Finance & NDIS | Workflow

The Finance & NDIS Workflow in SupportAbility comprises multiple steps, each often completed by different Staff in an organisation. This article outlines each of the steps involved in this workflow. 

Audience: All

Summary

The following list summarises the content of this article. Click on the links below to take you to the relevant sections:

• Finance & NDIS Workflow diagram and summary
  
  • Configuration
  • NDIS Direct Client Funding
  • Activities 
  • Finance
• Conduct a pilot of the end-to-end workflow when getting started

Finance & NDIS Workflow diagram and summary

The following diagram provides a summary of the Finance & NDIS workflow in SupportAbility: 

To utilise the Finance & NDIS workflow in SupportAbility, some important configuration is required first e.g. each Client must have their NDIS Number recorded in the Client Details tab of their record and registered providers must add their Provider Registration Number to the Settings tab of System Preferences. 

To generate NDIS Bulk Payment Requests (BPRs) and Invoices, the applicable Supports your organisation has an agreement to deliver must first be added by creating an NDIS Direct Client Funding record for each Client in their Funding tab. The Client's NDIS Direct Funding record is where the Financial Plan Manager or party responsible for paying the Invoices for the Supports delivered is configured e.g. the NDIA, the Client (where they are Self Managing these funds), their Plan Manager, or a combination of these. 

Once this record has been created, the Client's NDIS Funding must be set as the Funding Source they are using to pay for any Activities they participate in. This is completed by Staff with the privileges required to manage Activities. The Activity, or instance of service delivery, is where the NDIS Support Items being used are allocated with the applicable Quantity, Price (where relevant), Portion (where relevant) and Claim Type.  

Once service delivery has been completed, the Activity Sign Off is performed to finalise this. BPRs can then be generated including Allocations associated with Agency Managed Funding and the BPR export downloaded for upload to the myplace provider portal for claiming. Invoices for the NDIA can be generated for Accepted Allocations from the ‘View Direct BPR’ page for reconciliation in your financial system. Direct Invoice Batches can be generated for NDIS Support Allocations associated with Self-Managed or Plan Managed Client Funding. Invoice Batches can be downloaded for manual upload to your finance system to process and manage the accounts receivable process. 

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Configuration

• All of the required configuration in order to utilise this workflow is outlined in the Finance & NDIS | Preparation article linked below

NDIS Direct Client Funding

• NDIS Direct Client Funding records must be entered for each Client so that SupportAbility understands which Supports are available for each person. Budgets may be added in order to track the Utilisation of these Supports.
  • Funding records are usually entered by a centralised intake officer, or the Staff Member responsible for managing Service Agreements and Service Bookings; for example, however, this may also be entered by Team Leaders
  • Staff require the 'View Financial Information' privilege as well as access to the Client's record to have access to the Funding tab
  • The Client's NDIS Funding record usually reflects either: 
  • the Standard Service Booking your organisation has entered (for Clients who have Agency managed funding), or 
  • the Schedule of Supports your organisation is set to deliver as outlined in the Service Agreement in place with the Client (for Clients who have a Plan Manager managing their funding or are Self Managing their funding)

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Activities

• Allocate NDIS Support Items delivered for Client's participating in Activities
  • The Staff responsible for allocating NDIS Supports depends on how Activities are being managed for each type of Service your organisation delivers
    
    • If Activities have already been created and replicated, the Client's Funding Source must be updated to their NDIS Funding by Staff with the privileges required to manage Activities
    • NDIS Support Allocations can be added when your organisation is ready to generate Invoices using SupportAbility 
    • In the case where greater autonomy is required e.g. Clinical Services or Support Coordination, NDIS Funding is often added and Supports Allocated by the Staff Member who creates and delivers the Activity
• Complete the Client Support Log (as required)
  • If Client Support Logs are required, these are usually completed by the Staff who have facilitated the Activity with the Client
• Perform the Activity Sign Off approval
  • The Activity Sign Off is important to ensure all of the required quality checks have been completed before the Activity is approved for Finance. For example, it is important to check that NDIS Supports have been allocated correctly, and that appropriate evidence has been recorded and linked where necessary
  • This process is usually centralised to Team Leaders or Heads of Service. In some cases, this approval process is centralised to a single individual or team
  • To perform the Activity Sign Off, Staff require the privileges to manage Activities
  • The Activity Report is the easiest way for Staff to locate Activities awaiting Sign Off
  • Performing the Sign Off approves the Activity for BPRs, Invoicing and Payroll (where applicable)

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Finance

• Once the Activity Sign Off is complete, a Direct Bulk Payment Request (BPR) and Invoice Batches may be generated 
  • Direct BPRs include NDIS Support Allocations from Signed Off Activities and are uploaded to the myplace provider portal manually
    
    • Once the BPR has been uploaded to the portal, the results of which can be downloaded and indicate which Payment Requests (Allocations) have been successful and will be paid, as well as those that have resulted in an error and will not be paid. 
    • The Bulk Payment Results File (BPRF) can be uploaded to the BPR in SupportAbility to automatically update each of the Allocations with their respective Claim Status, i.e. successful Allocations will be updated to 'Accepted' and any errors will be updated to 'Rejected'. 
    • 'Rejected' Allocations can be actioned in SupportAbility in one of two ways, depending on the reason for the error: 
      • 'Cancelled' when a Rejection occurred due to 'No plan found..', the Funding record can be placed 'On Billing Hold', and these Allocations can then be re-added in the Activity in Finance Edit Mode awaiting claiming against the new Funding record when the details of the new plan are known. 
      • 'Retry' when a Rejection occurred due to 'Service booking does not exist..' and processed for inclusion in a subsequent BPR, following the Service Booking being created in the portal. 
    • 'Accepted' Allocations can be included in a Direct Invoice Batch for the NDIA for reconciliation in your finance system.
  • Invoice Batches for Self Managed, and/or Plan Managed Clients may be generated & uploaded to your organisation's finance system for formatting, distribution and management of the Accounts Receivable process.

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Conduct a pilot of the end-to-end workflow when getting started

It is important to note that when an organisation commences managing this workflow using SupportAbility, we recommend conducting a pilot of the end-to-end process, including uploading a BPR to the myplace provider portal and generating even a single Invoice for a Self Managed or Plan Managed Client for your finance system. 

The pilot process is designed to emphasise the change level and subsequent considerations when transitioning these processes to SupportAbility.  N.B. Greater detail about each step in this workflow, including examples has been documented in the Finance & NDIS | Pilot article linked below. 

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