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.

James Moore

I have recommended using Excel or similar spreadsheet apps for 20 years. Even if you do not want to pay for it, you 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 Excel.

Why put everything on spreadsheets?

The recent, current and future workers' comp premium audits do not necessarily have to be done in person. 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 these ways:

• Organization. Neatness counts in all audits, not just workers' comp. Ask any auditor (tax, premium, expense, etc.), and he or she 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. An auditor can tell when a spreadsheet was patched together and rushed. 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, but when you record to a 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 recordkeeping.

This blog post is provided by James Moore, AIC, MBA, ChFC, ARM, and is republished with permission from J&L Risk Management Consultants. Visit the full website at www.cutcompcosts.com.