Please note: The following feature is an Opt-in feature and is available as part of Birdie’s Starter, Core, Advanced and Plus packages (Also known as Care Management, Rostering & Finance, Premium, Entry and Essentials) Please get in touch if interested in more information on this feature!
What is a 'contract' within the Birdie Platform?
A contract mirrors but does not replace the paper contract agreement between your care agency and a funding party (private or public). Funding is grouped into contracts.
Contract information combined with care delivery information will be used by Birdie to automatically calculate and generate your invoices. This allows for flexible scenarios when it comes to invoicing, accounting for even the most complex billing scenarios, covering multiple rates, multiple payers, and multiple care recipients.
How to create a contract
First, click on the Finance tab - this is the place for all things funding, billing, and paying. Under Funding, in the left-hand bar, you'll see a Contracts tab.
Once on the Contracts tab, click on the New contract button. The contract creation workflow will take you through all the necessary steps, including contract, payer, and invoice rate creation, which is why we recommend starting from here.
Create a name for the contract. We recommend using a "Payer Name - Service Type" structure. For example, if the payer is Hammersmith and Fulham Council, and the service type is personal care, you can name the contract: "HFC - Personal Care."
Select the payer associated with this contract if you have already added them to the system. If you haven't, you can easily add them from this screen by clicking on Add new. The payer is the party who pays for the care and who will receive the invoice.
Select the service type associated with this contract. Service types cover the kind of care the payer is agreeing to pay for, and you can choose just one, or several.
Please note: You can select multiple service types for a contract, in the case of a bulk contract from a Local Authority for instance, that covers care recipients with different care needs.
Select the rate associated with this contract if you have already added it to the system. Once again, if you haven't done this yet, it's not a problem! You can set up a new rate straight from this screen by clicking on Add new.
Make the invoice format selection among standard, NHS or Local Authority. You can also identify if you'd like this to be a part of any Invoice Group.
Once you have taken these steps, save the contract, and you will be brought back to the Contracts tab. From here, you will be able to see all the contracts you have created on the system.
Please note: For bulk contracts from a Local Authority, which includes multiple care recipients, you will only need to create one contract for that bulk contract. You will then create individual purchase orders for the care recipients associated to that bulk contract.
How to select the invoice cycle and frequency
Click on the Invoice Dashboard tab, here you will be able to select:
The specific period
The Contract
The Care Recipient
The invoice group (if applicable)
Once you made all the selections you can generate the invoice by clicking the green ‘Generate Invoice’ button.
Once you have created a contract remember to create a purchase order to link the contract to the Care Recipient- for more info, see this article!
Contract creation Birdie Academy video
How to edit a contract
To edit a contract, start by going to the Finance tab and selecting contracts on the left-hand side under Funding.
You can search for the contract using the search bar in the top right-hand corner. Click on the contract.
Once you've opened up your contract, click the 'Edit' button in the top right-hand corner. You'll then be able to make the necessary changes, which are outlined in the next section.
What information can I edit?
The below outlines the things you can update and edit within a contract.
You can change the name of the contract. We recommend using a "Payer Name - Service Type" structure. For example, if the payer is Hammersmith and Fulham Council, and the service type is personal care, you can name the contract: HFC - Personal Care.
You can change the payer associated with this contract if you have already added them in Birdie. If you haven't, you can easily add them from this screen by clicking on Add new. The payer is the party who pays for the care and will receive the invoice.
You can change the service type associated with this contract. Service types cover the kind of care the payer is agreeing to pay for, and you can choose just one, or several.
You can change the rate associated with this contract if you have already added it to Birdie. Once again, if you haven't done this yet, it's not a problem! You can set up a new rate straight from this screen by clicking on Add new.
You can update the Invoice format associated with the contract, such as Standard, NHS or Local Authority.
You can update the Invoice group associated with the contract.
Once you have made one or several changes click Save, that's it! You will be brought back to the Contracts tab, where you will be able to see all the contracts you have created on the system.
How to cancel a contract
A contract cannot be permanently deleted, however, you do have the option to cancel it if it is no longer relevant.
Visits which are linked to the cancelled contract will need to be linked to a new contract. See how to edit funding information here.
To cancel a contract, start by looking for the necessary contract using the search bar in the top right-hand corner of the Contracts tab.
Click on the contract name that you want to cancel under the 'Name' column.
Once you have opened the contract, click on Cancel contract in the top right-hand corner, and confirm you are happy to cancel this contract.
When you return to the Contracts tab you will see that the contract no longer appears in your list of contracts. To view contracts which have been cancelled, tick the Show cancelled contracts button.
Edit or cancel a contract Birdie Academy video