Travis Software Official Blog

We just added a new report to WebCOBRA that lists your Employees, grouped by department, and it’s available now!

As you might have heard, we recently released version 8.1 of our desktop based premium billing system, TBILL. This new release contained some new features that we believe you will find helpful through your daily administration.

The right to vote doesn’t end after Nov. 4. Although the polling booths may close, you can still vote on Ideabook!

We are rocking the vote on Ideabook at Travis Software. We have already implememented ideas from IdeaBook and need your input to help decide what else to put into the systems.

Chris Vasquez

Have you ever been curious who works at Travis? Well, “Spotlight on Travis” is your answer! We will regularly interview a member of our team so that you can get to know our staff a little better, and today, you’re going to get to know Chris Vasquez.

Chris is the Senior Support Representative here at Travis Software, and he has been with the company since June 2002.

When asked why he liked working for Travis Software, Chris responded, “I can be myself! We know how to have a great time here together and still get our work done. My co-workers within each department are like a second family to me. We take care of one another, joke with each other, and play, or at least try, Rock Band together everyday!”

Aside from working at Travis, Chris is a musician. He plays for several bands within the more radio “unfriendly” scene. Chris plays the guitar and programs music via both keyboards and computers. Additionally, he is a big fan of new and classic video games. He also mentioned that he puts hot sauce on everything!

Check back soon for the next addition of “Spotlight on Travis!”

We will shut off the phones and our network this Friday, October 24th and 12:30 Central Time, and begin the process of moving from the 5th floor down to the 2nd. WebCOBRA will not be affected in any way.

By Debi Ostrom and Ben Tillman

Working day in and day out, Travis Support has identified some common problems and questions they hear on a regular basis that usually have simple solutions, so we are going to address some of them here. The first one we are going to address is adding additional dependents to an existing QB.

The Summer 2008 release of WebCOBRA.com was made available September 28, 2008, and, so far, we’ve told you about some great new features. Are you wondering what else was added to the system?

• Upload Documents: Administrators can now upload and publish documents such as SPDs, procedures for claims, benefit summaries, and many more to WebCOBRA.com. These documents can then be viewed by Qualified Beneficiaries and, when applicable, retirees.
• HIPAA Certificates: Another new feature that was added to WebCOBRA is the HIPAA Certificate Delivery option. This option will allow you to send dependents their own HIPAA Certificate by simply selecting either “Yes or No.”
• Matrix Plan Types: There are three new options when you’rer using the Table Based Matrix Costing for benefit plans. For your convenience, tables can now be formed based on years of service, salary, and gender.

This isn’t all we’ve added to WebCOBRA in the Summer 2008 release. For more information on new features, visit our website at www.webcobra.com!

The Summer 2008 release of WebCOBRA is complete, and was made available on Sunday, September 28. Over the next few weeks, we are going to highlight some of the new features that we have added to the system.

Retiree Billing is one of the major features added to the WebCOBRA.com system. With this new Add-on Module, you can now enroll and track your Retirees, and their benefits, with the same ease that you have tracking COBRA Participants.

How will an online Retiree Billing system help you? Just like administering COBRA in WebCOBRA.com, Retiree Billing can:

• Allow Retirees to Log-in online and view their account, contact, and payment information.
• Allow Retirees to initiate online payments themselves.
• Gives Administrators the ability to set up benefit plans based on age, salary, and years of service.

This isn’t all we’ve added to WebCOBRA in the Summer 2008 release, check back next week and we’ll tell you about another important feature!

A quick post that our upgrade of WebCOBRA.com is complete and the Summer 08 release is live.

You can read more about the Summer 08 release, or login and explore it for yourself. I suggest checking out the “Show History as Timeline” link on the QB History page.

We’ll post highlights of features over the next two weeks, our first highlight was on Online Enrollment

The testing of the Summer 2008 release of WebCOBRA is almost complete, and over the next few weeks, we are going to highlight some of the new features that will be added to the system.

One of the major features that will be added to the WebCOBRA.com system is Online Enrollment. With this feature, administrators will have the ability to enable QBs to have the option to log into the system and accept their coverage with a full electronic payment.

A major benefit of using Online Enrollment is that it will significantly cut down on the paperwork you receive because, by having the QB login and accept their coverage, it will be the same as if the Administrator had actually received the enrollment form. Additionally, the system Administrator will be able to grant or deny QBs the ability to participate in Online Enrollment.

