Like most service providers, you’ll have experienced delays with a payment or two in your time, and you’ll be well versed in the woes those delays can cause.
In the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), although most providers are in the business of supporting people to live better lives, getting paid keeps the lights on and services running, which makes swift processing of claims pretty important too!
But with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) focused on stamping out fraud and non-compliant behaviour, its staff take a closer look at claims these days, which means it can take anywhere from two to 10 working days for funds to be released and payments made.
To help your invoices make their way through the queue as quickly as possible, we looked over some of the most common mistakes made in the claims we see and pulled together five quick tips for compiling quality invoices.
It’s a requirement of the NDIA that Supported Independent Living (SIL) supports are claimed from SIL funding and not from general Core Supports.
SIL must be stated in a plan and funding must be used in the way it’s prescribed by the NDIA. Be sure your client has SIL stated in their plan and use the correct SIL codes when claiming.
Line items let the NDIA know which budget category should pay for the supports you provide.
The NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits document contains more than 800 line items for providers to claim from, and the document changes from time to time, so we often see claims with line item codes that no longer exist.
To help you get paid in the shortest time possible, be sure the line item code you’re claiming against is up to date and applicable to the supports you delivered.
We often see invoices using a date range with one total charge, and sometimes they’ll state a quantity of hours that’s more than the number of hours in a day, which usually happens if there are multiple workers providing support to a client at the same time.
Whenever you submit an invoice, be sure to break down each support and include information such as:
You also need to include a separate unit price and quantity for extra costs, like travel. This makes it clear when something is an additional cost and not a charge for supports that’s higher than the price stated in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits.
Be sure to check your client has the budgets and categories that are applicable to your services, and make sure they have sufficient funding to cover your fees.
For example, if a provider invoices for personal training when their client doesn’t have appropriate funding in the Improved Health and Wellbeing category in their NDIS plan, the NDIA will reject the claim.
It’s also good to put a service agreement in place to reduce the likelihood of a claim being rejected (you can send us a copy of the agreement once it’s signed).
We recommend you invoice regularly because, when you do, your cashflow is less likely to be impacted if there’s something in a claim that prevents payment.
The NDIA says claims for Agency-managed participants need to be submitted within 90 days from the end of a service booking – but invoicing for supports as they’re provided, regardless of how your client’s NDIS funding is managed, is good business practice and it helps to keep money coming in too!
Developed to support providers just like you, our invoice tracker helps you check the status of your invoices as they progress from submission to payment. Status information is usually available 24 hours after you submit a claim.
You’ll find the My Plan Manager invoice tracker here.
If you have any questions, our friendly team is here to assist. You can contact us on 1800 861 272 from 8am-5.30pm (SA time), Monday to Friday, or email us at enquiries@myplanmanager.com.au.
