Creating a NDIS Client Engagement (without HICAPS)

This article provides detailed guidance on creating a new NDIS client engagement in Funding without HICAPS. The goal is to ensure all necessary client and service information is captured accurately, facilitating seamless service delivery, invoicing, and compliance tracking.

Step-by-Step Workflow

Initiating a New Engagement

• Navigate to ‘Manage Funding Clients’ and select ‘Create new engagement’.

Best Practice:Ensure clients and their contacts are set up correctly in CRM before initiating engagements in Funding. This allows the system to prefill data and reduces manual errors. Check if the client already exists in the system using the search bar. If the client does not appear, return to CRM to create the client and their associated contacts. This ensures consistency across the platform and pre-populates client information into Funding.

Entering Representative Information

• Indicate if the client has a representative.

  • If yes:

    • Select ‘Use existing contact’ and search for the representative.

    • Specify the ‘Relationship to client’ from the dropdown menu.

    • Confirm whether the communication address matches the client’s address. If not, provide the representative’s address.

Representative information is essential for ensuring accurate invoicing and effective communication. When a representative is designated, all invoices and correspondence that would typically be directed to the client or participant will instead be sent to the representative. This is particularly beneficial for clients who rely on a representative to manage their affairs. Additionally, any documents requiring signatures, such as service agreements, will also be routed to the representative.

Administering Support Coordination

• Indicate if the client’s plan includes support coordination.

  • If yes:

    • Select ‘Use existing contact’ and search for the support coordinator.

Setting Plan Style and Dates

• Choose the plan management style:

  • Agency, Self-managed, or Plan-managed.

  • For plan-managed clients, enter the plan manager’s details or create a new contact.

    • Note: When selecting a Plan Manager, the system ensures only relevant options appear in the drop-down menu for efficiency.

    • If the Plan Manager is not visible, check Funding Settings under Client Engagements > Relationship Type to Search For. If set to ‘All,’ all clients will appear. Best practice is to set the relationship type to Plan Manager and ensure this is configured in the client’s organisation panel.

    • This ensures only organisations designated as Plan Managers are displayed, streamlining the process and improving efficiency, especially for larger organisations managing extensive lists.

• Enter the plan’s start and end dates.

• Specify booking start and end dates.

Additional Note:If there’s no active plan, selecting ‘No active plan’ enables invoicing but flags entries in red for easy identification. This feature is particularly useful for onboarding clients transitioning mid-plan.

Assigning Responsibility for Non-NDIS Fees (Custom Price Books)

• Indicate who will manage non-NDIS fees:

  • Client, Representative, or Other.

  • If selecting ‘Other’, search for and add the relevant contact.

Administering Schedule of Support

Adding Line Items

• Select ‘Add schedule’ and then ‘Add item’.

• Choose the relevant price book, then search for and add support items.

• Complete the following fields:

  • Description of support items.

  • Cost centre (if applicable).

  • Ratio to define the level of support (e.g., 1:1, 1:2).

  • Rate and unit of measurement.

  • Frequency and number of units.

Note: If the desired line item does not appear in the drop-down menu, navigate to CRM> Customisation > Price Books to confirm that it has been added to the appropriate price book.

Flexible Funding

• Add items categorised as Core, Capital, or Capacity Building.

• Specify budgets for each category.

Commentary:Flexible funding allows providers to offer clients adaptable services while maintaining clear budgetary boundaries. This feature is particularly helpful for participants with varying needs.

Managing Schedules

• Copy schedules using ‘Copy schedule’.

• Use templates via ‘Create from template’.

• Archive or remove schedules as necessary.

Note:

• Only one Schedule of Support can be active at any given time.

• Archiving allows historical schedules to remain accessible for audits without cluttering active schedules.

• Templates speed up the process for similar client needs.

Administering Service Agreements

Generating and Sending Agreements

• Select ‘Generate agreement’ and choose a template.

• Save the engagement before generating or emailing the agreement.

• Email agreements by selecting ‘Email agreement to client’:

  • Choose recipients (e.g., client, representative, support coordinator).

  • Specify whether to send as a quote.

  • Indicate if a digital signature is required.

Note: Digital signatures integrate with HelloSign, offering a legally binding solution with an audit trail. This is a best practice for minimising delays in agreement approvals.

Viewing Agreement History

• Access history via ‘View email history’.

• Stop reminders by cancelling specific notifications in the service agreement history.

Administering Service Bookings

• Create service bookings by selecting ‘Add booking’:

  • Specify the support purpose (e.g., Core, Capital).

  • Select the support category and budget.

Note: For clients transitioning mid-plan, use the partially expended column to track prior spending. This ensures budgets reflect real-time availability.

Quarantining Budgets

• Create the service booking as directed above.

• Ensure you have selected the correct support purpose and category that the line item you wish to use falls within (e.g., Core, Capital).

• Type the line item number or name into the 'Support Item' field.

• Select the management type and input the budget information.

• The budget should reflect the exact amount that you require to use.

Document Management

• Add documents such as NDIS plans or signed agreements via ‘Add’.

• Download or delete documents as necessary.

Note: Documents uploaded through Funding can be viewed by clients and their families if they have been granted access to the client's Funding dashboard.

Finalise New Engagement

To allow invoices to be generated from the newly set-up engagement, ensure that the 'All required information has been entered and agreements have been signed' box is ticked.

Renewing and Extending Engagements

• Renew engagements when plans or service bookings expire.

• Update the plan style, dates, and schedules during the renewal process.

Note: Trigger renewals early to avoid service interruptions. If plans extend, manually expire the engagement to adjust dates.

Reviewing Engagement History

• View all changes in the History panel.

• Use filters for easier navigation.