To create a new service code:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click the Add New button at the top right-hand side of the page.
3. Complete the Basics form:
   • Type: select the type of code:
     • Unknown
     • Billable
     • Non-billable
   • Service Type (multi-select):
     • Applied Behavior Analysis
     • Community Mental Health
     • Mental Health Services
     • Occupational Therapy
     • Physical Therapy
     • Speech Therapy
     • Other
   • Service Category (single-select):
     • Administrative
     • Assessment
     • Direct Therapy
     • Parent Training
     • Supervision
     • Other

1. • Code: enter the code value. This will be the code sent on the claim.
   • Description: enter the organization’s internal description of the code. This value is not sent on the claim and serves as an internal reference to easily distinguish the code.
   • Enforce Rate: select the first level of security to limit user access to the code:
     • Default rate can be used: every client and provider will be linked to the code and the billing rate will be the default entered.
     • Enforce custom provider rate: employees can submit timesheets with their custom rate for the code for any client within their network. If a client is not listed with a custom rate, it will charge the default rate.
     • Enforce custom client rate: the code can only be used for specific clients. Clients will be billed their custom code rate when the code is used by any provider in their network.
     • Enforce custom provider & client rate: the code can be used by specific providers for specific clients. Clients will be billed at their custom rate and providers can only charge their custom rate.
   • Calculation type: select how the code will work for billing and payroll purposes:
     • Bill by time/Pay by time: calculates the billed amount and the employee’s pay based on the amount of time on the timesheet. Does not round.
     • Bill by units/Pay by time: calculates the billed amount based on the number of units and the employee’s pay based on the amount of time on the timesheet.
     • Bill by units/Pay by units: calculates the billed amount and the employee’s pay based on the number of units on the timesheet.
   • Default Units: enter the number of units for when the system must start counting and the code is used (e.g. 1, 15, 30, etc.).
   • Default Service Location: select the place of service of the starting point.
   • Minutes per Unit: enter how the system should count from one unit to the next. For flat-rate codes, leave this field blank and the system will default to 1. Select how to round up units:
     • Round at halfway (default): defaults to rounding halfway
     • Rounds past halfway (half + 1)
   • Default Minutes: enter how many default minutes the code should fill in for an appointment
   • Modifiers: enter suggested modifier groups for timesheet conversion, if any
2. Complete the Validation section to define the items that need to be completed on the timesheet whenever the code is used:
   • Visit Verification: click the checkbox if the appointment with the service code needs to be geocoded
   • For each validation below, select: (1) Not needed if it should not be included in the timesheet, (2) Optional if it should appear, but is would be an optional field to complete, or (3) Required if it is a required field to complete.
     • Service Location: point of service physical location
     • Service Address: point of service address
     • Procedure Info: details about the procedure
     • Drive Time & Miles: total drive time and miles
     • Service Notes: up to 2,000 characters about service notes
     • Admin Notes: up to 2,000 characters about admin notes
     • Provider Signature: if the provider signature is required
     • Client Signature: if the client signature is required
     • Client Signature Form: if the client signature form is required
3. Complete the Restrictions to set up additional code configuration:
   • Required authorization: will determine if the code needs an authorization before use. If required, the code will not be available, unless there is an authorization available for the client, and nobody can convert the code without an authorization. Select one:
     • Required
     • Optional
   • Enforce Single Timesheet Conversion: check for the code to only be converted once from the schedule.
   • Requires Schedule Conversion: check to enforce the code to only be used and converted from a schedule. This restriction can be bypassed by the organization account and users with the (Manage > Timesheet Conversion) permission enabled, can convert outside of the schedule
     • If checked, the code will not be available when adding a timesheet manually from the + Add New Timesheet section in the Billing module.
   • Restrict Early Timesheet Conversion Based on Start Time: restrict appointments from being converted before the actual start time. This service code setting validates appointment start times and time zones. If enabled, no user can bypass this restriction.
   • Restrict Early Timesheet Conversion Based on End Time: restrict appointments from being converted before the actual end time. This service code setting validates appointment start times and time zones. If enabled, no user can bypass this restriction.
     • Click here for Restrict Early Timesheet Conversion explained.
   • Lock Grace Period: enter to define how many days after the appointment date users have to convert the appointment before needing admin help. This restriction is bypassed by the organization account or users with the (Manage > Timesheet Conversion) permission enabled can convert past the grace period.
4. Complete the Misc section:
   • Show client rates: check for clients to view the rates of the service codes in their CentralReach account.
5. Click the Note Templates tab to set up the templates providers need to attach to the service code:
   • Click the icon to add a new template.
   • Enter the template name in the Search Templates field.
   • Click the drop-down to select whether the note is Optional or Required.
6. Click the Associate Templates tab to set up Session Note Templates providers need when completing Session Notes.
7. Click Save.
8. Assign a fee schedule to the code.

