Authorizations are entered on the pathway progress form. Open the participant's profile, choose Pathways, click Update Progress on the pathway (or Start Pathway for a new one), and under Authorizations click Add Authorization. Enter the authorization Number, tick each step it covers and give it a Rate and Units, set the dates, and click Update Progress. You can edit it later from the same form, or from Pathways, then Authorizations, then Edit Authorization.
Participants are labelled Clients, Students, Residents or Explorers depending on the account type. This article calls them participants.
Who can do this, and where
Authorizations are managed on the web app only. The mobile app does not show or edit them.
The Authorizations section only appears on the progress form once the Pathway Authorizations feature is on for your account. If you do not see it, ask us to enable it.
To add or change an authorization on the progress form, your role needs the Pathways module at Supporter or higher, and the participant must be in your scope of support.
To use the Pathways, then Authorizations page, your role needs the Pathway Authorizations module at Supporter or higher.
The Authorizer dropdown only appears once an administrator has added authorizers under Manage Authorizers on the Authorizations page. That needs the invoicing feature.
Steps
Open the participant's profile and choose Pathways in the left menu.
Click Update Progress on the pathway, or Start Pathway if the participant is not on it yet.
Under Authorizations on the right, click Add Authorization.
In the Authorization dropdown, leave Create New Authorization, or pick one of the participant's existing authorizations to cover this pathway as well. Authorizations whose every step line is paid are not offered.
Enter the Number. It is required. Add the Counselor and choose the Authorizer if your account uses them.
Set the Issue date, Begin date and End date. The end date drives the Expired status, so leave it blank for open-ended authorizations.
Drag PDF files into the drop zone to attach authorization documents. Up to 5 PDFs fit on one authorization.
Under Authorized Step Details, tick each step the authorization covers. Each ticked step has a Rate, prefilled from the step's price, and Units. Enter the Billed Date and Paid Date on a step line later, when that happens.
Click Update Progress or Start Pathway. Equip confirms with "Pathway progress updated successfully" or "Pathway progress started successfully".
The authorization number and each step's rate and units now show on the participant's Pathways tab beside the step, and the authorization appears on Pathways, then Authorizations with its Amount (rate times units, summed across its step lines) and Status.
Editing an authorization
From the participant's profile, click Update Progress, expand the authorization by its number, change it, and click Update Progress.
From Pathways, then Authorizations, open the menu on the row and choose Edit Authorization. The slide-over shows the same fields and step lines. Click Update Authorization. Equip confirms with "Pathway authorization updated successfully".
If the same authorization is attached to more than one of the participant's pathways, Equip asks Update Authorization Across Pathways before saving, because the change applies everywhere. Click Yes, Update All to continue.
To take an authorization off a pathway, click the trash icon beside its number on the progress form and save. Its step lines for this pathway are removed. If it is not attached to any other pathway, the authorization itself is deleted.
Attached PDFs are copied into the participant's Documents with the title "filename (Authorization #number)". Removing the PDF from the authorization removes that document too.
Billed Date and Paid Date are entered per step line on the same forms, and Rate and Units stay editable after a line is billed or paid. See Record billed and paid dates on an authorization.
Statuses
Status on the Authorizations page comes from the step lines, not from anything you set directly.
Open: no step line has a Billed Date or Paid Date, and the End date is blank or today or later.
Billed: at least one step line has a Billed Date and no Paid Date.
Partially Paid: some step lines have a Paid Date and some do not.
Paid: every step line has a Paid Date.
Expired: the End date has passed and no step line was ever billed or paid.
Generating an invoice with Mark Authorization as Billed on sets today's Billed Date on the authorization and on every step line the invoice included.
Limits and what the errors mean
"Each authorization must have at least one step selected", with "Must have at least one step selected" on the authorization. You added an authorization without ticking a step, or unticked its last step. Tick at least one step or remove the authorization.
A step must be Included in the pathway for its authorization line to be kept. Turning a step off saves the progress without that step's line.
Equip does not check numbers for duplicates. Two authorizations can carry the same number, so check the Authorizations page before creating one that may already exist.
The Rate is stored as typed. Changing a step's price in the library later does not change rates already saved on an authorization; the library price is only the default for new step lines.
"Maximum of 5 documents reached. Remove a document to add more." An authorization holds at most 5 PDFs. Only PDFs are accepted.
Once every step line has a Paid Date, the authorization shows a Paid lock on the progress form and the trash icon disappears. Once it has an invoice, it shows Invoiced instead and cannot be deleted: "Cannot delete an authorization that has been invoiced". Delete the invoice first.
A progress whose authorization has an invoice cannot be deleted either. Delete Progress disappears from the row menu.
FAQ
Where do I create an authorization? I cannot find an Add button on the Authorizations page.
Authorizations are created on the participant's pathway progress form, not from the Authorizations page. Open the participant's profile, choose Pathways, click Update Progress on the pathway, and use Add Authorization under Authorizations. The Authorizations page is for reviewing and editing them.
Can one authorization cover more than one pathway?
Yes. When you add an authorization to a second pathway, pick the existing one from the Authorization dropdown instead of Create New Authorization, then tick the steps it covers on that pathway. Editing it later updates it on every pathway, and Equip warns you with Update Authorization Across Pathways.
Why is an existing authorization not in the dropdown?
The dropdown only offers the participant's authorizations that still have an unpaid step line, or no step lines at all. An authorization whose every line has a Paid Date is finished and cannot be attached to a new pathway.
What are approved units and hours? I only see Rate and Units.
Each step line has a Rate and Units. Units are whatever the funder authorizes, hours or service units, and the step's Price By setting in the library says which. The Amount on the Authorizations page is rate times units summed over the step lines.
Why does the authorization not show up on the Authorizations page?
The page lists authorizations for participants in your scope of support and needs the Pathway Authorizations module at Supporter or higher. Check the participant filter and the date filters too; a Billed Date or Paid Date filter only matches step lines with a date in that range.
Where do the authorization PDFs go?
They stay on the authorization and are copied into the participant's Documents, titled with the file name and the authorization number. Roles that can edit pathways for that participant get access to the copy. Removing the PDF from the authorization removes the copy.
Can I delete an authorization that has been invoiced?
No. Equip refuses with "Cannot delete an authorization that has been invoiced" and hides the trash icon on the progress form. Delete the invoice first, then the authorization.
Related
Record billed and paid dates on an authorization
Who can see and edit pathways, authorizations and invoices?
Generate an invoice from a pathway authorization
Add and manage authorizers for invoicing
Which date filter should I use for authorizations, invoices and billing?
Pathway Authorizations Report