Adding Service Units
Updated over a week ago

Attention: Athena is now Bonterra. Please bear with us as we update our screenshots to match our new name


In this article


Service Units are used to track different types of services provided by your agency that need to be tracked and/or invoiced. To add a Service Units in Penelope you will need to be logged in to Penelope as a SuperUser (or with an account that has access to the Service Unit List).

For information about NDIS Service Units click here.

How to Add a Service Unit

  1. From the My Home screen navigate to the Setting tab (right-hand side).

  2. Click Service Unit List.

  3. Click Add.

  4. Complete the required details on the Add Service Unit page.

  5. Click Save.

The Service Unit will be added immediately and can be assigned to the necessary Case Services.

Additional Information

Service Unit Type – Charge* – Usually a fee that is going to be billed/invoiced to the client by the agency but generally isn’t attached to a service or physical item (e.g. cancellation charge, NSF charge etc).

Service Unit Type – Physical* – Usually a physical item that is going to be billed/invoiced to the client by the agency. For NDIS these could be some of the support items supplied to a client.

Service Unit Type – Service* – Usually a service that is being billed/invoiced to the client by the agency (e.g. counselling, therapies etc). This Service Unit Type could also be used for Case Notes, Telephone Calls etc; even if the Service Unit does not have billing components as these would be considered a service.

Modifiers 1-4 – For US agencies using the CMS 1500 and/or EDI features in Penelope, if applicable, select and enter the modifier information.

*The Service Unit Type field is also an additional field to report against, allowing the agency to track revenue from these groupings on certain reports.

How to Delete a Service Unit

  1. From the My Home screen navigate to the Setting tab (right hand side).

  2. Click Service Unit List.

  3. Click the minus (-) icon next to the Service Unit you want to delete.

The Service Unit will be deleted if not in use. If the Service Unit is in use it can be deactivated instead.

How to Deactivate a Service Unit

If you don’t want to delete a Service Unit or you cannot because it is in use, it is possible to deactivate it so it can no longer be used.

  1. From the My Home screen navigate to the Setting tab (right-hand side).

  2. Click Service Unit List.

  3. Click the Service Unit name to open the Service Unit.

  4. Click Edit.

  5. Uncheck Active.

  6. Click Save.

Assign to a Case Service

For a Service Unit to be available for use it needs to be assigned to a Case Service. A Service Unit can be assigned to multiple Case Services.

  1. From the My Home screen navigate to the Setting tab (right-hand side).

  2. Click Service Unit List.

  3. Click the Service Unit name to open the Service Unit.

  4. In the Case Services section click Add.

  5. Select the Case Services to assign the Service Units to.

  6. Click Save.

Add a Site Fee

A site-specific fee will override the default Full Fee.

  1. From the My Home screen navigate to the Setting tab (right-hand side).

  2. Click Service Unit List.

  3. Click the Service Unit name to open the Service Unit.

  4. In the Site Fee section click Add.

  5. Select the Site and enter the Fee.

  6. Click Save.

Update Billing Amounts to Appointments

Once you have updated a Service Unit fee you will need to push the changes through to any existing un-invoiced Service Units for the changes to take effect. These steps also apply to NDIS Service Units.

Important Information

Any Service Events (appointments) on or after the effective date will be updated with the new Service Unit fee in the Service Unit is already in the Cart.

  1. From the My Home screen navigate to the Setting tab (right-hand side).

  2. Click Service Unit List.

  3. Click the Service Unit name to open the Service Unit.

  4. Click Update Billing Amounts to Appointments.

  5. Enter an Effective Date.

  6. Check/uncheck Non-resolved events only as required.

  7. Click Save.

Update Billing Amounts to Appointments (NDIS)

Important Information v4.22.1.0 and above – When clicking Update Billing Amounts to Appointments from the NDIS Service Unit page, the Claim Type will change back to Standard Service for Cart Items. Doing a Recalc of the Billing Sequence and Mass Update from the Public Policy will retain the Claim Types for the Cart Items.

Information on NDIS Service Units

For information on how to setup NDIS Service Units visit the NDIS Service Units page.

Did this answer your question?