Private-pay policies are the simplest kind of policy in Careswitch — there's no insurance review step, so the policy becomes active immediately. Use this when the client, their family, or any direct (non-insurance) payer is covering the cost of care.
If you're not sure what a policy is or how it fits in, start with What is a Policy? for the concept overview.
Before you start
Make sure you have:
The client (care recipient) already created in Careswitch.
The coverage start date — and (optionally) when it ends.
A list of the services you'll provide (e.g., Personal Care, Companion Care).
The bill rate for each service (e.g., $35/hour).
If there are agreed-upon limits, the cap (e.g., 20 hours/week, no cap, a fixed monthly amount).
Step-by-step
Go to the client's profile → Policies tab.
Click + Policy.
Choose Private Pay as the policy type.
Enter the coverage start date. Leave the end date blank if it's open-ended, or set one if there's a defined end.
Add a service group — give it a clear name (e.g., "Personal Care"), select the service(s) it covers, set the bill rate, and (if applicable) the limit.
Add additional service groups if needed (e.g., one for personal care, another for companion care at a different rate).
Click Save. The policy is now Active — you can start scheduling and billing shifts immediately.
What happens next
Scheduling: when you schedule a shift for this client, Careswitch will automatically use this policy if the service matches.
Billing: completed shifts automatically build into invoices using the policy's bill rate.
Usage tracking: if you set a limit, you'll see usage roll up in real time on the policy detail page.
Common tweaks after the fact
Change the rate mid-policy: edit the service group's bill rate. The new rate applies to shifts going forward.
Add a new service: add another service group to the same policy rather than creating a whole new policy.
End the policy: set the coverage end date. Existing shifts within the coverage window stay billable.
Turn off without ending: archive the policy to keep it on file but stop it from being used for new shifts.
If your client is paying through an insurance plan, the VA, Medicaid, or another third-party payer, use the third-party authorization how-to instead.