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Qualification | Use Qualifications as a way to indicate your Caregivers’ disciplines, or what types of service they are qualified to perform. When adding a new Caregiver into the system, you will select their Qualifications from this list. Caregivers may have multiple Qualifications. Qualifications are used by the system when matching Caregivers to a Schedule for a particular Client. When creating your Call Type master list, you should assign a Qualification to each Call Type. A Caregiver must have the Qualification that is assigned to the Call Type in order to provide the authorized care. A Caregiver who does not have the Qualification required by the Call Type will not be saved to any Schedule created with that Call Type. Also, the Caregiver Suggestion tool will not show Caregivers who do not have the qualification required by the Call Type on the Schedule. |
Call Type (Services) | Call Types represent the different types of services your company offers. They are a crucial component of HomeTrak Companion, tying much of the system together. Call Types are used in the following areas: - Add relevant Call Types to your Office in the Agency Office Module. (NOTE: If you have more than one Office, you must add Call Types for each Office. If you have only one Office, any Call Type you add in User Defined Information will automatically be added as a Call Type in your Agency Office Module.)
- Select a Call Type for each Call Type-specific Billing and Payroll Rate added in the Agency Office Module, the Client Module, the Caregiver Module or the Payer Module.
- Select a Call Type for each Authorization added to a Client in the Client Module.
- When adding a Schedule, you will choose the Authorization with the appropriate Call Type.
- During the Payroll and Billing process, the system will apply the correct Rate(s) based upon the Call Type.
As you can see, properly configuring the master list of Call Types is critical for a variety of reasons. A Billing Rate must have a Call Type specified. An Authorization requires a valid Billing Rate. A Schedule is created from a valid Authorization. The Call Type can dictate how much to pay a Caregiver and bill a Payer, if Call Type-specific Rates have been set up. |
Profile | Language | Create the list of Languages that are spoken by your Clients and Caregivers. When adding a new person or organization into the system, select the Language(s) they can speak. Knowing the languages a person can speak is essential when pairing up a Caregiver with a Client. The list of Languages from which to select may differ from company to company. | Classifications | Classifications provide additional ways to filter and group people in your system. A person can be assigned only one category, but they may have an unlimited number of Classifications attached. Classifications can be used to filter the list of people in the Find Area on the left-hand side of all modules in HomeTrak Companion. You can also filter on a Classification in the Caregiver Suggestion filter options. If you are a Telephony user, Schedule Alert Messages can be set up to be sent only for Clients with a specific Classification. | Title | Maintain the list of potential Titles that you can use for people in the program (for example, Mr., Ms., Dr., Sir, etc.). A Title can be selected when editing a person’s profile in Companion. NOTE: | When adding a new person to Companion, if the text entered matches an item in this Title list, the program will automatically select the text as the title on the person's profile. |
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| EXAMPLE: When you enter Dr. John Smith, if "Dr." is in the Title list, Companion will automatically set the Title to "Dr." and the first name on the profile to "John". If "Dr." is NOT in the Title list, both words ("Dr. John") are included in the person's first name field. |
| Name Suffix | Maintain the list of potential Name Suffixes. A Name appears after a person’s name (for example, Jr., Sr., PhD., MD, etc.). A suffix can be selected when editing a person’s profile in Companion. NOTE: | When adding a new person to Companion, if the text entered matches an item in this Name Suffix list, the program will automatically select the text as the name suffix on the person's profile. |
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| EXAMPLE: When you enter John Smith Jr., if "Jr." is in the Name Suffix list, Companion will automatically set the Name Suffix to "Jr." and the last name on the profile to "Smith". If "Jr." is NOT in the Name Suffix list, the last word entered (in this case "Jr.") is set as the person’s last name. |
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Location | This group contains information required for entering address information. City | Pre-establish your master list of Cities serviced by your office. This list is automatically populated with the Cities you enter while adding people and organizations to the system. | State | Pre-establish your master list of States (or provinces or regions) here. You may include any or all States in your list. This list is automatically populated with the States you enter while adding people and organizations to the system. | ZIP Code | The list of Zip Codes or postal codes for addresses in your system. Every time you enter a new Zip Code or postal code to a profile, it is added to this list. Zip codes and postal codes are tied to cities. Entering a Zip Code or postal code further sorts an address into a specific mail delivery area. | District | Pre-establish your master list of Districts here. If your company services a large territory, it may not be feasible to schedule a Caregiver from one end of your service area to care for a Client located at the other end. Districts are used to divide your service area into sections, such as Central, North, East, South and West). The list of Districts may differ from company to company. Some companies may decide to define Districts by County, City or ZIP Code. In addition to indicating the District a person lives in, you can specify on a Caregiver’s profile the District(s) they prefer to work, which is used in Caregiver Suggestion when matching a Caregiver to a Schedule. | Country | Pre-establish your master list of Countries here. When you install the software you will select the Country for your office, and the system will automatically populate that Country in this list. If you enter additional data that requires identification of another Country, make sure the Country is added to this list so you can select it. | Address Category | Define categories for Addresses added to people in your system. People or organizations will often have a secondary address in addition to their primary address. The secondary address should be recorded in your system to guarantee optimum communication. | Tip |
