Key Points
FlowLogic keeps two separate kilometre rates: the rate you bill clients (set on a transport service item) and the rate you pay staff (set in each Cost Category). Changing one does not change the other.
NDIS transport prices are updated when our Support team uploads a new NDIS price guide into your system at your request. You only need to change a price yourself if you charge something other than the price guide rate.
To charge a different rate for everyone, add a new price with a Valid From date on the transport service item. To charge a different rate for specific clients only, set a price override on their funding allocation.
To change the staff rate, update the kilometre rate in each Cost Category that pays travel. Each Cost Category has its own rate, so you need to update every category your staff use. This only changes the rate in FlowLogic, so you also need to update it in your payroll software.
Travel only appears on an invoice when the trip has a billing code, has Actual KMs greater than 0 and is Approved.
FlowLogic shows you where each rate is set. The rate itself comes from your organisation's award, agreement, policy or the relevant price guide.
How kilometre rates work in FlowLogic
When a support worker records travel on a shift, FlowLogic uses the kilometres in two places:
Client billing: the kilometres are charged to the client using the transport service item selected as the trip's billing code. The price comes from that service item.
Staff pay: the kilometres are paid to the staff member using the kilometre rate and export code in their Cost Category, then sent to your payroll system with the timesheet export.
Because these are set up separately, you can bill clients at one rate and reimburse staff at another.
Change the kilometre rate you bill clients
The client billing rate is held on the service item used for transport. These items normally have the unit of measure Per kilometre.
Find your transport service item
Go to Finance and Payroll and select Service Items.
Find the transport item. Searching by name or service item code is usually fastest. Check the unit type column shows kilometres.
Click Edit on the item. The service item screen opens.
If you can't see Service Items, access is controlled by Rights. Ask an administrator in your organisation to give you access.
Before you change a price
NDIS service item prices come from the NDIS price guide. When the NDIS releases a new price guide, ask our Support team to apply it and they'll upload it into your system, so in most cases you don't need to change prices yourself.
Only change a service item's price if your organisation charges something other than the price guide rate. You can do this in two ways:
For all clients: add a new price to the service item, as described below.
For specific clients only: set a price override on the client's funding allocation. See Charge a different rate for specific clients.
Add a new price with a valid from date
FlowLogic keeps a record of every price in the Price Revision History at the bottom of the service item, each with its own Valid From and Valid To dates. FlowLogic uses the price that was valid on the date of service, so shifts delivered before the change keep billing at the old rate.
Enter the new price in Unit Amount.
Set Valid From to the first date of service the new rate should apply to. Saving creates a new price revision from that date.
Click Save Item.
Check the Price Revision History table at the bottom shows the new price and its dates.
How a new price reaches your clients
Clients are billed from the service item, so you don't need to edit each client's funding allocation. Invoices and claims use the price that was valid on the date of service.
The $ - Unit shown on a client's funding allocation follows the service item price as it was on the allocation's start date. So an allocation that started before the change will still show the old rate, even though new services are billed at the new one.
The exception is a line with a price override on the funding allocation. FlowLogic uses the override instead of the service item price. See below.
If your organisation uses more than one transport item (for example, different items for different funding streams or regions), add a new revision to each one.
Charge a different rate for specific clients
If only some clients should be charged a different rate, set a price override on the line in their funding allocation instead of changing the service item. An overridden price shows in black text. Prices that follow the service item show in grey.
Important: once an override is set, that line no longer follows the service item. When a new price guide is uploaded or a new price is added to the service item, the allocation keeps charging the override price. You need to update the override yourself each time you want the price to change, or clear it so the line follows the service item again.
NDIS price guide updates
When the NDIS releases a new price guide and you ask our Support team to apply it, FlowLogic uploads the new prices into your system. New prices apply from their valid from date, so earlier services keep their old price. Custom or non-NDIS transport items aren't part of the price guide, so your organisation needs to add their new prices as described above. If your price guide hasn't been updated, contact our Support team.
Change the kilometre rate you pay staff
The staff kilometre rate is part of each Cost Category, alongside the pay rates and allowances for that category.
Update the kilometre rate in a Cost Category
Go to Finance and Payroll and select Cost Categories.
The Cost Manager opens. Under Manage Cost Categories, find the Cost Category you want to update. Categories that pay travel show a Kilometres tag in the Type column.
Click Action on that row and select Rates. The Review Cost Category window opens.
Scroll down past the shift rates and overtime settings to the Kilometres section. You can have up to two kilometre rates, for example one for regular travel and another for a special allowance.
Update the $ Value for the kilometre rate.
