splose rounds invoice quantities to two decimal places to stay compatible with accounting systems like Xero and QuickBooks. For some appointment lengths, this means an invoice total can differ by a few cents from what a funder pays or what another system calculates. Booking in the right time increments avoids this, and a small credit note clears it when it happens.
This guide explains how splose turns appointment time into an invoice quantity, which appointment lengths cause rounding differences, how this affects NDIS claims, and what to do when an invoice is a few cents out.
Why rounding happens
Most financial systems require time-based services to be sent as decimal quantities. For example:
A 45-minute appointment becomes 0.75 hours
A 1-hour 5-minute appointment becomes 1.08 hours (rounded to two decimal places)
splose performs this rounding to create accurate, compliant invoice data that both systems can interpret and calculate against unit prices.
How rounding works
Most financial systems need time-based services as decimal quantities. splose converts each appointment's duration to hours, rounds it to two decimal places, then multiplies it by the hourly price. For example:
A 45-minute appointment becomes 0.75 hours, an exact conversion.
A 1-hour 5-minute appointment becomes 1.08 hours, rounded from 1.0833.
A 20-minute appointment becomes 0.33 hours, rounded from 0.3333.
splose also calculates invoice items and totals to two decimal places, including provider travel amounts.
How splose rounds invoice calculations
In splose, invoices are calculated using two decimal places by default, a common standard in many funding streams. This method ensures consistency and simplicity across all financial calculations within splose.
Here’s how you can effectively manage entries that require more detailed precision:
1. Understanding system calculations
splose’s approach to calculating invoice items and totals may differ slightly from other software applications. This standardisation to two decimal places typically meets the requirements of most transactional needs efficiently.
2. Manual adjustments for precision
Direct line item editing: For transactions where additional precision is needed, you can manually adjust the total for a specific item line directly on the invoice.
Adding custom line items: You can also add a custom line item to reflect any additional precision needed for your financial records. This helps ensure your invoice totals align precisely with your financial analysis.
Key consideration:
The use of two decimal places is a deliberate design in splose, aimed at reducing complexity in financial processing. This streamlined approach is well-suited to handling typical business transactions and is a standard practice in financial applications.
By understanding and applying these methods, you can maintain accurate and precise financial documentation in splose. This approach not only aligns with standard financial practices but also provides the flexibility to adapt to specific transactional details when necessary.
Which appointment lengths cause differences
A duration that's a whole multiple of 3 minutes converts to hours exactly, so it doesn't round. Any other duration rounds, and the rounded quantity can come out slightly over or under the exact time.
Duration | Exact hours | splose quantity | Result |
10 minutes | 0.1667 | 0.17 | Slightly over |
20 minutes | 0.3333 | 0.33 | Slightly under |
40 minutes | 0.6667 | 0.67 | Slightly over |
50 minutes | 0.8333 | 0.83 | Slightly under |
The difference grows with the hourly price. At $200 an hour, a 20-minute appointment is invoiced at $66.00 (0.33 × $200), while the exact amount is $66.67.
Impact on compensable schemes (e.g. NDIS)
Some schemes, like the NDIS (Australia), do not round time before multiplying by the unit price. As a result, you may notice minor rounding differences, either slightly over or under, due to the two-decimal place rounding applied by splose for accounting integrations.
These differences typically occur for appointment lengths that:
Do not align with 6-minute (0.1 hour) increments
Do not align with 30-minute (0.5 hour) increments
For example, a session lasting 20 minutes will be rounded to 0.33 hours instead of the exact decimal of 0.33333.
‼️ splose's NDIS Bulk Upload report gets its values from the calendar entry and not the invoice, so ensure that any changes that can impact the invoice are made on the calendar entry before invoicing.
How to avoid rounding differences
To reduce or eliminate rounding discrepancies, we recommend billing in standard time blocks commonly used in professional services:
6-minute increments (0.1 hours)
15-minute increments (0.25 hours)
30-minute increments (0.5 hours)
This approach is widely adopted in industries such as accounting and legal services, where accurate time billing is critical, and rounding errors are minimised by standardising time entries.