Workers Comp Recordkeeping = Everything on Spreadsheets
Workers Comp recordkeeping has always been a critical task. The remote premium auditor now makes keeping all payroll and expense records on spreadsheets a must.
I have recommended using Excel(r) or similar spreadsheet apps for 20+ years. Even if you do not want to pay for it, one can find a great office setup here.
Apache Office, Google, and LibreOffice contain recommended spreadsheet apps. I have used OpenOffice now Apache Office for many years as a backup to my Excel.
Why Put Everything on Spreadsheets
The recent, current, and future workers comp premium audits do not necessarily have to be in-person audits. The remote workers comp premium auditors are allowed by most states to have an insured upload all the required/requested records through a portal. The portal upload counts as a physical audit.
Workers Comp recordkeeping does not require any extra spreadsheets. The recommendation of entering everything on a spreadsheet comes from what J&L has been seeing in our premium audits for employers. Having everything on spreadsheets will help your company and the premium auditor in five ways.
- Organization – neatness counts in all audits not just workers comp. Ask any auditor (tax, premium, expense, etc.) and they will tell you neatness counts.
- Not standing out – neatness and having everything on spreadsheets make the auditors’ jobs easier. Spreadsheets can also eliminate any questions.
- Overcoming remoteness – the premium auditor cannot ask any direct questions while going through the audit. Spreadsheets can bridge the remoteness gap. Many times I have sat through premium audit webinars over how to examine and manipulate spreadsheets.
- Rushed ad hoc spreadsheets – many times when the insureds have to present a spreadsheet on the fly minor to major errors can occur frequently. An auditor can tell when a spreadsheet was patched together and rushed to them. Auditors look at them all day. They know a patched-together spreadsheet when they see it.
- Enhancing your expense analysis – this may not have to do with premium audits – when you spreadsheet every cent of cash flow, you will start to see trends such as increases in a certain expense or other internal measurements. Keeping your expense spreadsheets up to date will always pay off in the long term.
- Savings if you have consultants – in case your company decides to use a consultant to review your workers comp premiums, paying someone by the hour to create spreadsheets is not an economical method of workers comp recordkeeping.
