Can ArborSoft track authorizations in both units and dollars?

Yes. An authorization can be limited by units, by dollars, or by both at once. When both limits are present, ArborSoft enforces whichever is reached first, which matters when a rate change mid-authorization would otherwise let unit-based tracking drift away from the actual dollars available.

What happens when a timesheet would exceed the authorized amount?

ArborSoft validates against the remaining balance at the point of entry. Depending on how the program is configured, the entry is either blocked outright or accepted with a flag routed to a supervisor for review, so overspending is caught before payroll rather than discovered during reconciliation.

Can a consumer hold more than one authorization at a time?

Yes. Consumers frequently carry concurrent authorizations across different services, programs, or funding sources with different date ranges. ArborSoft applies each service to the correct authorization automatically based on service code and date of service.

How do case managers see remaining budget?

Case managers can view utilization and remaining balances for their assigned consumers through the web portal, scoped so they only see their own caseload. Automated notifications can also alert them when an authorization approaches a spend threshold or expiration date.

Feature

Authorization Management Software

Track every service authorization and its remaining budget in real time, and stop overspending before it happens.

Authorizations tracked by units, dollars, or both, with service-code and date-range limits
Real-time remaining-balance calculation as time and vendor costs post
Hard stops and soft warnings when a shift would exceed the authorized amount
Multiple concurrent authorizations per consumer across programs and funding sources
Full change history showing who amended an authorization, when, and by how much
Utilization reporting for case managers, payers, and internal spend-down reviews

Authorizations are the control point for everything a fiscal agent does. If the authorization record is wrong, the timesheet that references it is wrong, the claim built from it is wrong, and the reconciliation at the end of the month becomes an archaeology project. ArborSoft treats the authorization as the system of record and validates against it continuously.

Track units and dollars against one authorization

Programs express limits differently. Some authorize a number of service units, some authorize a dollar amount, and many do both. ArborSoft holds both values on the same authorization and enforces whichever constraint binds first.

That distinction matters more than it sounds. When a wage rate changes partway through an authorization period, unit-based tracking and dollar-based tracking stop agreeing. Tracking only units lets an organization deliver every authorized hour and still exhaust the budget early. ArborSoft recalculates remaining dollars as each entry posts, using the rate in effect on the date of service.

Validate at the point of entry, not at month end

Every timesheet, vendor invoice, and adjustment is checked against the governing authorization as it is entered. ArborSoft confirms that:

the date of service falls inside the authorization period
the service code is one the authorization actually covers
sufficient units and dollars remain
the employee is authorized to deliver that service for that consumer

Entries that fail validation are either blocked or flagged for supervisor review, configurable per program. Catching an unauthorized shift at entry costs a phone call. Catching it after payroll has run costs a recovery.

Handle real-world authorization complexity

Consumers rarely have exactly one clean authorization. ArborSoft supports concurrent authorizations across programs and funding sources, mid-period amendments that adjust units or dollars without destroying history, retroactive authorizations backdated to cover services already delivered, and transfers when a consumer moves between programs.

Every amendment is versioned. The record shows what changed, who changed it, when, and what the balance was before and after — the audit trail a payer review asks for.

Feed everything downstream

Because authorizations sit upstream of the rest of the platform, a single accurate record drives the whole workflow. Electronic Visit Verification validates each captured visit against the authorization before it becomes payable. Payroll pays only against verified, authorized time. Billing builds 837P and 837I claims carrying the correct authorization reference. Notifications warn before an authorization expires or a budget threshold is crossed.

Report on utilization before it becomes a problem

Spend-down reporting shows, per consumer and per program, what was authorized, what has been used, what is pending, and what remains — with a projected exhaustion date based on current burn rate.

Case managers see utilization for their own caseload through the web portal. Program administrators see it across the whole book of business, filtered by funding source, service type, or region, and can export it in whatever format a payer requires.

Authorization Management is one module of the ArborSoft fiscal agent platform — see how it fits into self-directed care and FMS operations.

Authorization Management questions

Can ArborSoft track authorizations in both units and dollars?: Yes. An authorization can be limited by units, by dollars, or by both at once. When both limits are present, ArborSoft enforces whichever is reached first, which matters when a rate change mid-authorization would otherwise let unit-based tracking drift away from the actual dollars available.
What happens when a timesheet would exceed the authorized amount?: ArborSoft validates against the remaining balance at the point of entry. Depending on how the program is configured, the entry is either blocked outright or accepted with a flag routed to a supervisor for review, so overspending is caught before payroll rather than discovered during reconciliation.
Can a consumer hold more than one authorization at a time?: Yes. Consumers frequently carry concurrent authorizations across different services, programs, or funding sources with different date ranges. ArborSoft applies each service to the correct authorization automatically based on service code and date of service.
How do case managers see remaining budget?: Case managers can view utilization and remaining balances for their assigned consumers through the web portal, scoped so they only see their own caseload. Automated notifications can also alert them when an authorization approaches a spend threshold or expiration date.

Every ArborSoft module shares one record set, so data entered once flows everywhere it is needed.

Browse all 15 ArborSoft platform features

See Authorization Management in ArborSoft

Request a walkthrough of the platform and we will show you how authorizations, EVV, payroll, billing, and tax filing work together in a single system.

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