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January 15, 2005
Volume 1 Issue 3
In this issue:
Company Downloads
 A New Years
Resolution?
Hope you had a wonderful Holiday Season and
Happy New Year! For your New Year's Resolution, why not start
the year off right and take advantage of WinAA to its
fullest? You can begin by using a fairly new feature in WinAA,
Company Downloads!
Here at The Agency
Advantage we are dedicated to staying on top of technology and
offering you the most effective way of managing your agency
accurately. Downloading from your companies keeps your information up to date and reduces manual entry errors, while cutting down on the time you spend updating your records.
If you have a question or topic you would
like explained, a story to share, or just a quick useful tip,
we'd love to hear from you. Please send your responses to tina@agencyadvantage.com.
Tina Stewart
Editor
Company
Downloads
Company downloads allow you to get
information from the company as the changes take place. You
don't have to wait on paperwork to arrive in the mail or fax
and then type it in manually. Now you have the ability to get
policy changes every morning with the click of a button.
Downloading from companies takes dedication
on your part and communication with our support team. The
setup process may take several phone calls to us and to
your company. On average, it takes two weeks to
get downloads processing smoothly.
Downloading Through Ivans
In order to download from the majority of the
companies on our
website, you must use the Ivans program. Ivans is a transport program that allows you to have one mailbox where your companies can send their download files. The setup of
Ivans requires a dial-up modem in order to configure the
mailboxes and ensure you are getting the correct information. You will need to acquire an Ivans mailbox (yAccount
and UserID) from one of the companies. Most companies will
provide this information for free.
After you have configured your mailbox from
Ivans you can download with any company we support. You will
just need to contact the additional companies and give them
your Ivans mailbox information.
The entire download setup process should
take two weeks. Sometimes we encounter problems such as faulty
modems or phone systems that won't allow the computer to dial
out. A common complaint we receive is the necessity of a
dial-up modem, unfortunately, some of the companies require
a dial-up modem and there is nothing we can do to change
that. We are sorry for the inconvenience, but it
inconveniences us as well.
Once you begin receiving download files you must use the WinAA Download Manager to process them.
For more help on processing your incoming files please refer to the Company Downloads Overview.
Downloading from Progressive and Mercury
Downloading from these two companies is
fairly easy and only requires a couple of days for installation
and setup. They do not require the use of the Ivans program
because they provide their own transport software. They also use the
WinAA Download Manager to process the files.
The Benefits of Downloading
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Daily downloads are quick and easy
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Information straight from the company
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Accurate premiums and commissions
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Reduces and virtually eliminates user error
Initial Downloads vs. Daily Downloads
One of the hardest things to do is to
populate the database with customers. New WinAA users can
setup the downloads and then request initial downloads
from their companies that contain ALL the business they have
with that company. It's a great way to get everyone in there
quickly and accurately!
You only need to request an initial download
if you are a new user. The initial downloads are strictly for
populating a database. If you request initial downloads from
multiple companies, you may run the risk of duplicating a
customer, however, we have tools within the program to correct
that.
Existing WinAA users should only use
daily downloads to receive their information from
companies. These are small downloads that only contain policy
information that has been updated.
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