After hearing about this feature, are you worried the QB will be able to change the coverage options offered to them? Don’t worry; QBs will only be able to select the options that the Administrator sets for them. If the QB has questions regarding their coverage, or wants to change tiers or amounts, the QB will be instructed to contact the Administrator. Once this “offline” conversation occurs, the Administrator can then make the benefit changes for the QB, such as dropping a dental plan, changing from QB and Family to QB and Children, etc. Then, after the Administrator makes the necessary changes, the QB can login and make their first payment.

This isn’t all we’re adding to WebCOBRA in the Summer 2008 release. Check back next week, and we’ll tell you about another important feature!

City wide power does not affect WebCOBRA

As you probably saw on national news, Houston, Texas went dark early in the morning on Friday, September 12th, and has been slow to come back online.

Many of our friends only now (at the time of writing) have power, and some do not have cable or internet. WebCOBRA, on the opposite side of the spectrum, ran without issue during the week long power loss and without management by Travis employees.

Travis was out of the office starting on Friday, September 12th, and was back to work on Wednesday, September 19th

Travis offices in Houston received power back Monday night, and the building restored water and air conditioning today (9-16-2008). Building management confirmed that it will open the building for business on Wednesday, so Travis will be back at work tomorrow.

We’re very lucky at Travis that none of our team members were injured during the storm, and we thank you for your understand during this time. We’re excited to be back at work, and look forward to talking with our customers again.

We will post an article about how we were able to keep WebCOBRA online during a city-wide power outage. Look for that in the next couple of days.

Hurricane Ike has turned towards Houston in the last 24 hours, and, as a precautionary measure, Travis is closing its offices on Friday, September 12, 2008.

If our office is closed because of floods or does not have power, we will post an update here. Otherwise, we’ll be back open on Monday.

You can view an interactive map of Hurricane Ike

WebCOBRA and TravisHosting for TCIAM and TFIAM will continue to be available. WebCOBRA runs in two data centers, each of which can withstand significant flooding and power loss (up to 15 feet of water and 7 days). WebCOBRA is completely automated, so even if we aren’t at work, WebCOBRA is!

Update – Travis will close its offices on Monday, September 15. The majority of Houston, including Travis HQ, is still without power, with trees and power lines littering the streets. WebCOBRA remains online without any outages.

Update 9-15-2008 – Travis office’s power has not been restored. We will open our offices as soon as possible, but it is likely we will not have power for the remainder of the week. The Department of Homeland Security has prioritized local power restoration efforts toward the oil refineries and away from homes and commercial buildings. We will update this blog when we are able to open our offices again.

Update 9-17-2008 – We’re opening tomorrow – read all about it.

Have you recently purchased your Travis product? Maybe you’ve added a new member to your team that needs to learn the software; or, maybe your team has been using your Travis product for a few years and could use a refresher course. These are all great reasons to take advantage of a Travis Software training class.

Jesse Wolgamott

Have you ever been curious who works at Travis? Well, “Spotlight on Travis” is your answer! We will regularly interview a member of our team so that you can get to know our staff a little better, and today, we’re starting with Jesse Wolgamott.

Jesse is the Vice President of Technical Services here at Travis, which basically means he is responsible for managing and leading the groups that provide products and services for our customers, including Development, Quality Assurance, and Support. He has been with Travis since January 2002. Initially, Alan Williams, the founder and owner of Travis, brought him on board to specifically create WebCOBRA. Once WebCOBRA.com was launched in February 2005, he began taking on more responsibility within the company, including folding our traditional product development in 2006, and taking over Travis Support, Quality Assurance, and the IT department in 2008.

When asked why he liked working for Travis Software, Jesse responded, “I like the close knit team environment we’ve been able to achieve here; we’re small enough where everyone knows everyone else’s name, but large enough to tackle big problems and see results. Working with people you can call your friends is a luxury most people don’t experience, and I’m lucky in that respect.”

Jesse is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He also began his career in Austin, TX., first working at a Technology Incubator and then experiencing the highs and lows of the dot-com frenzy and crash.

Aside from working at Travis, Jesse enjoys being a technology first adopter, where he is always trying out new website startups, tweaking his tivo’s, and trying to get more out of the internet in general. However, on a less “geeky” side, Jesse is also an avid Golfer (recently shot in a 79!), a wannabe chef, and loves watching/playing football and baseball.

On a personal note, Jesse and his wife Amanda reside in the Houston area, are expecting their first child in October 2008, and are the proud owners of a Chihuahua named Weezie.

Check back soon for the next addition of “Spotlight on Travis!”