Three invoices for one client
Mr D has two calls a day commissioned by the council. He uses a direct payment for a weekly sitting service with your agency. His daughter pays privately for an extra Sunday call. Each has a different rate. The council pays on its portal. The direct payment is managed by his daughter, who needs an invoice she can show the council's direct payment team. The private call goes on a monthly invoice to her.
Every month, the administrator exports visits, sorts them by type in a spreadsheet and builds three separate bills. When a call is moved, or the Sunday call is swapped for a Saturday one, the spreadsheet gets it wrong. The daughter queries it. The direct payment audit asks for records that do not quite match.
Why mixed funding is so fiddly
Mixed funding is becoming normal in home care. Councils commission a core package, clients use direct payments to choose their own support, and families top up with private hours. Each funder expects its own invoice, rate and records.
The rostering system sees one client with a set of calls. It does not know which calls each funder is paying for, especially when calls move between days or times.
Direct payment holders have their own responsibilities for records. They need clear invoices and visit records from you, and often ask for them at short notice.
The rules change over time, too. A council review cuts the commissioned hours, the family increases their private hours to make up the difference, and a direct payment rate goes up in April. Each change has a start date, and the spreadsheet has to be updated in the right place, by the right person, at the right time.
What manual splitting costs
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Visits allocated to the wrong funder | Invoices queried and reissued |
| Rates applied inconsistently | Undercharging or disputes |
| Moved calls | Spreadsheet allocation breaks |
| Direct payment records | Families unable to evidence spending |
| Administrator time | Days each month building separate bills |
Families managing direct payments are often doing so on top of caring and working. Clear, accurate invoices from the agency make their lives easier, and make you easier to work with.
Split invoicing we build
- A funding profile per client: which funder pays for which calls, services or hours, at which rate, from which date.
- Allocation rules that assign each delivered visit, from your call monitoring or rostering data, to the right funder, including when calls move.
- Council invoices or portal files prepared in each authority's format.
- Direct payment invoices with a clear visit record, sent to the direct payment holder or their managed account provider.
- Private invoices or statements to families, with payment by card, bank transfer or Direct Debit through a provider such as GoCardless.
- All invoices posted to Xero, Sage or QuickBooks through their APIs, with a per-client view showing each funder's share.
What each funder should pay for, and at what rate, comes from your contracts and agreements. We apply them consistently.
One month-end, several funders
Delivered visits are allocated as they happen. At month end, the administrator reviews and sends each funder's invoice. When a call moves, the rules still allocate it correctly.
Families managing direct payments get a clear invoice and visit record every month, and can find past ones easily when their council asks.
Does your billing look like this?
- Some clients have several funders at once
- Mixed-funding invoices are built in a spreadsheet
- Moved calls end up on the wrong funder's bill
- Direct payment holders ask for records you struggle to provide
- Invoice queries from families are common