Check the Export Code for the kilometre rate matches the pay item in your payroll system exactly.
Click Save & Close.
Important: this only changes the kilometre rate in FlowLogic, where it's used for things like reports on travel costs. It doesn't change what your payroll software pays. Update the kilometre rate in your payroll software as well, so staff are paid the new rate.
Some organisations set up travel as an allowance instead. If yours does, go to Finance and Payroll > Cost Categories, find the Cost Category, click Action and select Allowances, update the value per unit for the travel allowance, then click Save. If you use a payroll integration, you may need to sync allowances again from the Actions button.
Change the rate for everyone at once
Each Cost Category has its own kilometre rate and allowances, so there is no single setting that changes the staff rate for every category. If you miss one, staff on that category stay on the old rate. If you have a lot of Cost Categories, our Support team can update them for you from a spreadsheet. This may be chargeable.
Cost Categories affect rostering, timesheets and payroll exports, so make the change carefully and check the result before your next pay run.
The vehicle allowance went up. Does FlowLogic update automatically?
No. FlowLogic does not change your staff kilometre rate or travel allowance on its own. When the rate your organisation pays changes, someone with access to Cost Categories needs to update it.
Unlike service items, Cost Category rates don't have a valid from date. A change applies across the system as soon as you save it, including to any timesheets that haven't been exported yet, even if they are already approved. To keep the old rate for the current pay period, export that period first, then change the rate.
Send kilometres to your payroll system
Approved travel is included in your timesheet export when all of these are true:
The staff member's Cost Category is set up to pay travel by the kilometre.
The trip has Actual KMs greater than 0 and its status is Approved.
The trip was done in a personal vehicle. If vehicle selection is turned on, the Personal option must be selected. Trips marked as a company vehicle or No Trip are not paid.
The trip is linked to an approved timesheet entry.
Before exporting, go to Finance and Payroll > Export timesheets and run the Kilometres Report to check the travel for the period. The pay item in your payroll system must match the export code in FlowLogic.
How travel appears on invoices
Travel reaches an invoice through the Travel tool on the shift. Each trip can have one or more clients (passengers), and each client can have one or more billing slots, each with its own transport billing code.
1. Travel is added to the shift
On a rostered shift, go to the Travel section, add a trip, then click Add Client and choose the transport billing code. The billing codes you can choose come from the client's funding allocation. If the code isn't in the list, add it to the client's funding allocation first.
If your organisation uses transport billing flag auto-population, the billing code fills in automatically when you add the client. You can still change it for a particular shift.
If you don't want to bill the client for the trip, leave the client off the trip. The staff member can still be paid for the kilometres.
2. The staff member records actual kilometres
When the support worker submits their timesheet, FlowLogic suggests the trip from the roster. They enter or confirm the actual kilometres, and odometer readings or notes if your setup requires them.
3. Travel is approved
Travel must be Approved before it's billed. A trip that is Sent is still waiting for approval, and a Declined trip is not billed. You can approve travel:
On the timesheet, in Finance and Payroll > Timesheet Management. Travel entries appear further down the timesheet and can be approved or declined separately from the shift hours.
In bulk, in Finance and Payroll > Travel Management. Set your filters, click Show Trips, then use the Actions button on each trip.
Rostered kilometres show in grey and actual kilometres show in green. The actual kilometres are what gets billed.
4. Kilometres are split across billing slots
When the timesheet is approved, FlowLogic shares the actual kilometres across the trip's billing slots. By default, it splits them equally between all passengers. Depending on your setup, you may be able to set a billing percentage or enter quantities manually.
Each billing slot is billed on its own, using its service item and the client's funding allocation.
5. Travel appears on the invoice
Go to Finance and Payroll > Export Invoices, set your filters and click Search Entries. Expand a client to see each line item, including the transport service code, quantity (kilometres), rate and total.
To change how travel lines are described on invoices, use the Invoice Description Builder in the Export Invoices settings.
Turn the travel section on or off
The Travel tool, and which travel fields staff see (such as odometer readings, billing items, notes and vehicle selection), are controlled in System Settings. These settings can only be changed by FlowLogic. To turn the travel section on or off, or to change which fields are shown or required, contact our Support team.
If you only want to stop billing travel for one client, don't remove the Travel tool. Leave that client off their trips, or remove the billing entry from the trip when you review the timesheet.
If travel isn't billing or paying as expected
If mileage isn't billed when it should be, travel lines appear twice, or kilometres are paid or billed at the wrong amount, contact our Support team. Include:
A screenshot of the issue
The shift, staff member and client involved
The dates of service, and the invoice or payroll period