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Ideas
Automatic Cap on Billable/Payable Hours Based on Scheduled Hours
Hello CareSmartz360 Team,
I would like to suggest an enhancement to the way CareSmartz360 handles caregiver clock-in/out times and calculates billable and payable units.
Currently, the main option available is to configure rounding rules based on how early or late a caregiver clocks in or out. While this is helpful, it can create discrepancies when a caregiver clocks in or out outside of the established rounding window. Depending on the time entered, the system may add or subtract 15 minutes from the visit.
This has become particularly challenging for payroll and billing. I have to review visits individually, compare the recorded hours against the patient's scheduled/authorized hours, identify any discrepancies, and then manually adjust them. With a larger number of patients and caregivers, this becomes extremely time-consuming.
I would like to suggest adding an optional setting that allows agencies to cap payable and/or billable hours at the scheduled visit duration, while still allowing caregivers to clock in and out at their actual times.
For example:
- Scheduled visit: 4 hours
- Caregiver works 3.5 hours → System records 3.5 payable/billable hours
- Caregiver works 4 hours → System records 4 payable/billable hours
- Caregiver clocks 5 hours → System automatically caps payable/billable time at the 4 scheduled hours
In other words, the system would recognize the actual time worked when it is less than the scheduled amount but would not automatically generate payable or billable units beyond the scheduled hours unless an authorized user manually approves the additional time.
HHAX offers similar functionality, and it significantly reduces the amount of manual reconciliation required before payroll and billing.
Ideally, this could be an optional configuration under agency settings, with separate controls such as:
“Do not allow payable units to exceed scheduled units”
“Do not allow billable units to exceed scheduled/authorized units”
There could also be an exception or alert generated whenever the caregiver's actual EVV time exceeds the scheduled visit, allowing an administrator to review and approve additional time when appropriate.
This would allow CareSmartz360 to continue capturing the caregiver's true EVV clock-in and clock-out times while preventing accidental overpayment or overbilling caused by caregivers clocking out late.
For agencies managing a high volume of Medicaid/LTC visits, this feature could significantly reduce payroll and billing reconciliation time and help ensure that payable and billable units remain aligned with scheduled and authorized services.
Thank you for considering this enhancement. I believe it would be a very valuable addition to the scheduling, EVV, payroll, and billing workflow.
Customer support service by UserEcho
Thank you for this thoughtful suggestion. We understand the challenges agencies face when reconciling actual caregiver time against scheduled and authorized service hours, particularly in high-volume payroll and billing environments.
As we evaluate this request, we're exploring solutions that support the underlying need for greater visibility and operational efficiency while remaining aligned with payroll, labor, billing, and EVV compliance requirements. Rather than automatically limiting recorded time, we're considering approaches that help agencies quickly identify and manage schedule variances, review exceptions, and take appropriate action based on their own business policies.
We appreciate the detailed feedback and real-world examples provided. They help us better understand the operational impact and guide our evaluation of potential enhancements.
Thank you for the response and for considering the suggestion.
I did want to clarify one important point regarding the request. I am not suggesting that CareSmartz360 alter or limit the caregiver’s actual recorded EVV clock-in and clock-out times. I agree that the actual time should remain recorded exactly as it occurred for EVV and compliance purposes.
What I am suggesting is an optional setting that controls the payable and/or billable units generated from the visit based on the scheduled hours.
For example, if a caregiver is scheduled from 8:00 AM–12:00 PM but actually clocks out at 1:00 PM, the system would still retain the actual EVV record showing 8:00 AM–1:00 PM. However, the payable/billable units could automatically remain at the 4 scheduled hours unless an administrator reviews and approves the additional hour.
If the caregiver works less than scheduled, such as 8:00 AM–11:30 AM, the payable/billable time would remain at the actual 3.5 hours worked.
I completely understand the value of variance alerts and exception management, and I think those would also be very helpful. However, if the system only flags the variance and still requires each visit to be manually corrected, agencies with a high volume of visits would still face much of the same reconciliation workload.
Ideally, the system could provide both: preserve the actual EVV record, automatically cap payable/billable units at the scheduled amount when that option is enabled, and flag the visit as an exception so an administrator can review and approve additional time when appropriate.
The goal is not to modify the caregiver’s actual time record, but rather to prevent unapproved time beyond the scheduled visit from automatically flowing into payroll or billing.
Thank you again for considering the feedback. I wanted to make sure that distinction was clear as you evaluate possible solutions.