How to set up and manage billing of resident / service user expenses

4 minute read

Separate from billing for care, resident expenses for everyday items such as newspapers, haircuts, and toiletries are common extras that can also be tracked and invoiced via CareHQ.

This article covers how to set the billing party for resident / service user expenses, how to add an expense to the ledger for one or more service users, and how to raise invoices for service user expenses.

How to set up billing for resident / service user expenses

To set up billing for service user expenses, at least one billing party must have been set up for the service user. You can learn more about setting up billing for a service user here.

With one or more billing parties set up, follow the steps below to set the billing party for a service user's expenses:

  • From the main navigation select Service users, then select the appropriate service user.
  • Select the Expenses tab from the top of the page.
  • Select more actions (three dots) in the top right of the screen before selecting Set billing party.
  • Select the Billing party. If this is a Service user contact or Location contact, select the specific contact from the second menu that appears.
    • Optionally, enter an Invoice reference to be set against any expense invoice generated for this service user.
  • Select to Save the billing party for the service user's expenses.

How to add an expense for a resident / service user

To add an item to a service user's expenses ledger, follow these steps:

  • From the main navigation select Service users, then select the appropriate service user.
  • Select the Expenses tab from the top of the page.
  • Select the Add action.
  • Complete the fields in the Transaction section.
    • Optionally, enter a Description in the Details section, and upload one or more associated files if appropriate.
    • If this is an expense for more than one service user, select the Add to other service users option (see below).
  • Select Save to record the expense and return to the ledger, or Save & New to record the expense and show the form again to allow another expense to be recorded.
Good to know

When adding an expense, the Add to other service users option can be useful if the expense is common to more than one service user. An example would be if multiple copies of a newspaper have been bought, each given to a different resident. Selecting this option displays a list of other residents which can be easily ticked to add a duplicate expense to the selected service user records.

Good to know

When adding an expense, you must specify if the entry will be a debit or a credit to the resident's balance. If you cannot select credit, your account is set up to raise invoices for expenses at this location. If you can select credit, expenses are managed on a petty cash / pre-funded basis.

Good to know

You can set a rule on your account to control how long after a resident has left that expenses can still be added to their account. Many care providers use this as a safeguard to prevent expenses from being added to the accounts of residents who have left the service or passed away. To enable or update this setting, please contact support@crmhq.co.uk.

How to raise invoices for resident / service user expenses

It's possible to raise an invoice for resident / service user expenses either from the related service user record, or en masse from the Service user expenses menu.

Raising an expenses invoice for an individual service user

To raise an expense invoice for a particular service user, follow these steps:

  • From the main navigation select Service users, then select the appropriate service user.
  • Select the Expenses tab from the top of the page.
  • Select more actions (three dots) in the top right of the screen before selecting Invoice balance.
  • Check the Amount, update the Issue date if necessary, then select Generate invoice.

Raising multiple resident / service user expenses invoices

To raise more than one service user expenses invoice at once, follow these steps:

  • From the main navigation select Service user expenses, then select the home you wish to raise invoices for.
  • All service users with expenses balances outstanding will be listed, including their status such as Inactive (Discharged) or Deceased. Either:
    • Select the box to the left of any service user(s) you wish to invoice, or
    • Select the box to the left of the Service user column heading to select all in the list.
  • Select the Generate invoice(s) button.
  • All users