To delete a service code:

1. Navigate to Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click the service code you want to delete.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Delete.
4. Click Yes to delete this billing code.
5. Deleting a service code moves it to Deleted Service Codes. Deleted service codes can be restore at any time.

Click here to learn how to restore a deleted service code.

To recover deleted service codes:

1. Navigate to Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click on the Active Service Codes  option on the top of the grid and select Deleted Service Codes.
3. To recover one service code:
   • Click the restore button under the Options column on the right-hand side of the code.
4. To recover multiple service codes:
   • Click the checkbox next to each code you want to restore.
   • Click the Actions  option on the top of the page and select Undelete selected.
5. Click Yes in the Confirm pop-up.

To edit a service code:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click the service code to edit under the ID column.
   • Or, click the gear icon under the “Options” column and select Edit Code Properties.
3. Edit the code details.
4. Click Save.

After creating pay codes and assigning them to employees, add multiple provider rates to the service codes in bulk. An employee’s pay rate will be applied as their provider rate for those codes.

• For example, employee A is assigned to pay code “BCBA” with a rate of $50. Now, if a custom rate is added to service code “H2014,” using employee pay code “BCBA,” employee A will be paid $50 for any timesheets they submit using code “H2014”
  • If employee A is also assigned to pay code “Admin” with a rate of $30, you can apply that pay code to your Admin service codes. This will allow you to pay providers different rates based on the type of work performed

To add custom rates to a service code:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click the checkbox next to each code you want to apply provider rates to.
   • If a label was assigned to those codes (E.g. “BCBA” or “Admin”), filter by that label and select all, using the checkbox in the column header.
3. Click the Actions  option on the top of the grid and select Add custom rates from paycodes.
   • You can only apply rates from paycodes when there is not a provider rate already set up. For codes with an existing provider rate, use the Update rates for selected option.
4. Select Click to add paycodes  and select a paycode.
   • Continue to click Click to add paycodes  to add more paycodes to the code.
5. Click Add. All employees with a pay rate for the selected paycodes will now have a provider rate set up for the selected service codes.

To add or update the provider and/or client rate of one or multiple service codes individually:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click the checkbox  icon next to the service codes you want to add custom rates to.
3. Click the Actions button on the top of the grid and select Update rates for selected.

4. Complete the Bulk update custom rates form:

• Client: optionally, if you are updating a client rate, enter the client name (not commonly used).
• Client Rate: optionally, enter the client rate (not commonly used).
• Employee: if you are updating an employee rate, enter the employee name.
• Employee rate: enter the employee rate.
  • Add their hourly rate if the code is set to Pay by time.
  • If the employee is salaried, add $0 for Employee rate.
    • The custom rate is an hourly rate. E.g. If the custom rate is 20, and the appointment was 30 minutes, $10 is owed to the employee when converted to a timesheet.
• Click Update rates.

5. Once you have added the rates, the code will be available to be used by that particular employee.

Click here to learn how to add multiple employees to multiple service codes via paycodes.

To edit a service code modifier:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click the Fee Schedule Rates option on the top of the grid.
3. Search the fee schedule you want to edit, and update the correspondent modifier information.
4. Click Save Changes on the top of the screen.

To add a service code modifier to a service code:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes
2. Click on the service code you want to add optional modifiers to
3. Next to the Modifiers section, add your modifiers
4. Click Save

To add a new modifier group:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes
2. Click the Fee Schedule Rates option on the top of the grid
3. Click the gear icon to the right of the code under the “Options” column, and select Add Modifier Group
4. Complete the “Add New Modifier Group” pop-up:
   • Name: enter the modifier name
   • Location: select the location from the drop-down
   • Rate: enter the amount you are charging for the service
   • Agreed Rate: enter the rate negotiated with the insurance payor for the service. If you do not have agreed rates, enter the Rate used above
   • Click Add
     • Please note, procedural information in service code settings must be set to optional in order for the system to utilize a modifier group.
5. Once set up, these modifiers will automatically apply to any timesheets using this fee schedule/service code combination

Click here to learn how to edit a modifier.

You can add or update service code rates in bulk for many employees. You might find this useful for your non-billable codes. For example, you may have an administrative service code for meetings, where all employees get paid a rate of $12/hour.

