A subsidy covers part of tuition. How do I charge the family a share of the difference?
Enter the agency's weekly amount as a monthly award, then add a fixed family discount for the part of the gap you waive. The family's invoice comes out to their co-pay plus their share of the gap.
Say your private rate is $295 a week, the agency pays $211, the family's co-pay is $0, and you want the family to pay half of the $84 difference, so $42 a week.
Two things to know first:
- A percentage discount comes off the tuition line, before the subsidy. A 50% discount on $295 takes $147.50 off, not $42. For a share of the gap, use a fixed amount instead.
- The Expected Family Co-pay on an award is informational. It does not change the invoice. Whatever the family owes after the award and any discount is what they are invoiced.
Set it up like this under Billing & Payments → Billing:
- Subsidies → Add Award. Pick the child and the agency, and enter the agency's amount as a monthly figure. Awards are stored per month and divided by 4.33 for weekly plans, so a weekly amount of $211 is entered as $913.63 (211 × 4.33). If the agency pays $211.75, enter $916.88.
- Discounts → Add Discount. Type fixed amount, value 42.00, applies to this family. Name it something like "Subsidy gap share".
From the next invoice on, the family's invoice reads: tuition $295, discount −$42, agency −$211, total $42. The agency's ledger shows a $211 claim for the week.
For a family with a co-pay, do the same thing. Enter what the agency pays as the award and half of the remaining gap as the fixed discount. If the agency pays $180 and the co-pay is $30, the gap is $85, so the discount is $42.50 and the family's invoice comes to $72.50: their $30 co-pay plus their $42.50 share. There is nothing extra to enter for the co-pay itself.
Full details: Subsidies and discounts.