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| EXAMPLE: A Client’s home address is different from their mailing address where invoices are to be sent, such as a P.O. box. In this case their primary address should be their home address, and the P.O. box is added under Secondary Addresses. You can override a person’s invoice mailing address in their Billing Options by choosing the Secondary Address for the Mail-To Override. |
| Structure | (Optional) You can select the appropriate type of Structure descriptor for an address you add to a person’s or organization's profile. |
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Documentation | This group contains other categories of information that can be added to most profiles in the system. Documented Event Categories | Define categories that describe the types of Documented Events in your system. Use Documented Events to record outstanding performance as well as complaints or problems with a Client or Caregiver. Create Documented Event categories that make sense for your company, such as Client Complaint, Caregiver Arrived Late, Job Well Done, etc. | Tip |
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| EXAMPLE: If a client calls to report a rude caregiver, or that a caregiver provided excellent care, you can document the call to ensure the information is recorded in your system and will appear in the profiles of both the client and caregiver involved. You can run reports on documented events. The Documented Events report will assist you in many tasks, including yearly caregiver evaluations. |
| Required Date | Add Required Dates, such as training courses and evaluations, for clients and caregivers. | Tip |
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| EXAMPLE: You may wish to record that a caregiver completed an Alzheimer's training course and the certification is valid for 2 years. |
The list of categories you define here will represent the different types of requirements your company tracks, their importance, and how or whether they expire. Required Dates can be specified as Mandatory or Optional. If a Caregiver has an incomplete or expired Mandatory required date on their profile, you will receive warnings if you try to schedule that caregiver. There are three types of Required Date categories: - No Expiry: Enter these requirements with the date they are completed, such as a Caregiver Orientation session. These requirements do not expire.
- Actual Date: Enter these requirements with the actual Certification date they are completed. These requirements expire after a length of time that is specified for the category.
- Expiration Date: Enter these requirements with the date they actually expire, rather than the date they were completed.
| | Define categories that indicate the type of Extra Information records that you wish to add to a person’s profile. You can add Extra Information to a client’s or caregiver’s profile, in addition to the existing fields and features provided. | | Create categories for Pop-up Alerts. Pop-up alerts appear in the bottom right corner of the screen when opening a person or organization's profile. These alerts may serve as important reminders or warnings about the person or organization. | Referral Categories | A referral is a person or organization who advised someone to use the services of your company. You can add Referral Sources to both client and caregiver profiles. Create your list of Referral categories here. Categorize your Referrals according to any criteria that make sense for your company: Rehab Facility, Doctor, Hospital, etc. | Skill | Recording the skills of Office Staff, Caregivers and Clients can be very important for scheduling. Each office person has a set of skills they bring to your company. Each Caregiver has a set of Skills that helps them to care for a Client. Likewise, each Client needs service from a Caregiver who has certain Skills. Skills added to a Client’s profile represent the Skills that a Caregiver is required to possess in order to work with this Client. The Skills that a Caregiver or Office Staff person has, and those needed by a Client or specific Authorization, have great impact on the scheduling process. While the Qualification represents the type of service a Caregiver is able to perform, each Client and Authorization may have unique requirements. These requirements are fulfilled by matching specific Caregiver Skills to those required by a Client. There are two types of Skills you can add to the profile of a Client, Caregiver, or Office Staff person: Critical Skills and Regular Skills. Critical Skills are Skills that a Caregiver must have in order to work a Schedule requiring those Skills. Critical Skills are used by the Caregiver Suggestion tool to filter out Caregivers who do not meet the requirements to work with a particular client. You cannot save a Caregiver to a Schedule unless they possess all of the Critical Skills required by the Client and/or Authorization. Regular Skills are less important, but still desired to work with the Client. The percentage of Regular Skills matching between a Client and Caregiver is seen in the Caregiver Suggestion form. Missing Regular Skills does not prevent a Caregiver from being scheduled. Skills required by a Client may be Client-Specific or Authorization-Specific. Client-Specific Skills are added directly to the Client. These Skills are always needed by the Client, no matter what service is being performed. Authorization-Specific Skills are added directly to an Authorization. Add these skills only if you have multiple Authorizations for different types of services for a Client, and different Skills are needed for each service. Authorization-specific Skills do not override the Skills needed by the Client. Rather, the Authorization-specific Skills are added to those already needed by the Client when matching Caregivers to a Schedule. | Additional Image | Define categories for the Additional Images you add to profiles in Companion. The additional images section allows you to add and view images right in the software. | Tip |
