The Department for Education have issued statutory guidance around invoicing for children using Local Authority funding. These rules apply to all funded placements and are not specific to each LA.
Accurate reflection of care and costs
All invoices for funded placements must clearly show the funded hours used within the time period covered (which will usually be monthly). If there are any charges to guardians, either for private care or for any fees, they must be shown in the same invoice.
All funded care provided must be included, with specific times and dates.
This means that invoices cannot be set up as pro-rata (a set amount each month).
Invoices cannot be split, e.g. to separate care covered by funding from privately-paid hours, or to put consumable fees in a separate invoice from hours of care.
Allocation of funded hours
Invoices must show the correct allocation of funded hours provided.
Funding cannot be provided for more than 10 hours per day.
Funding can only be provided between the hours of 6am - 8pm.
Unused hours from one term cannot be carried over to the next term.
Fees
Invoices must be itemised to show all consumable fees for the period. When you set your fees in your Business Settings, this will be reflected in your invoices automatically.
Consumable fees must be specific and clear. Unspecified fees and top-up fees are not allowed.
Consumable fees must be linked to specific sessions of funded care (i.e. hours or days). They cannot be set as monthly or weekly.
There's more detailed guidance around consumable fees here.