ISU Steadfast saved 40+ hours/week automating direct bill reconciliation

Challenges

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As ISU Steadfast entered 2025, both the organization and its collective members were experiencing strong growth. While this momentum was exciting, it also underscored the importance of evolving their accounting operations to keep pace. Legacy systems—particularly those supporting direct bill downloads—relied heavily on manual processing, repetitive data matching, and frequent error correction, which became increasingly inefficient at scale.

This operational strain revealed several recurring challenges:

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• Policy commission mismatches stemming from data inconsistencies
• Invoice discrepancies requiring follow-up due to incorrect amounts
• Inaccurate disbursements for company payables and return premiums
• Extensive time spent by internal teams and external support on manual tasks such as processing statements, collecting payments, and managing spreadsheets
• Increased administrative overhead that diverted focus from high-value work and complicated timely, accurate financial closeouts—impacting remittance schedules to member agencies

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Recognizing that incremental solutions through carriers, AMS systems, or outsourced labor would not be sufficient, ISU determined that a strategic shift toward automation was essential to support continued scalability and operational efficiency.

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Solution

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To improve operational efficiency, ISU Steadfast implemented Ascend to automate the entire commissions reconciliation process- streamlining everything from data retrieval to processing & reconciliation. With Ascend, the team eliminated the need for manual tracking & the hassle of switching between systems. Instead, they implemented a unified view within the Ascend platform, providing real-time visibility into both incoming premiums and commissions receivables, as well as outgoing carrier and member remittance payables. This was mission critical to ISU Steadfast to allow the team to spend less time on previously complex but manual transactional accounting tasks; which, in turn, allowed the team to focus more on helping its agency members meet their growth goals.

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Results

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With Ascend, ISU Steadfast saw rapid operational improvements:

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• 40+ hrs reduced on reconciliation work per week: The outsourced employee was fully eliminated and the two in-house employees who used to exclusively work on direct bill now only spend part of the time overseeing it (as little as 5-8 hours per week per employee)‍.
• 300+ statements processed on immediate receipt: Significantly reducing manual data entry and enabling the team to complete reconciliations and close their books ahead of month-end.‍
• Faster resolution of discrepancies: A single source of truth streamlined payment and commission tracking, enabling quick issue resolution without having to toggle between multiple systems and spreadsheets.

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Not only did Ascend transform the network's internal workflows, it also enhanced the network's agency relationships. Agency members now experience faster, clearer statements and fewer payment issues. Standardized remittance workflows have improved trust, consistency, and communication - allowing the ISU Steadfast team to focus more on what really matters: growing the company and better serving their members.

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Closing Summary

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By adopting Ascend, ISU Steadfast successfully transformed its commissions reconciliation process, freeing up over 40 hours per week of internal resources previously spent on manual tasks. The automation of direct bill reconciliation not only streamlined operations but also enhanced the accuracy and efficiency of financial workflows. The team was able to eliminate errors, resolve discrepancies faster, and close their books ahead of schedule - leading to improved operational efficiency and faster, more reliable service for their agency members.

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Ultimately, Ascend empowered ISU Steadfast to scale without sacrificing quality or service, enabling them to focus on their core mission: supporting the growth of their network of independent insurance agencies. With automation in place, the organization is poised for continued success, better equipped to meet the evolving needs of their agency partners while maintaining a high level of operational excellence.

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