General Manager's Newsletter - 4th Quarter

November 09, 2020

BOISE, Idaho

Partner Spotlight – Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) Driver Portal

In May of 2019, Access Idaho and ITD launched a new citizen portal. that featured online driver license renewals and replacements, suspension reinstatement, and driver license records. This portal quickly became a critical business channel in the spring of 2020 due to COVID DMV office closures or limited service hours.

In the spring of 2020, over 7,000 driving and ID credentials were being renewed or replaced online per month, helping to reduce walk in traffic at county DMV offices. Additionally, due to the access limitations of walk in DMV traffic, online vehicle registrations doubled.

Building on this citizen demand and momentum Access Idaho and ITD launched phase two of the citizen portal in October 2020. This next phase of the DMV citizen portal allows users to expand their personal profile for renewing a vehicle license plate, order personalized license plates, check the status of a vehicle license plate or title, and more.

Access Idaho and ITD look forward to 2021 to expand this portal to include electronic notifications for vehicle license renewals and Real ID/Star Card services to further improve the citizens’ experience when conducting business with the DMV. Please sign into your profile and begin experiencing your future DMV. To learn more about how we built this, feel free to contact me for a tour.

COVID Response & Help

This fall, Access Idaho worked with the Idaho Department of Administration to deploy enhancements to www.supplies.idaho.gov. Enhancements included an e-commerce store to assist in tracking inventory and distributing to qualified Idaho organizations non-medical/emergency Masks, Gloves and Sanitizers (MGS) in support of the Governor’s initiative. The project has assisted with the distribution of $1,361,849.50 worth of MGS supplies to K-12 schools in September & October. The project combined three technologies available to agencies under the Access Idaho contract:

Prompt Pay API for Laserfiche

New this fall, Prompt Pay is enhanced with an API for integration into 3rd party systems. The Idaho State Police is testing the integration of our Instant Invoice/Push Payments service with their Laserfiche forms to bulk send payment requests for Alcohol and Beverage Control Beer and Wine License Renewals with Prompt Pay. This API functionality allows the service to interface with any 3rd party system including Acella, Aspria, Brandt, Celtic, Fast, Sales Force and Tyler or call centers to assist with PCI and instant invoicing. All while keeping PCI data off the state phone, fax and desk of a state employee.


Websites & Webmasters

In early 2019, Access Idaho created the v3 DIY and WordPress templates to provide the State of Idaho with an updated template built on Bootstrap 4 that is cohesive with the new Idaho.gov design. Since then, Access Idaho continues to assist with the State’s goal to migrate websites to the v3 templates by 2021, and continues to work with agencies to do training and update websites.

This fall, Access Idaho worked with Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) to launch an updated website following two rounds of user testing to create objective methodologies for improving citizens usage of the site. The user testing and focus groups provided important feedback on improving the user experience and optimizing site design before it was launched.

parks and rec website on multiple devices

Access Idaho conducted remote usability tests and recorded each test. The user’s path on the website was recorded as well as what they said. Each testing session captured the participant’s navigational choices, task completion rates, comments, and feedback. The user testing results were analyzed and provided Access Idaho and IDPR with data-driven adjustments to improve the usability of the new site. If you would like to learn more about how we can conduct a usability study of your site feel free to contact us, there is no cost to agencies under the portal contract to conduct this activity.


Partner Spotlight - Gem County

Gem County has been an Access Idaho customer since 2008, starting in the Assessor’s office for online and over-the-counter vehicle registration renewals. In subsequent years, they have added the following departments: Treasurer, Sheriff, Ambulance, Development Services, Recreation District, and Solid Waste Transfer Facility.

Because of their relatively short driving distance from our office in Boise, Gem County has always been willing to help us with testing, troubleshooting and providing feedback.

gem county seal

“We have been using Access Idaho for many years now and find their service and reliability outstanding,” Megan Keene, Gem County Treasurer said. “We have always enjoyed prompt, courteous and professional service from all of their staff. Access Idaho has provided us with the necessary tools to manage our credit card processing. I would highly recommend Access Idaho.”

We value Gem County’s dedication to using our services as well as their commitment to the public.


We Create Solutions

Questions about any of the solutions we listed above or want to start working with us? Please contact us.