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| EXAMPLE: If a caregiver is certified in CPR/First Aid, you can scan the certificate onto your computer and add this image to the database through the Additional Images tool. |
| External Types | Define the categories for External Information linked to profiles in Companion. External Information items represent links to files and folders outside of Companion. | Tip |
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| EXAMPLE: You have a document that contains information about a client or caregiver. Once you've added a link to this document, you can launch to the file, folder or website without using Windows Explorer to locate it. |
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| Create links only to shared files and folders that are accessible to all users. If a user does not have access to the file or folder, the link will not open on their computer. |
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Scheduling | This group contains event categories and other items related to scheduling and events. Appointment Categories | Define categories to indicate the types of Appointments in your system, such as Meeting, Assessment Visit, etc. An appointment books time on the calendars of all those involved. The system will alert you to schedule conflicts if an Appointment is scheduled during the same time period as another calendar item. | Tip |
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| EXAMPLES: A lunch appointment for yourself and a contact who is a good referral source for your company could be categorized as a Meeting, or an appointment with a Client could be categorized as an Assessment Visit. |
| Task Categories | Define categories that indicate the types of Tasks in your system. A task serves as a reminder to complete a certain job. Although Tasks appear on the calendars of those involved, they do not book a block of time. Therefore, the system will not alert you to schedule conflicts if a Task is scheduled during the same time period as another calendar item. If you wish to book a block of time on the calendar, you must add an Appointment, not a Task. | Schedule Attributes | Attributes can be added to Schedules to indicate important information about a Schedule. | Tip |
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| EXAMPLE: If you are missing timecard information about a Schedule, you could mark that Schedule with an Attribute indicating “Needs Paperwork”. You can filter Schedules based on attached Attributes in the Daily Schedules and Finalize Modules. |
| Event Reminders | Use Event notices to send reminder notices via SMS text to the Caregiver's cell phone in advance of events involving that person. Event notices may be configured to send a set amount of time before or after the beginning or end of an event, and may be set to send for specific categories of Tasks or Appointments, or Schedules. Specific Schedule Call Types may be excluded from Alerting and Notices by editing the Call Type in the Agency Office Module. NOTE: You | You must have SMS Texting set up for your office to use this feature. |
(Cloud users only.) | Schedule Length | Use this option to specify the Schedule Length Caregivers are willing to work. Each option specifies a range with a minimum and maximum number of hours. This is used in the Caregiver Suggestion tool to find Caregivers whose Schedule Length preferences match the actual length of the schedule being filled. (If the Caregiver does not have a Schedule Length preference, the program assumes they are willing to work any length of Schedule.) A Caregiver who does not match a Schedule Length preference is not prevented from being scheduled—this tool is used only when suggesting appropriate Caregivers for a Schedule. | Alert Messages | Customize the message text and details that are included in the alert messages sent out by the Companion telephony service when a caregiver has not arrived for a schedule. Determining which messages are sent and when they are sent out is configured under Schedule Alerting in the Agency Office Module. | Reminder Messages | Customize the message text of the status messages that are periodically sent out by the Companion telephony service to indicate normal operation. Determining which messages are sent and their frequency is configured under Schedule Alerting in the Agency Office Module. |
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Relationship Categories | These are the different types of people and organizations you can enter into Companion. The categories describe the relationship between your office and these people, or between two different people. Since each person or relationship can only have one category applied to it, these categories should be your primary way of grouping them. Caregiver | The Caregiver category allows you to create a list that defines how your business chooses to categorize your caregivers. This category should be the primary way that you group or organize your Caregivers. Since each Caregiver can have only one category, you may choose to organize them by their type of employment (for example, Contract, Hourly, Full-time, Casual), or the type of work they do (for example, Nursing Staff, Cleaners, Care Providers, etc.). You should choose categories based on the best way to organize your Caregivers. | Client | The Client Category allows you to create a list that defines how your business chooses to categorize your clients. This category should be the primary way that you group or organize your