Compliance Census and Batch Options

The Census Batch Dashboard may be accessed from multiple locations within the software:

1. Select the Wolters Kluwer Logo > Batches > Census Worksheet.
2.  Navigate to the Portal Global Dashboard and select the 'Census Batches' tab. (Wolters Kluwer Logo > ftwPortal Pro > Global Dashboard)
3.  Navigate to the Plan Level Dashboard and select Module Options> Census Batch
4.  Navigate to the Compliance Module of a plan, within the Compliance Menu, hover over census and select ‘Portal Files’. Within the menu grid, select the stack of papers in the ‘Census Worksheet’ row.

Note: A subscription to both the Compliance Software and Portal is needed to use the batch features.

The Census Batch Dashboard is located on the Global Dashboard of the Portal Module. The following features are available from the select a batch screen:

1. Module Options: Like the ‘Portal User’ and ‘Communications’ tab, the same Module Options button is available in the Census Batch.
2. Create a Batch: Selecting this button will allow users to create a new census batch. For further steps please see the article entitled: 'How to Post a Census Batch'.
3. Tricolon Menu: Selecting the tricolon next to the individual batch will allow users to open the batch (which is also available by selecting the batch name) as well as delete a batch. Deleting a batch will remove the census posted to the portal users as well as enable the plan to be added to another batch. Note: If a portal user has returned a response, the response will NOT be removed with the deletion of the batch. To add this plan to a new batch, the portal user’s response will need to be removed from the plan level Compliance Portal files. 
4. Do with Selected: There are two options included in the dropdown menu:
   • Mark a Batch as Completed: Marking a batch as completed locks it from further edits, disables the 'Post Batch' and 'Send Invites' buttons, and prevents any changes except updating portal user permissions. Batches cannot be marked as completed if they haven’t been posted but can be if invites were not sent. Note: This action cannot be undone.
   • Download Batch Info: This option will create a .csv export of all the information associated with the batches. This includes:
     • Batch Name
     • Batch ID
     • Plan Count
     • Year (the plan year end as MM/DD/YYYY for each plan in the batch)
     • Portal Users associated with the plan that have Compliance permissions.
     • Census (the name of the census file if the batch has been posted. If not posted either Not Customized or Customized will populate)
     • Posted Date (the date the census was posted to the portal)
     • Invited Date (the date the portal user was invited to view items in the portal. Specify a Server is required)
     • Downloaded Date (the date the portal user downloaded the census if applicable)
     • Completed Date (when the batch was marked completed)

4. Current View/Number Selected : This shows a count of all batches in the Census Batch Dashboard. The 'Number Selected' indicates there is a checkmark to the left of the batch. The number selected is used to show how many plans will either be marked as complete, or how many plans are selected for the 'Download Batch Info' option under 'Do with Selected'.
5. Export CSV: This button creates a .csv file that contains the information shown on the Census Batch>Select a Batch screen.
   • Batch Name
   • Batch ID
   • Plan Count
   • Posted Dates
   • Invited Dates
   • Completed Dates

Rolling Forward Users for an Individual Plan

1. Select the Portal Module of the desired plan.
2. Click the Menu icon (three vertical dots) on the right-hand side of the screen.
3. Choose 'Bring Forward Compliance Portal Users' from the menu.

 Rolling Forward Users for All Plans

1. Navigate to the Global Dashboard (WK logo > ftwPortalPro > Global Dashboard).
2. Click the Menu icon (three vertical dots) on the right-hand side of the screen.
3. Select 'Bring Forward Compliance Portal Users.' This action will pull forward all users across all plans.

Note: A subscription to both the Compliance Software and Portal is needed to use the batch features. ‘Specify a Server’ will need to be set up within the Compliance tab of the global email settings to send a communication to portal users.

 Before creating a current year census batch, it is recommended to roll forward Compliance Portal Users from the previous year. Please review ‘How to Roll Forward Compliance Users’ for steps on completing this process.

To create a new census batch, select the ‘Create Batch’ button above the grid and enter a batch name:

 Once the batch is created, a new screen will populate with Batch Options.

Batch Options:

1.  Select a Batch: This button will return users to the main census batch screen to select a batch. Batches display in alphabetical order. 
2.  Edit Name: Select the pencil next to the batch name to make alterations. 
3. + Add Plans: Select the plans to add to the batch. Plans that have already uploaded a census in the Compliance Portal (either through another batch or at the plan level) will not appear in the 'Add Plans' screen. Any plan year may be included (e.g., 2021, 2022, 2023) in the same batch.

 +Add Plans screen includes the following filters for easy searching (hit the enter key on your keyboard for the filter to be retained).

• Plan Name/ Plan ID
• Company Name/ Company ID
• EIN
• Year End (*Search for plans by Year End using the following formats: by MM/DD, MM/DD/YYYY,  MM-DD, MM-DD-YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD, YYYY/MM/DD, and YYYY.  Note: The year must be entered as YYYY, not YY.)
• Checklist Type
• Checklist Version
• Administrator (listed on the Edit Plan screen for the Compliance Module)

Things to note when adding plans: 

• Multiple filters may be used at the same time. 
• After entering filters and selecting the plans to add, click on the Add Selected Plans button in the lower left-hand corner. This will need to be completed first if additional/alternate filtered or unfiltered plans need to be added.
• The add plans grid is exportable both in the full and filtered view by selecting the Export CSV button in the bottom right-hand corner.

