Skip to main content

Last updated:


In this Topic


Overview


Many of the features associated with the SmartBenefits module, such as employee census management and group benefit information, are found in several special content links in SmartOffice business records. This section describes those content links. To see how business records fit into the SmartBenefits workflow, see Basic Workflow.


For information about searching for business records, see Search Contacts and Businesses.


Employee Census Content Link


The business Employee Census content link lists the names of those persons associated with the business who are employees, members of a group benefit plan or both.


On this content link, the user can:


  • View, add, modify and delete employee census members.
  • Create activities for one or more census members.
  • Generate employee census statistics.
  • Convert employee census records to contacts.

Adding an Employee Census Member


Watch the Training Class: Adding Employees to the Census


These instructions describe how to manually create an employee census record.


Note: You can also import records from a file.


  1. On the Employee Census List, click the Options button and select New 'Employee Census' Record to open the New Employee Census Record dialog box.
  2. Select one of the following options:
  • Copy Employee Census Information to an Existing Contact: Select this option and then click the OK button to open the Search Contacts dialog box. Select the appropriate contact to add to the employee census. When the contact is added, the Update Contact Information dialog box opens, allowing you to add business information to the contact record. Select the appropriate options and then click the OK button to open the Employee Census Details dialog box. Enter any additional business information and then click the OK button when finished.
  • Create New Employee Census Member: This option creates an employee census record that is not a full SmartOffice contact record; the record will appear only on this business's employee census list and not in other areas of the system. These records are highlighted in a light red color in the employee census list. Select this option and then click the OK button to open the New - Contact dialog box. Enter the contact information. The business name and address do not appear on the New – Contact dialog box but are automatically added to the new record. When finished, click the Save & Close button or click the Save & New button to add another employee census member.

Employee census members can also be added on a business' Key Relations content link.


Deleting an Employee Census Member


You can delete an employee census member as long as he/she is not a member of a group plan.


Note: If an employee census record is a full SmartOffice contact, deleting the employee census entry only removes that name from the Employee Census List. The contact record is not deleted from the system.


  1. Select one or more entries in the Employee Census List.
  2. Click the Options button and select Delete 'Employee Census' Record.
  3. When the confirmation message displays, click the Yes button.

Viewing and Editing Employee Census Data


Watch the Training Class: Updating Employee Information in the Census


  1. On the Employee Census List, click the member's first-column hyperlink to open the Employee Census Details dialog box.
  2. Review the employee's information. To open the employee's SmartOffice contact record, click the employee's name.
  3. Make any changes if necessary, and then click the OK button.

Importing Employee Census Members


To minimize or eliminate the need to enter employee census members manually, you can import one or more members from a comma-separated values (.csv) file. This feature can be useful when an employer provides you with a roster of new and/or updated employees and you need to update employer's record in SmartOffice.


Watch the Training Class: Importing Contacts to the Employee Census


Note: Employee census members imported into SmartOffice are not full SmartOffice contact records and will not appear in regular contact searches.


Employee Census Import


You can use this method to import employees and their spouses/dependents.


Note: This method creates separate employee census records for spouses and dependents. If you prefer that spouses and dependents be linked as family members to employees, see Employee Census Plus Relationship Import.


To ensure that employee census members are imported properly, format the import file as follows:


  • Include a SS # column with a Social Security number for every employee.
  • To import coverage information, add a column for each coverage type (Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, STD), and then enter one of the following values for each person under the appropriate columns (the values must appear in your import file exactly as shown below):
  • EE & 1 Child
  • EE & 2 Child
  • EE & 3 Child
  • EE & Family
  • EE & Spouse
  • EE Only
  • Employee & Children
  • Waived When the import file is ready, follow these steps to import the data:
  1. From the Employee Census List, click the Options button and select Employee Census Import to open the Import Setup List dialog box.
  2. Select Menu > New 'Import Setup' record to open the Add Import Definition dialog box.
  3. In the Enter Setup Name field, type a name for the import setup. This name will display in the Import Setup List the next time you or other SmartOffice users access the import feature, enabling anyone to perform subsequent employee census imports more quickly.
  4. Click the Next button.
  5. Navigate through the wizard, selecting the import file and configuring import settings. For help with these settings, see Data Import.
  6. On the Select Options step, note the section regarding record matching options.
  7. Select the appropriate option based on whether records that are not in the import file should be removed or retained in the Employee Census List.
  8. Click the Next button and follow the remaining wizard steps to complete the import process. For help with the remaining steps, see Data Import.

