As an independent boutique national Plan Manager our goal has always been to provide you (our participants) with choice and control. This includes how and when you wish to communicate with us and the steps you wish us to follow in processing invoices on your behalf. We tailor our supports and services to best suit your needs.
Your Invoicing Options
We have four standard options available to you when it comes to the First2Care team’s approach to processing your invoices (although we can tailor additional alternative options if none of the following processes are suitable):
Default option
Review everything
Review a selection of providers
Nominate an authorised person
It’s important to remember that no matter which option you prefer, you can always ask our team not to pay an invoice if there is an issue.
Default Option
The default option is one that works well for most of our participants because it combines choice and control without having to spend too much time reviewing every invoice.
Our accounts team will send an invoice notification every time we begin to process an invoice claim from a provider. Typically, the team will send an email with the invoice attached. If our team do not receive a response within 24 hours specifically requesting that we hold back processing the invoice, then the invoice will be processed and paid.
This option is great for participants who may wish to review invoices as they come through but don’t need a specific review process in place. You can turn this on and off as your availability dictates (e.g. when you are planning to be away on holidays).
This default option may not work for every participant, all of the time, which is why we ensure flexibility in our processing.
Review Everything
The Participant elects to review all invoices before they are processed and paid. This means that when we send an email with the invoice pending review attached, our team will not process this invoice until we have a response from the participant confirming the invoice can be processed.
This option is great for participants who want total control over all of their invoice claims, but it does require you to be constantly engaged to ensure that invoices can be processed and paid in a timely manner.
This process relies on you constantly monitoring your inbox to ensure there aren’t delays in payments to your providers. Our team will of course reach out to you in the event that invoices remain unpaid and awaiting participant approval. It is important to ensure the relationship with your provider is not undermined by unnecessarily slow payment. Like all businesses, receiving payment on a timely basis is important and likewise negating the need for follow ups for invoice payments.
Review a Selection of Providers
If reviewing all invoices is too much, there is the option to review just a select number of your providers invoices. This means you can request that invoices from certain providers are only paid once they have been approved by you.
This option is good for participants who are looking for flexibility over which providers they wish to take a little more time to review and the providers they are happy to be paid without a detailed review. It is also great for new providers whom you are wanting to review more closely their invoices to ensure they match your expectation.
Nominate an Authorised Person
If you don’t want to review invoices yourself or you would like another person to assist you in the approval of your invoices, but you do want all or some of your invoices reviewed before they are processed and paid, you can nominate an authorised person who can approve or hold invoices on your behalf.
This option is good for participants who don’t want to be involved personally with the invoice approval process or wish to have someone else help in the review and monitoring process.
What to do if you notice an error
If you notice an error on an invoice from your provider, like the hours are incorrect; the service date is incorrect; the fee amount is not what was agreed or there are additional fees levied that were not discussed, there are three steps that you need to follow:
Step 1: Reply to the invoice approval email from our accounts team and request the invoice be put on hold.
Step 2: Contact your provider or if you have a Support Coordinator have them contact the provider to discuss the issues you have with the invoice, request the changes that need to be made and have your provider reissue a corrected invoice.
Step 3: Follow up with your friendly First2Care accounts team directly or through your Support Provider to advise us the outcome of the discussion with your provider (i.e., if your provider will reissue a new invoice).
Resources that can help
One of the best ways to better understand your invoices and what they should contain is to check out our resource Provider Invoicing Checklist. Although this checklist is designed to help providers better understand how to invoice in line with the NDIS invoicing rules and regulations, it can also benefit participants, so they know what to look for when reviewing an invoice.
We also wrote a blog titled, Top Tips from First2Care which shares some key tips around invoicing that can help you maintain choice and control.
Read more about the benefits of working with an independent, professional Plan Manager. Alternatively, contact our friendly team on 1300 322 273 or support@first2care.com.au.