Five operations jobs a benefits agency can automate: enrollment, tracking, census files, CRM logging, and commissions

I’m Chris Cordon. DoBetter (dobetter.plus) builds these for benefits agencies. I built the first four at my own desk. The fifth I haven’t built, and I’ll tell you how I would.

How does an online enrollment platform work?

An online enrollment platform lets employees enroll on their phone from a QR code or a link. The manual version is paper apps, and paper apps come back signed in blue ballpoint pen when the form says black ink only.

The automated version I built: the account manager sets up the group and its rates. Employees see a running total per paycheck as they choose, and the server checks every price again when they submit. Out comes the carrier’s own census template or a push to a carrier’s enrollment API. In a test push to a carrier’s test environment, a 7 employee demo group enrolled and showed up in the carrier’s portal.

It ran in production for one group, and no employee enrolled through it. The group went to paper. “You have to meet people where they’re at.” Collect contact information and send the link, too.

How does enrollment tracking work?

Enrollment tracking shows who hasn’t started, who’s in progress, and who’s done. The manual version is calling HR and asking. “Before we had enrollment tracking, we were pushy.” We only pushed for a decision, yes or no. “It doesn’t matter what you’re pushy about. You’re just viewed as pushy.”

The automated version: each employee gets a personal link, and a board moves them from Not started to In progress to Done. Reminders go out only when the account manager clicks, with the first name and the link. I also built a tracker that reads the online health application’s report, counts signed apps per group (“3 of 4 signed”), and drafts a nudge for the ones that are one short. Nothing is sent without me.

“A group is almost always one application short because the person whose application is missing doesn’t want to participate and cares so little that they don’t even worry about notifying HR.”

How does census data get moved into carrier files automatically?

Census data gets moved by a tool that reads the export and fills the carriers’ own templates. The manual version: sift through a workbook for three sheets, fill a spreadsheet with about 11 columns, then fill one with 163 columns.

The automated version: I say “Map the census.” It removes duplicate people, sorts employees, spouses, and children, fixes dates, state codes, and phones, and writes two carrier files with their dropdowns intact. It lists what a person still fills in: plan codes, salary, class, and voluntary elections. Real runs happened in April and August 2026.

How does CRM activity logging work?

CRM activity logging writes meetings, emails, and promises to one timeline without anyone typing them. My CRM holds 19,844 timeline events. After a meeting, the outcome is logged with each commitment and its due date, and a follow up email is drafted into a queue I approve. The early pipeline stages move from the log on their own.

“You cannot manage what you don’t measure.” I wanted to see how many emails it took to get an appointment. I built it while I still had HubSpot, and kept HubSpot updated with agents.

How would commission tracking get automated?

I’ve never built commission tracking. Here’s how I would: “I’d give my agent all the master commission reports from the carriers. I’d have a master list of all the splits that needed to go to the producers and the agency.” When new reports arrive, I’d tell the agent, “The new reports are here. Give me the individual reports for the producers.”

Where should an agency start if it can only pick one?

An agency should start with the census tool. Bring a real census export and the carrier templates you fill most, and the first build maps one to the other.

Quick answers

Does the enrollment platform replace my benefits admin platform?

No. It never becomes the roster of record.

Does anything send without a person?

No. Pushes to carriers, reminders, and follow ups all wait for a click.

Can you build commission tracking?

Yes, scoped in discovery. I’ll be clear it’s a first build.

What does it cost?

Every build is a fixed fee after a $1,500 discovery.