud. However, you will still have quick access to data on your local workstations through caching which will keep the speed and user experience you are used to. Our main goal when we go to Cloud is to maintain, as much as possible, the speed you enjoy when locally installed.

34. When we go to HawkSoft Cloud, will you also support our email system that our current online hosting provider does (we are on Kotter)?
A. We’ve had lots of discussions among our development team about this and what the transition looks like as we move to HawkSoft Cloud. We are currently still having these conversations. Our recommendation is to start looking at Microsoft 365. HawkSoft made this transition 9 months ago and it has completely changed and improved how we interact with each other. While we have not yet made a final decision, it is highly likely we will lean on a Microsoft Suite when it comes time to tackle emailing.

35. Will HawkSoft 5 eliminate the need for the Outlook Connector 365?
A. No. HawkSoft 5 will not remove any dependencies currently in place with hosted environments, or Outlook. Removing the need for Outlook Connector will be part of the full transition away from hosted environments that we are working towards.

Miscellaneous

36. Can we be alerted or receive a push notification when a new suspense has been set for us?
A. Awesome question. We are taking this into consideration as we redo the task center. We cannot commit to how it will look at this time, but we are definitely looking at redoing suspenses and moving toward a cloud-based task system.

37. Question on commercial forms filling: A number of MGAs use the same form # from a carrier (such as Scottsdale), by doing a search by Carrier and their form and date #, then using cloud sourcing, will it be able to fill in the PDF application?
A. This is a great suggestion. We currently don’t have plans for this. This would be a great suggestion for our Community so that others can contribute to this idea and vote on this.

38. Will there be an option implemented to link an NAIC code to a specific insurance carrier when they have multiple paper that policies are written on?
 A. We would love to have a better understanding of what you are needing so we can change current processes to better meet what you are looking for. We will reach out to those who inquired about this to see how we can change this.

39. Is there a way to color code the insured name or something else to classify clients as A / B / C or VIP? I know about the Misc Info field, but that’s more clicks and it does not jump out at you when the client screen comes up. We have thought about the tags also but have not done that.
 A. Tags was implemented for this exact purpose. You can tag customers, like VIP, and set the color coding. Tags appear in the top right corner of your screen, giving you a quick, easy visual of your different classifications.

40. Will you ever make Tags searchable?
 A. This is an interesting idea. We currently do not have plans to implement tag search, as you can already report on tags and launch the client that way.

41. What is Main Line [Main Number] Texting?
A. Currently, when you sign up with HawkSoft Text Messaging you are assigned a number. We have gotten a lot of feedback that the agency would rather have the option to use their main office number as their texting number. We have dubbed that request as “Main Number Texting” at this point. Of course, names can change and it may be called something different by the time we release it.

42. Has HawkSoft made a decision yet on how they are going to touch profiles? Such as stop adding profiles when something doesn’t match, and include profile data for the first named insured when the download comes in.
A. HawkSoft has not made any additional considerations regarding how we populate profile data. One of our greatest concerns is incorrectly overwriting data.

43. We recently got Macs in our office. When trying to change font & size, it is limited to only a few fields. Will it ever be made available to change all the font sizes? Specifically, right now, suspense logs are super small.
 A. We will have a lot more control over how pages look once we get more browser based.

44. Where is HawkSoft at in regards to finishing the Workers Comp screens? For instance, adding historic Experience Modifiers (Emods) and allowing the mod to be rounded to 3 decimal places, correcting the math issue in the hazard screens, and adding Officer inclusion / exclusion?
A. The math bug is resolved in an upcoming version. We are excited to get that out. We do not currently have plans to implement Experience Modifiers, or Officer Exclusions - please be sure to suggest this to the HawkSoft Community or vote for an existing Community post.

45. Can you allow the option of allowing us to Map info in CMS to ACORDs?
A. This is a great suggestion. We currently don’t have plans for this. This would be a great suggestion for our HawkSoft Community so that others can contribute to this idea and vote on this.

46. Are there any discussions around developing a better way to consolidate suggestions in the HawkSoft Community so they don't get spread out? It would be nice to have votes consolidated so top concerns are better seen.
A. It is imperative that you always search for your suggestion before posting. Our moderators attempt to point out existing posts if someone posts a duplicate.


Additional Resources

HawkSoft User Group (HUG) Resources

HawkSoft Resources

Dick Fanazick Award

Referral Program


HawkSoft Community

  • Browse the forums, share a tip, give your feedback, vote for your favorite ideas suggested by agents, ask a question, and search to find answers.
  • Go to the icon in the upper right corner of the CMS Start page and choose "HawkSoft Community" from the dropdown menu.

HawkSoft Cloud & Products


Self-service Certificates
Partner API

Text Messaging