Cube4 Helps Companies Comply with Affordable Care
Few companies come to Concept Academy with live software and beta customers, but that’s how it was for Cube4.
Cube4 provides a series of cloud-based solutions that give companies easy-to-use tools to stay in compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Founder Louise Stonehouse didn’t move back to Ohio from California to start a software business, but that’s how things evolved. And once Cube4 started, progress was fast.
“I returned to Ohio to go into the franchise business,” Stonehouse said. She and her son built a company that owns and manages several Tim Hortons franchises.
“As soon as we were getting our operations organized,” Stonehouse said, “along came ACA compliance.”
IT & Software Expertise + Small Business Knowledge + Passion = Solution
Compliance isn’t new territory for Stonehouse.
She has an extensive background in compliance with SAP, PeopleSoft, and Deloitte. She previously built compliance solutions to manage Sarbanes Oxley, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and Food and Drug Administration requirements.
“I could see how difficult ACA compliance was going to be for a small business owner, especially one with tight margins, seasonal workers, or high turnover,” said Stonehouse.
“This new legislation requires small businesses to report things they never had to report before,” she said. “If they don’t, the penalties can go from two to three thousand dollars per employee annually, or more—penalties are calculated daily, weekly, or monthly.”
Compliance requires rules and data and proof. Cube4 understands all three.
When it comes to ACA compliance, many companies are finding that they don’t know what they don’t know. They have to learn what they have to do, and then they have to prove that they did it.
Here are just some of the challenges businesses face.
- Company data is contained in multiple backend systems. A company may use one provider for payroll, a different system for employee records, and other providers for benefits or human resources. ACA compliance requires data from all these types of systems.
- Accuracy and timeliness of data. Data can be duplicated, inconsistent, wrong, or missing. Seemingly “small errors” from incorrect social security numbers to dates of hire can create as many problems as larger inaccuracies. Reporting periods for ACA may not match existing company reports.
- ACA requires data that the company many not have been collecting before. One example, to prove compliance, employers must now report insurance offers, acceptances, and rejections by employee. Reporting on hours, from workweek to leaves of absence to rehires and seasonal employees must be more comprehensive now.
- Companies will face steep penalties if they don’t meet deadlines and compliance standards. Existing systems that pre-date ACA aren’t set up to notify companies of problems that will contribute to non-compliance with ACA. They aren’t set up to create new reports or to provide information that would allow management to make better decisions given the realities of ACA.
Anyway you slice it, ACA compliance requires a mountain of detail that owners and managers need help to figure out.
Cube4 makes compliance easier by making data collection and reporting automatic.
- System Independence. Cube4 automatically extracts data from a company’s multiple legacy systems to produce metrics and compliance reports with a click. Cube4 has interfaces for commonly used systems of record and will develop additional interfaces as required.
- Quality data. Cube4 connects to existing systems and cleanses the data and automatically aggregates it to meet ACA requirements. No cut and paste. No uploads. Cube4 automatically pulls the data on a preset schedule.
- Reports, forms, and documentation. With the press of a button, Cube4 produces documentation, automatic reports, and forms, which can include 1094, 1095-B, and 1095-C so that customers can satisfy reporting requirements in the appropriate timeframes.
- Red flag alerts and notifications. Cube4 automatically notifies customers of incorrect data, missing employee information, as well as critical information that will help a company most efficiently manage its workforce.
“The first time going through anything is going to be an experience for the customer,” Stonehouse said. “That’s where Cube4 comes in instead of the customer having to cobble together all the elements to comply with ACA.”
Cube4 is initially targeting companies with 200 to 5,000 employees. The system is designed to be flexible and adaptable with configurable options that will allow a company to adapt to future changes.
Cube4’s solution is operational with paying customers.
“We are adding customers and completing the development of electronic forms submission. We’ve had multiple national brands and franchise owners with up to 30 different locations. Cube4 brings real value to employers by having the end-to-end automated solution for ACA compliance,” said Stonehouse.
“Concept Academy made us understand exactly the pros and cons of our competition,” she said. “The process helped us articulate the idea of what we were planning on doing with much more clarity.”
Cube4 has used Rev1’s First Connect network, engaging Halcyon Solutions for software development and Ice Miller for legal services.
“Rev1 has been an outstanding service as we’ve expanded and needed more development bench strength,” Stonehouse said. “I tried a number of things upon arriving in Ohio, but it’s really been Rev1 that has been able to stand alongside and assist with resources.”