  4. Default Worksheet: There are 3 options for sending the census to the Portal:

1. Upload File: Upload a custom census that is not generated by ftwilliam.com.  
2. Load Prior Year Census: This radio dial selection will load the prior year census for the listed plans, it will contain census data and participants from a prior year. *Please note: if the prior year census grid selection is different than the current year grid selection in compliance, the software will enter the applicable data into the new grid format.
3. Load Current Year Census: This radio dial selection will load the current year census for the listed plans, this will be a blank census (or will contain any data entered into the compliance module census for the current year) and will match the census grid selection in the Compliance for the current year.

 *Note: Customized Option: in addition to selecting one of the options outlined above, users may also add custom census to specific plans.

• Select the ‘Not Customized’ link in the grid. 
• A pop-up window with the Company and Plan Name selected will populate.
• Select the ‘Browse’ button and add the unique custom census template.
  • The name of the file will populate in the blank box to the left once the upload is complete.
• Select the ‘Close’ button and the grid will then show with ‘Customized’ for that plan listing.

  5.  Delivery Options:  There are 3 options for delivering the census to portal users.

• Download only: Allows the portal user to download the census but is unable to make changes within the portal screen or reimport the information. This is often used for review purposes only. *Not a commonly used feature.
• Download and Upload CSV: Allows the portal user to download the census to make alterations and then provides an import option to send respond with the updated census. *This will create two separate To-Do list tasks (Download and Upload.)
• Edit CSV on the Portal: This allows the portal user to alter the census directly in the Portal screen.

*Note: Portal users will automatically be updated with the delivery option permissions set by the batch. The batch delivery options will only add permissions, it will not alter other existing permissions. For example, if prior to a batch the user has permissions to upload and download the census only, and the batch allows them to edit the CSV on the portal, once the batch is posted, this user will have permissions to Upload/Download and complete in portal.

When plans have been added, if a Portal User is not assigned to a plan, they may be added by selecting the ‘None’ link under the Portal User(s) column on the grid.

• Selecting this link will open the ‘Edit Portal User Options’ window. 
• Select a user from the ‘All Contacts’ dropdown. 
• The user will be added to the year specified in the batch with the permissions defined by the Delivery Options for the batch.
• Ensure the ‘Save Changes’ button is selected.

 6.  Email Template: Here the template sent to the portal user may be viewed/edited or a new template may be selected. This template will automatically default to the selected template in the Global E-mail Settings> Compliance Tab> Census Worksheet Default.

• To select a pre-existing e-mail template, select the drop-down menu. This menu will populate with all of the available compliance default e-mail options:
• To alter, edit, or create a new template for this batch, select the Edit Templates Link directly below the ‘Email Template’ drop-down.
• This will open the ‘Email Template Editor’ for the Compliance module to add or edit templates. For additional guidance on this feature please review the article entitled: 'How to Edit Or Clone Default E-mail Templates.'

 7.  Post Batch:  Selecting this button will post the Census Worksheet to the User Portal. If the ‘Send Email Invites’ toggle is green, an invitation (using the Email Template selected for the batch) will also be sent to the Portal Users associated with the plan.

 8.  Do with Selected: Based on the status of the batch, the ‘Do with Selected’ options will vary as described below: 

• Prior to posting a batch, the ‘Do with Selected’ option allows a user to select all or individual plans and remove them from the batch. 
• After posting a batch, the ‘Do with Selected’ option allows a user to: 
  • Remove Plan(s)- When a batch has been posted and s removed from the batch a confirmation window will populate alerting that the census posted to the users portal, as well as posted in the compliance module will be removed. However, responses from the portal user will remain unaffected and will still be both in the compliance module and associated with this plan if added to another batch unless manually removed.  
  • Download Posted Census- selecting this option will export the census that was posted to the user portal in bulk. These are downloaded into a zip file with the following naming convention: ‘NameOfBatch Posted Census’.
  • Download Census Responses- selecting this option will export the census responses from portal users. These are downloaded into a zip file with the following naming convention: ‘NameOfBatch Census Received’.

 9.  Export CSV: The export CSV option from below the grid will export all the data within the census batch grid into an editable .csv file.

Portal User permissions for the Compliance module may be accessed from within the Compliance module as shown below or from the Edit Portal User screen under the Compliance tab within the Portal Module. 

From within the Compliance Module under the Compliance Menu>Census> Portal Files, Edit Portal Users:

From here the compliance tab of the Edit Portal User screen will populate. For users to be able to edit the Census directly in the portal, ensure the ’Edit Census Worksheet’ is set to yes. (The Census Worksheet (download) and Census worksheet (upload) options may be set to ‘Yes’ to allow users to download, edit and return the .CSV file).

Ensure the 'Save Changes' button is selected before closing the window. 

Please note: for the portal user to open and edit the census within the portal, the template must match a grid available within the compliance module dropdown list. If the format does not match, the user will receive the following error message:

After selecting the “Invite XX to the portal”, the portal user will see the option to ‘Edit Census Worksheet’.  Each cell of the spreadsheet is editable. Participants may also be added or removed within this screen

After editing the census, the portal user will need to select the “Save Changes” before navigating away from the page. Once completed selecting the 'I’m Done' done button will and submit the census.

Once selected the user is asked to confirm their selection:

Selecting 'I’m Done' pushes the updated census to the plan as census (Upload). The portal user will not be able to make any additional changes after pressing “I’m Done”. If changes are needed, the census (Upload) file will need to be removed and the portal user re-invited.

Once the (Upload) census is populated and approved, the “Make Final” link will become active.

Note: The link will not be active if the (Upload) census has not been approved or if the (Final) census already appears in the Active Documents box.

Once approved, select the “Make Final” link. 

The census file will automatically populate as “Final”. Once made Final, there is a link that will populate below the grid that will allow you to push the portal File Census to the Main grid Census for testing purposes.

Please Note: File must contain 5 header rows and census information only. Participants on the current year census (if any) with no upload record will be deleted.