An affordable bookkeeping service for occupational therapy practices in Melbourne
Occupational therapists working across NDIS, aged care, WorkCover and private billing are managing funding streams that each carry specific income recognition, GST and compliance requirements
Bookkeeping for ccupational therapist practices
Do any of these financial scenarios sound familiar as a occupational therapists?
- NDIS participants with different plan management types are all being billed the same way even though agency, plan and self-managed clients have completely different invoicing and payment processes
- Aged care Commonwealth funding including Home Care Package income is not being recorded at the right time relative to when the services were actually delivered
- Equipment prescription and assistive technology income is going into the same account as professional consultation fees without any distinction between the two
- WorkCover claims are outstanding in a billing system that does not connect to your accounting software and you do not have a reliable aged receivables position for outstanding claims
- You engage a support worker or therapy assistant and you are not certain whether their arrangement creates an NDIS-related employment obligation that you have never formally assessed
- Your BAS is produced from figures that have not been reconciled against the funding portal, the billing system, or the bank account in any systematic way
If any of these sound like your practice, you are not alone and there is a straightforward fix.
A bookkeeper in Melbourne for an occupational therapist
An occupational therapist working across multiple funding streams is providing services under fundamentally different commercial arrangements simultaneously.
- NDIS service delivery is governed by participant service agreements that define what supports can be delivered, at what rates, and over what time period, and the billing process differs completely depending on whether the participant’s NDIS plan is managed by the NDIA, a registered plan manager, or the participant themselves.
- Aged care services funded through Commonwealth programs including the Community Home Support Programme and Home Care Packages have their own billing arrangements with approved providers and their own payment cycles from the Commonwealth and aged care providers.
- WorkCover clients require claim approval before billing can be completed and payment timelines are determined by insurer processing rather than service delivery dates.
When income from all of these funding streams is recorded from bank deposits rather than from the billing and portal systems, the income figure in the accounting software reflects Commonwealth and insurer payment cycles rather than actual service delivery.
An OT who has delivered a significant volume of services in one month may see very little bank income in that month and a large deposit the following month when claims process, and a profit and loss statement built on deposit-based recognition does not give the practice owner any reliable information about clinical productivity or practice performance.
Equipment prescription and assistive technology income creates additional complexity specific to this profession. OTs who prescribe and in some cases supply assistive technology, home modification materials, or adaptive equipment are generating product income alongside professional service income, and the two carry different GST treatment and different income recognition requirements that must be managed separately.
What a bookkeeper manages for an occupational therapy practice
A dietician practice has financial processes that are different to other business types, so managing them correctly requires understanding and needs to cover these activities;
- NDIS income recording across all plan management types. Agency-managed participant services are billed through the NDIS portal and income is recognised when the claim is approved and paid.
Plan-managed participants are invoiced to the plan manager and income is recognised on the invoice.
Self-managed participants are invoiced directly. The accounting file is reconciled against portal claims and payment receipts for every participant and every billing period.
- Aged care funding income.
CHSP, Home Care Package and other Commonwealth aged care funding is recorded with the correct income recognition treatment for each funding type, reconciled against approved provider payment schedules and remittances.
- WorkCover and TAC billing.
Outstanding WorkCover and TAC claims are tracked through the accounts receivable position with income recognised on claim approval rather than payment receipt. The aged receivables position gives the practice owner visibility over what is outstanding and for how long.
- Equipment and assistive technology income.
Product income from assistive technology supply is recorded separately from professional consultation income with the correct GST treatment applied to each. Where the OT is both prescribing and supplying equipment, the two activities are correctly separated in the accounting records.
- NDIS support worker and therapy assistant arrangements.
Where the practice engages support workers or therapy assistants under NDIS funding, the employment or contractor classification of those arrangements is assessed and the correct super, PAYG and Fair Work obligations are applied.
- BAS preparation and lodgment.
Prepared from fully reconciled records with the correct GST treatment applied across therapeutic services, equipment supply, and any other revenue types. Lodged by a registered BAS agent with the four-week extension on both lodgment and payment.
A certified and qualified bookkeeper
Working with Clients Needs Bookkeeping means the financial administration of your practice is handled end to end by a registered BAS Agent who understands the specific requirements of a dental business. In practical terms, this covers:
A registered BAS agent with software credentials for occupational therapists
Matthew Powell is a registered BAS agent. Verify at tpb.gov.au. The four-week lodgment and payment extension and safe harbour protection apply to every BAS lodged through a registered agent.
Software: MYOB Diamond Partner, MYOB Certified Consultant, Xero Silver Champion Partner, Xero Advisor Certified, Xero L2 Certified Professional, Xero Payroll Specialist. Also works with QuickBooks.
About Matthew Powell, registered BAS agent and bookkeeper
Matthew Powell is the director of Clients Needs Bookkeeping and a registered BAS Agent with more than 15 years of experience working with small and medium businesses across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula.
He works across MYOB, Xero, and QuickBooks, and has particular depth of experience in health and medical practice bookkeeping, including dental, medical, and allied health clients.
Matthew is known for being accessible, clients regularly comment that he responds quickly, handles problems promptly, and communicates in plain language rather than accounting jargon.
He works with business owners from any industry sector or niche who provide services or sells products. He does your bookkeeping remotely and takes on new clients with the intent of building a long-term relationship rather than processing a transaction.
Bookkeeping Packages start from $150 per month. The first consultation is free.
Read some of our bookkeeping case studies
Below are real life examples from businesses like yours who needed to use a bookkeeper.
Frequently asked questions chiropracters ask before hiring a bookkeeper
How does NDIS income recognition work across different plan management types?
Agency-managed participants: income is recognised when the NDIS portal claim is approved and paid by the NDIA. Plan-managed participants: income is recognised on the invoice to the plan manager. Self-managed participants: income is recognised on the invoice to the participant. Recording all three as income on receipt of bank deposit means income is recognised at different times for different participants with no consistent treatment, which produces a profit and loss that does not accurately reflect clinical activity.
Is assistive technology supply GST-free?
No. The sale of assistive technology, adaptive equipment and home modification materials is a taxable supply that attracts GST. The professional occupational therapy assessment and recommendation service may be GST-free as a health service, but the equipment supply is a separate transaction with a separate GST treatment.
We engage a support worker to assist with some client sessions. Does that create an employment obligation?
Potentially. If the support worker works exclusively or primarily for your practice, uses your systems and operates under your direction, the ATO may assess the arrangement as employment for super and PAYG purposes regardless of how the agreement is structured. Matthew assesses each arrangement on its specific terms.
What does bookkeeping cost for an OT practice?
Packages start from $150 per month. The first consultation is free.
Ready to get the financial side of your practice managed by a bookkeeper?
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You already know there are things in the books that are not right.
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The personal expenses that went through the business account during a tight month are still sitting there.
The BAS is lodged but you are not entirely sure the figures are accurate.
None of these are unusual, and none of them are unfixable but every month they sit unresolved is another month of compounding risk.
Packages from
$150 per month
Structured around what your business actually needs
Registered & certified bookkeeper
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