clients. Since each Client can have only one category, you should choose categories based on the best way to organize your Clients (for example, Private, Insurance, VA, etc.). | | HomeTrak Companion allows you to connect an unlimited number of Emergency Contacts to each Client, Caregiver, and Office Staff person in your system. This ensures that your company can get in contact with someone in a timely manner if there is an emergency. Pre-establish your list of Emergency Contact categories here. You may choose to categorize your emergency contacts according to any criteria you wish. For example, you may use the category to indicate primary and secondary contacts, or you may prefer to have the category reflect the relationship to the Client or Caregiver (for example, Son, Daughter, etc.). | Compatibility | Matching a caregiver to a client must be done carefully in order to keep both your clients and caregivers happy. The Caregiver Compatibility feature allows you to identify specific caregivers that a client likes or dislikes. The pre-defined list includes the categories Preferred and Not Preferred. You may edit or add to this list if desired. | Individual | Connect Individuals (doctors, lawyers, relatives etc.) to specific contacts, clients, caregivers, and office people. You may assign a category to an Individual to describe the relationship of the Individual to the Client or Caregiver to whom they are attached (for example, Mother, Psychiatrist and Friend). | Manager | HomeTrak Companion allows you to connect managers (who have profiles in the Office Staff Module) to the specific Contacts, Clients, and Caregivers they're managing. Documenting who a person or organization is managed by is an important part of sorting. The Manager category represents the relationship between the Manager and the Client or Caregiver. You may have categories such as Field Supervisor, Scheduler, HR Manager, etc. | Organization | The Organization Category allows you to create a list that defines how your business chooses to categorize organizations with which your company has a relationship. You may choose to have categories that reflect the type of business (for example: Doctor’s Office, Hospital, Religious Organization, Advertising Agency, etc.). | | Contacts are individuals with a relationship to your office who are not clients or caregivers. The Contact Category allows you to create a list that defines how your business chooses to categorize your external contacts. | Office Staff | Define how your business chooses to categorize your office caregivers. You may wish to have these categories reflect the position that your office staff occupy (for example, Office Manager, Scheduler, Receptionist, etc.). | Payer | The Payer Category allows you to create a list that defines how your business chooses to group your non-private payers. (A private payer is a client who pays their own bills. A non-private payer is an insurance company or other third party paying for the service.) Non-private payers are added in the Payer Module, where data such as contact information, billing options and rates are managed. | Office | This category is only applicable if you will be using HomeTrak Companion for more than one company or for your company's multiple offices. In this case, you will first need to purchase an additional license for HomeTrak Companion. Then you can add additional Offices and their default information in the Agency Office Module. |
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Payroll and Billing | This group contains important categories related to billing and payroll. Holiday | Set up the names of the holidays that your company observes. The Holiday categories created here will be available to select when adding the dates of office-specific holidays and setting up their pay and bill factors in the Agency Office Module. | Expense Description | This list contains various descriptions for Expenses. An Expense Description can be applied to Expense Extra Charges and appears on Invoices and Billing and Payroll reports. | | This list defines the types of extra charges in Companion. You cannot add to this list but if you integrate with QuickBooks, you can edit these items to link them to service items in QuickBooks. | | The Invoice Promotion is optional text that appears at the bottom of the Invoice. A promotion from this list can be selected in a Payer’s Billing Options. | Invoice Term | The Invoice Term indicates when payment is due. The terms from this list are selected in a Payer’s Billing Options and appear on Invoices. | Pay Stub | The Pay Stub Information is optional text that appears at the bottom of the pay stub report (Summary by Caregiver Payroll report). Items from this list are selected in a Caregiver’s Payroll Options. | Rounding Type | You can configure how Schedule hours are rounded, if you bill or pay based on rounded hours. You will specify which rounding option to use for each Payer or Caregiver in their Billing or Payroll Options. | Tax Type | If you are required to charge state or federal taxes on your services, your list of Tax Types and rates are set here. The Tax Type(s) must also be attached to Call Types in the Agency Office Module in order to be applied. This allows you to specify which services are taxed and which are tax-free. The taxes will be applied when calculating Billing and included in the Invoice totals. |
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Reporting | Mail Merge Letter | Define the body contents of various letter forms to use with the Mail Merge Report (in the Printed Reports Module) to create individually addressed letters to Caregivers, Clients or Contacts. The Mail Merge body should be designed to fit on one page. | Page Layout | This list represents the various page layouts used by Companion’s Reporting features. While you cannot add or remove items from the list, you may edit layouts in order to adjust margins. | Watermark | Define different watermarks that can be chosen when running reports. If you select a watermark when you run a report, the watermark image appears behind the report contents. |
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