Employee Census Plus Relationship Import


Use this method to import employee census members and automatically link spouses and dependents as family members of the employee. To ensure that relationships are imported properly, format the import file as follows:


  • Include a column labeled Member Type and ensure that the column displays a value of Employee, Spouse or Dependent for each row.
  • Make sure the employee is listed first, followed immediately by that employee's spouse and/or dependents.
  • To import coverage information, add a column for each coverage type (Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, STD), and then enter one of the following values for each person under the appropriate columns (the values must appear in your import file exactly as shown below):
  • EE & 1 Child
  • EE & 2 Child
  • EE & 3 Child
  • EE & Family
  • EE & Spouse
  • EE Only
  • Employee & Children
  • Waived When the import file is ready, follow these steps to import the data:
  1. From the Employee Census List, click the Options button and select Employee Census Plus Relationship Import to open the Import Setup List dialog box.
  2. Select Menu > New 'Import Setup' record to open the Add Import Definition dialog box.
  3. In the Enter Setup Name field, type a name for the import setup. This name will display in the Import Setup List the next time you or other SmartOffice users access the import feature, enabling anyone to perform subsequent employee census imports more quickly.
  4. Click the Next button.
  5. Navigate through the wizard, selecting the import file and configuring import settings (for detailed help with these settings, see Data Import). Important: When you are prompted to map the fields, map the Member Type column in the import file to the Member Type field in the Employee Census table in SmartOffice. If this field is not mapped properly, the spouse and dependent relationships will not be created properly.
  6. Follow the remaining wizard steps to complete the import process.

Creating Calendar Tasks for Employee Census Members


From the Employee Census content link, the user can schedule calls, meetings and other types of calendar tasks for employees.


  1. On the Employee Census List, tag one or more employees.
  2. Click the Options button and select Activity Options > Mass Task Creation to open the Mass Task Creation dialog box.
  3. Fill in the appropriate task options. For help with these options, see SmartCalendar - Mass Task Creation.
  4. Click the Create Tasks button.

Converting an Employee Census Member into a SmartOffice Contact


  1. Select an entry in the Employee Census List.
  2. Click the Options button and select Convert To Group Census or Contact.
  3. When the confirmation message displays, click the Yes button.

Adding an Employee Census Member to a Group Plan


After creating a group policy and adding a plan to that policy, the user can add employees to a plan from the Employee Census List. (Employees can also be added to a plan from the policy's Group Plans content link. See Viewing and Editing Group Policies.)


  1. On the Employee Census list, tag one or more employees.
  2. Click the Options button and select Advanced Options > Add Members to Group Policy.
  3. In the Group Plan List dialog box, select a plan.

Generating Employee Census Statistics


On the Employee Census List, click the Options button and select Show Employee Census Statistics to display the Employee Census Statistics dialog box.


Note: User-added choices and blank fields may affect calculations.


These statistics are calculated as follows:


  • Total Members: Total number of employee census records for the business.
  • Male Members: Number of employee census records in which the Gender is Male.
  • Female Members: Number of employee census records in which the Gender is Female.
  • Married: Number of employee census records in which Marital Status is Married.
  • Not Married: Number of employee census records in which Marital Status is something other than Married.
  • Tobacco: Number of employee census records in which Tobacco Use is something other than Never Used.
  • Non-Tobacco: Number of employee census records in which Tobacco Use is Never Used.
  • Total Dependent Units: Number of employee census records containing Dependents in which the Relationship is Daughter or Son.
  • Dependent Spouse Units: Number of employee census records containing Dependents in which the Relationship is Spouse, Husband or Wife.
  • Total Pre-Existing Conditions: Number of employee census records in which the Pre-Existing Condition field is not .
  • Average Member Age: The sum of all employees' ages divided by the total number of employees.
  • Note: Decimal values are not displayed; ages are rounded to the nearest integer.
  • Average Spouse Age: The sum of all spouses' ages divided by the total number of spouses.
  • Note: Decimal values are not displayed; ages are rounded to the nearest integer.
  • Active Members: Number of employee census records in which Employee Status is Active.
  • Inactive Members: Number of employee census records in which Employee Status is Inactive.

Group Benefits Content Link


The business Group Benefits content link totals all group policies by line of coverage and displays a pie chart showing total annual premium by insurance type.


To ensure that the data displayed is current, validate the business by selecting Menu > Advanced Options > Validate Current Contact. Selecting this option does the following:


  • All annual premiums are added by insurance type for all policies with an active policy stage. The sum is displayed in the Annualized Premium column.
  • All members added to a policy are counted. The sum of all members for policies with an active policy stage of a particular insurance type is displayed in the # of Participants column.
  • If no members have been added to the plans of a policy, the value in the # of Members field on the Detail content link of a group policy is displayed in the # of Participants column.