This solution can be used on a standalone basis or integrated with our Electronic Financial Assessments solution. It integrates with the council's Housing Benefits system and Document Management / Workflow system to speed up the processing of claims and related verification checks at the same time as greatly reducing office based administration (i.e. re-keying information from paper forms, scanning into the Document Management System, issuing letters, etc...). In addition to getting a faster service claimants receive an immediate estimate of their entitlements during the visit.
Data from the Housing Benefit Matching Service is loaded into the council's Housing Benefit System and a work schedule is created including the home visits to be conducted by the Visiting Team. The necessary visit information for each Visiting Officer is downloaded onto their Tablet PCs.
In the visit the Visiting Officers can verify the existing claimant information and/or capture and verify new or changed information. Important documents are recorded with a digital camera and linked to the form. The system integrates in real-time with the Council's Benefits Ready Reckoner allowing production of a letter (on a tiny mobile printer) so claimants receive an immediate estimate of their entitlements. The customer can sign the electronic form on the tablet PC, so there is no need to print the form.
When the Tablet PC is connected to the network the new information is automatically uploaded into the Housing Benefit System and the forms and evidence are stored in the Document Management System. Only cases requiring action are put into the work-flow for assessment staff to progress.