Every shift in Careswitch creates a billing line item behind the scenes, even before it's worked. As the shift gets completed and billed, that line item moves through a series of statuses. Knowing them helps you see what's ready to invoice, what's been paid, and what's stuck.
The journey of a line item
Upcoming — the shift is scheduled but not yet worked. This is projected revenue, not billable yet.
Billable — the shift is completed and ready to go on an invoice. This is the only stage where a line item can be edited or marked unbillable.
Billed — the line item is on an invoice that's been sent. It's now locked.
Paid — payment has been received. Also locked.
Two more statuses mean a line item won't be billed:
Missed — the shift was incomplete (no clock-in/out), so there's nothing to bill.
Unbillable — someone manually marked it not billable (a reason is required).
What turns a shift billable
When a shift is completed, its line items become Billable automatically — only completed shifts do, so canceled or incomplete shifts don't. One catch: if the shift has an unresolved blocking AI Shift Review exception (like missing care documentation or signatures), it's kept out of the automatic add-to-invoice flow. That's the point of a blocking rule — it pauses auto-billing so you can review and fix the shift before it reaches a payer, instead of billing something that's off. If you've reviewed it and it's fine, you can still add it to an invoice manually; or clear the exception (fix the shift and refresh) to remove the hold.
What's on a line item
A shift can produce a few kinds of line items:
Shift hours — the care time worked.
Travel time and mileage — if you bill for them.
Expenses — miscellaneous charges you add.
For insurance (third-party) claims, only shift hours can be billed — travel time, mileage, and expenses are for private-pay bills only.
FAQ
Why isn't my shift getting billed?
Two common reasons: it isn't completed yet (only completed shifts become billable), or it has an unresolved blocking AI Shift Review exception keeping it out of automatic invoicing — that's the built-in review step. Either fix the shift and refresh to clear it, or, if you've reviewed it and it's correct, add it to the invoice manually.
Can I edit a line item after it's on a sent invoice?
No. Once a line item is Billed or Paid it's locked. You can only edit it while it's Billable.
What does "unbillable" mean?
It's a line item someone manually flagged as not billable. It won't be added to any invoice.