Please note: This is an Opt-in feature available as part of Birdie’s Core, Advanced and Plus packages and is also available upon request for Entry, Essentials and Premium packages. Please get in touch if interested in more information on this feature!
Birdie has created functionality within Birdie’s finance offering, which will give you the flexibility you need to set enhanced rates for select holidays, Christmas and New Year’s Day for instance.
Where before you had the option to 1) use a multiplier) or 2) create a single ‘holiday’ rate directly on a rate card, we have introduced more granular control over different bank holiday rates for different days of the year, so that you can set enhanced rates for the specific holiday or holidays you need.
Read below for more.
What are 'date groups?'
You will now be able to create ‘date groups’, where you can define a set of dates or holidays that you ‘group’ for the purpose of pay and invoicing.
This includes a new tab called ‘Date Groups’, which can be found under ‘Rates’ on the left-hand side bar.
For instance, if you pay an ‘enhanced’ or ‘special’ rate on Christmas and New Year’s Day you might want to create an ‘Enhanced Bank Holidays’ group and set the dates to December 25th and January 1st.
How do I create a ‘date group’ for bank holidays?
First go to the new ‘Dates Group’ tab. Then select ‘Add new date group.’ Once clicked, you will get a screen that allows you to define the dates included within that group.
You will give this group a name, such as Enhanced Bank Holiday Rates. You will then click ‘add new date’ for each date that you want included as part of that date group.
Click ‘Save’ once done.
You can create multiple ‘date groups’ - as you need them for your agency.
Please note: you will not set any multipliers or create the specific rates in this screen - it is purely about selecting which days you want to include as part of a group of bank holidays, and differentiating between normal and enhanced / ‘special’ bank holidays. You will set the rates and/or multipliers elsewhere - per the steps under “What steps should you take to get ready for the upcoming holidays, i.e. Christmas?”
How do I ensure an enhanced rate applies to a date group I’ve created?
Once you have created a ‘date group’, you will then be able to choose this ‘date group’ when creating pay or invoice rate cards - or when editing existing ones.
To do this, first click into an existing pay rate card and select ‘edit.’ You will then ‘Add rate’ and select your ‘date group’, ‘Enhanced Bank Holidays’ for example.
You will then enter when this applies, the rate type, as well as the rate amount.
Please ensure you’ve added this new enhanced holiday rate for any pay rate card necessary - and ensure it’s also assigned to the appropriate care professionals. For more on creating and assigning rates, read the article here.
You can then do the same for an invoice rate card, where necessary. This can be created, for instance, if one of your payers has agreed to an enhanced invoice rate for those dates.
What steps should you take to get ready for the upcoming holidays, i.e. Christmas?
The recommended steps vary depending on what holiday rate set-up you use across your agency, i.e. if you have any branches that want to use multipliers instead of specific bank holiday rates on rate cards. Both scenarios have been described below.
Branches that use multipliers for bank holidays
If your branch sets all of their bank holiday rates as a multiple of the normal rate (e.g. 1.5x on regular bank holidays and 2x at Christmas) you should continue to use the ‘Holiday rates’ tab to configure these. If you’ve already got these set up, that means you don’t need to make any changes. For how to use multipliers, read the article here.
Branches that use a mix of multipliers and specific rates
If your branch uses a mix of multipliers and specific rates - for example where private clients have a multiplier and public contracts don’t - you will need to use specific rates for everything.
Multipliers apply on a branch level, so if you set up specific rates for public contracts and still have your multipliers set to 1.5x or 2x, you will find that your public contract rates also get multiplied on bank holidays.
For how to set specific rates for bank holidays, read the article here.
Branches that pay an enhanced rate for specific holidays BUT do not use multipliers
If you have a branch where the rates are more custom than just applying a multiplier and you need to pay or invoice enhanced rates for a specific bank holiday (i.e. different rates at Christmas and/or New Year than the rest of your bank holidays), you will need to use the new Date Groups tab and take the following steps:
Add a date group for your regular bank holidays
Please sure that you include all of the days on which you want to pay and / or charge normal bank holiday rates
Add a date group for your ‘enhanced’ bank holidays
i.e. Christmas Day - or Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, as an example
Edit your pay and invoice rates cards (where necessary) and include these 2 new holiday rates: 1) for the ‘Standard bank holiday’ group and for 2) ‘Enhanced bank holiday’ group
Make sure that in any pay or invoice rate cards that need to contain bank holiday rates, you have chosen the new options that exist from the ‘day type’ dropdown list as below
If you have previously set up holiday rates, you’ll need to switch from ‘Holiday’ to your new date group for regular bank holidays, as well as add an extra option for the enhanced bank holidays.
Make sure that all of the multipliers in the Holiday Rates tab are now set to 1x (if you find it easier, you can also just delete all of the bank holidays in this screen as you now differentiate bank holiday rates using the Date Groups tab instead).
Branches that use multipliers for pay but not for invoicing (or vice versa)
We’ve seen a few examples where holiday rates are set to pay care professionals a multiplier of 1.5x or 2x, but then the invoice rates need to be set specifically on the rate cards (and therefore the charge multiplier is set to 1x in this screen).
If this looks similar to your current set up and you want to set specific charge rates for Christmas that differ to other bank holidays you should follow the same steps described under "Branches that pay an enhanced rate for specific holidays BUT do not use multipliers."
FAQs
Do the date groups apply to both payroll and invoicing?
Yes, it is possible to apply date groups to both pay and invoice rates. If you set up date groups, you will have the option to set specific rates for those date groups on both the pay or invoice rate cards. Whether you choose to do so on both is up to you!
Where do I set my actual rates?
Once you’ve set up your date groups, you can then set the rates on the rate cards directly - in the same way you set up pay and invoice rates for weekdays and weekends. You will end up with a rate card that looks something like the below:
Can I have a date group with a single date in it?
Yes, we have seen that many customers pay/charge the same for all bank holidays except Christmas Day. This means you will need a “Christmas Day” date group that only contains a single date.
Can I edit date groups?
Yes, you can click on a date group and use the popup to edit the dates.
Can I delete date groups?
Not currently. We plan to add this functionality if needed in the future, but at the moment you will need to edit your existing date groups. When you do this, you can remove the existing dates that form part of the date group, but you cannot remove the whole date group itself yet.
Does the Date Groups tab make the Holiday Rates tab unnecessary for my agency?
This depends on how you need your rates to be set up. Please see the explanations under “What steps should you take to get ready for the upcoming holidays, i.e. Christmas?” to find the scenario that applies to you.