To update service code rates in bulk:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes
2. Click the Custom Rates option on the top of the grid
3. Enter the service code name on the top search bar to filter the service code
4. Enter the new rate under the Employee rate column and hover over to the left of the employee rate and click the double arrow icon that appears to set the provider rate for all of the entries filtered
5. Click Yes in the Confirm pop-up to set up the rate for all the employees for the entries selected

To track unpaid time, you can create unpaid service codes for your organization. This allows you to report on activities, such as lunch breaks.

To create an unpaid service code:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click the +ADD NEW button at the top right-hand side of the page.
3. Complete the form with following details:
   • Code: enter the code value.
   • Description: enter the organization’s internal description of the code.
   • Enforce Rate:
     • Select Default rate can be used if any employee will be able to use the code.
     • Select Enforce custom provider rate to restrict the code to only some employees.
   • Go to the bottom of the form, Restrictions:
     • Click Requires Authorization and select Optional, since you will not be using an authorization with this code.
4. Click Save.
5. After creating the unpaid code, add a $0 rate for each employee who will use this code.

Users can define the amount of time to be added to an appointment for a specific service code. This is done by setting up the Default Minutes field within a service code’s settings.

To edit a service code with default minutes:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click on the service code you want to edit.
3. Go to Default Minutes and enter how many minutes this code should fill in an appointment.
4. Click Save.
5. Once the default minutes are set up, any codes that are set up a with a default length will automatically adjust to the default minutes, regardless of the entire appointment length.

Users can set up rounding rules for service codes.

To edit a service code’s rounding rules:

1. Create or edit a service code.
2. Click the drop-down on the right-hand side of Minutes per Unit and select:
   • Round at halfway (default): once the time gets to exactly half of the Minutes per Unit value, the system will round the unit up. 
     • For example, if units are set to 30 minutes and there is an entry that is 15 minutes, the entry will show as one unit.. If the entry is 14 minutes, then the system will round down to zero units.
   • Round past halfway (half + 1): the system will round the units up once the entry is half of the Minutes per Unit, plus 1 minute. 
     • Using the example above, the 15-minute entry would round down to zero. Once the entry gets to 16 minutes, the entry will be rounded up to one unit.
3. Click Save.
   • Please note, all newly created codes will default to Round at halfway (default).

Some service codes require an authorization before they can be used to bill clients. To always require an authorization for a service code and prevent a service code from being used without an authorization, set up the code to always require an authorization.

To edit a service code to require an authorization:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click on the service code you want to edit.
3. Go to the Restrictions section on the bottom of the form.
4. Under the Requires Authorization section, click the drop-down and select Required.
5. Click Save.

In each service code’s settings, choose whether or not to collect a signature for the timesheet to be converted.

To edit a service code signature requirements:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click the gear icon next to the service code to be edited and then click Edit Code Properties.
3. Scroll down to the “Validation” section and go to the Provider Signature and Client Signature drop-downs.
4. For each drop-down, select one of the following:
   • Not Needed: timesheets converted using this code will have the signature field removed.
   • Optional: timesheets converted using this code will include an optional signature field.
   • Required: timesheets converted using this code will include a required signature field.
5. If the “Client Signature” drop-down is set to Optional, select one of the following in the drop-down:
   • Account: clients can only sign from the client account.
   • Provider Account: clients can only sign from the provider account.
   • Either: will appear. clients can sign from either the client or provider accounts.
6. Click Save.

In each service code, users can define the amount of time employees have to submit a timesheet after the appointment ends.

For example, if an appointment has a service code with a grace period of 7 days, the employee has 7 days from the date of the appointment to convert to a timesheet. Once the 7 days have passed at UTC midnight, the employee cannot convert the appointment unless they have the permissions (Billing > Manage Timesheets) and (Billing > Override Grace Period Validation) enabled.

To set a grace period for a service code:

1. Edit a service code.
2. In the “Restrictions” section, enter the number of days in the grace period in Lock Grace Period.
3. Click Save.

To convert an appointment past the grace period, the organization’s account or a user with the proper permissions enabled would either need to convert the appointment on behalf of the employee, remove the grace period, or extend it so that the employee can convert the appointment. Once the appointment has been converted, edit the grace period again to revert it back to its original value.

For services that need to be paid at a flat rate, regardless of how much time is taken to complete the service, it is recommended to set up the code as “Bill by units, Pay by time.”

To update a code to bill as a flat rate:

1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Service Codes.
2. Click on the service code you want to edit.
3. Click the Calculation Type drop-down and select Bill by units / Pay by time.
4. Go to Default Units, and enter the units. Please note, if the payor requires you to bill by a certain unit (E.g. 2 units), then default to the requirements as outlined by your payor.

5. Go to Minutes per Unit and ensure it is blank.

6. Click Save.