How do I define time specific rates for bill codes?

If you need to charge differently for a visit of a service based on a specific day or time, you can enter different rates on the bill code to apply depending on the day, time of day, or if the day is a holiday.

• Adding a time specific rate by adding a bill code
• Adding a time specific rate by editing a bill code 
• Understanding which rate will apply on a bill code 

Adding a time specific rate by adding a bill code

To begin, go to accounting>accounting settings>bill codes. From here, click +add bill code to create a new bill code and define the default rate.

In the add bill code dialogue, select the +add time specific rate button after adding the default rate.  Add as many time-specific rules as you wish that will override the default rate in effect on the bill code at that time.

For each time specific rate, you must first enter the new rate that will apply in the rate field. You also have the option to add a rate ID if necessary. 

Next, use the weekdays, start time, and end time fields to define the time and day constraints to determine when the rate will apply. These rules will allow the system to determine the correct rate when invoicing. 

Check the box next to apply only on holiday if the rate should be applied on holidays configured in accounting settings. Note that if you check the box to define a holiday rate, this rate will apply on holidays instead of determining the holiday rate by multiplying the default rate currently in effect by the holiday multiplier set on the funder. You can select a day of the week and start/end time if you only wish to override the holiday multiplier on certain holidays. To learn more, see How do I bill for holidays?

When you have finished, click the checkmark to save the new rate.

If you have added multiple time specific rates, you can change the order in which they should apply by clicking the  icon and dragging and dropping them into the desired order. 

When you are satisfied with the order of the time specific rates, click save to save the bill code setup. 

You can identify a bill code with time specific rates if a yellow warning icon appears next to the effective rate. Hover over the icon to see the time specific rates listed in order of priority. 

Adding a time specific rate by editing a bill code 

You can also add a time specific rate when editing an existing bill code. From Accounting>Accounting Settings>Bill Codes, click Edit on the bill code for which you wish to add a new rate. 

In the edit bill code dialogue, select +add rate.

Understanding which rate will apply on a bill code 

When billing for visits, the system will check for time specific rates on the matching bill code in the correct order to see if one of them corresponds to the date and time of the visit. If more than one rule applies, the rate on the first rule will be applied. If there are no matching time specific rates, the default rate on the bill code that is currently in effect will apply. 

Please note: the rate that will apply for a given visit is determined by the start time. If a visit starts before the time set on the rule but ends once the rule is in effect, the time-specific rate will not apply. 

For example, let's say that the following time-specific rates are set on a bill code for the week of December 23 through 27 in the following order:

• Tuesday: time specific rate, 12:00 am to 11:59 pm = $20/hour 
• Tuesday: time specific rate, 2 pm to 11:59 pm = $30/hour
• Wednesday (holiday configured in accounting settings>holidays): apply only on holiday box is checked for Wednesdays, time specific rate = $50/hour
• Friday: time specific rate, 12:00 am to 11:59 pm = $25/hour

For the sake of this example, Thursday, December 26 is also configured as a holiday for this year, but it does not have a time specific rate that applies since the apply only on holiday box is only checked for Wednesday.

For the following scheduled visits, the following rates would apply:

• Visit 1, 10-11:30 am, Monday, December 23: default rate applies ($15/hour) as there is no time specific rate in effect 
• Visit 2, 10-11:30 am, Tuesday, December 24: first time specific rate for the date applies ($20/hour)
• Visit 3, 6-8:30 pm, Tuesday, December 24: first time specific rate for the date applies ($20/hour)*
• Visit 4, 10-11:30 am, Wednesday, December 25 (holiday): time specific rate for Wednesday holidays applies ($50/hour)
• Visit 5, 10-11:30 am, Thursday, December 26 (holiday): no time specific rate set for this holiday, so the default rate will be multiplied by the holiday multiplier set on the funder.
• Visit 6, 5-6:30 pm, Friday, December 27: the default rate ($15/hour) on the bill code will apply because the visit starts before the time specific rule goes into effect.
• Visit 7, 7-8:30 pm, Friday, December 27: time specific rate for that date and time applies ($25/hour)

*In this example, the rates are ordered in such a way that the second rate for Tuesday, December 24 will never apply because the first rate that matches the date and time rules will go into effect without checking other rates. This issue could be fixed by changing the order of the first two rates so that system checks for the more specific rate first. 

Note: if the rate of the bill code is overridden at the client level, the time specific rates of the bill code will be ignored and the custom client bill rate will be used when generating invoices. 

Learn more

• How do I set/edit/clear/a custom bill code rate for a client?