Budget Tool

Introduction 

This guide introduces Lookout’s budgeting and live expenditure tracking tools, designed to provide a more comprehensive, end-to-end experience for managing care funding. Originally scheduled to launch with Support at Home on 1 July, this tool was expanded during the program’s delay to become a more flexible, end-to-end budgeting solution. We used the extra time to broaden its capabilities, resulting in a unified release that supports multiple funding models, including HCP, NDIS, private, and custom funding schemes, delivered as a complete package to all users. 

Looking ahead, development will resume on Support at Home-specific functionality in September, with a targeted release planned for October, in line with the revised Support at Home launch on 1 November. 

 

Key features

• Supports multiple funding models:  

• • HCP 

• • NDIS (externally plan managed) 

• • Private 

• • Custom 

• • Support at Home being supported prior to 1 November 

• End-to-end service and cost planning and real-time tracking of expenditure. 

• API access for integrations and extensibility. 

• Option to generate budgets based on existing rosters or build them manually. 

• Visual expenditure tracking tools (burn down charts, actual spend vs. budget tracking, service allocation breakdowns). 

• Signature collection (in person or digitally) and client-facing budget PDFs via app or print. 

 

Why it matters 

Budgeting has become key to staying compliant and transparent, as well as planning ahead with the Support at Home program, focusing on precise cost tracking and how services are used. 

While we originally built our budgeting tools to be ready for Support at Home by 1 July, the program’s delay gave us a chance to do even more. Now, the tool offers a complete budgeting solution that works for Support at Home and across other funding options like HCP, NDIS (externally plan-managed clients), Private, and Custom schemes. 

This update also fully supports the HCP program and integrates budgeting into the customer and family app, so everyone can stay informed and updated easily. 

 

Who it’s for 

• Care Managers: Plan and adjust services based on available funding and what’s agreed with the Member. 

• Finance & Executive teams: Monitor funding usage, allocations, and projections. 

• Operations teams: Analytics for real-time spend and supporting compliance. 

• Developers: Use API for integrations and automation. 

• Home Care Providers: Meet auditing requirements, establish the way to transition existing HCP budgets to Support at Home. 

 

Creating a new budget 

As already mentioned, the budgeting tool supports a wide range of funding types, including HCP, NDIS, Private, and custom schemes. You can easily create budgets or service quotes tailored to each Member's specific funding setup. Navigate to the Care section in the main side menu, and then select Members. 

You can use the search filters to help you find a member or scroll through the list. Once you have found who you are looking for, click their name to enter their dashboard. You will now also see a column in the memberships list called budget status. This is to help give you quick easy information at a glance. 

Click the Budgets tab across the top of the member's profile.

This will bring up a new screen, the main Budgets page. The screen will load with the member's real-time tracking by default.   

• If a budget has already been set up and is active, the live tracking will compare expenditure against that existing budget. 

• If no budget has been set up, it will only detail current expenditure, and in the case of HCP/S@H will also detail their available income (subsidies,  supplements and contributions).

On the right-hand side of the screen, click the Service planning button. 

A new screen will load, showing a summary of all active and archived service plans (if any). To create a new budget, click the blue New budget button on the righthand side of the screen. 

A new screen will load with four tabs across the top: Income, Service Planning, Other Expenses, and Summary. The Other Expenses tab is only visible for HCP, NDIS, Private, and Custom funding but will be hidden when creating a Support at Home plan.

On the left-hand side, you can select the funding scheme and funding level, set the start and end date for the budget, and see a chart that visualises how the available income is being allocated. As you build the budget, the graph updates to show the total income, planned expenses, and remaining funds, making it easy to see how well your plan is tracking against the available funding. 

 

Income (e.g. setting up available funds to spend) 

We will look at the Income tab first:

For Home Care Package clients, the subsidy, supplements, ITF, and BDF details will be automatically pre-filled based on the information already configured in the member’s profile - saving you time and reducing manual entry. 

For NDIS and Private members, the tool functions more like a quoting calculator. The Income tab is intentionally simple, designed to support quoting for private clients and NDIS participants who are self-managed or externally plan-managed. You can generate and share quotes with the participant or their plan manager for review and approval. 

If your organisation manages the funds, such as in the case of being the plan manager or support coordinator, you can still use the tool. However, please note that it’s not intended for detailed or ongoing management of NDIS funding, so it may not meet all your needs comprehensively at this stage. 

The primary goal of the budgeting tool is to help you estimate costs and align planned care with the agreed service allocations and funding arrangements. 

 

Creating a service plan 

Once the income details are entered, you can move on to the Service Planning tab, where you’ll calculate the cost of the care and support planned for the Member.

There are two ways to add a service plan. The first is to add it manually by clicking the blue Add a service button. This will open a side window where you can quickly set up a recurring or one-off service pattern.

In this window, you can: 

• Select the service you want to include in the budget (e.g. personal care). 

• Add an optional description to provide context or extra detail for the Member when they view their budget. 

• Set the duration of the service (e.g. 1 hour). 

• Choose the first delivery date for the service. If it’s a one-off, this date determines when the cost will be counted against the available budget. 

• Specify the delivery window e.g. AM, PM, or a specific time window (e.g. 1 hour between 9:00 AM am and 12:00 PM to set expectations around when the service will be delivered). 

• Choose whether the service repeats e.g. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on a weekly or monthly basis. When you select a repeat frequency, you’ll have the option to specify how often it recurs (e.g. every 2 weeks or every 6 months), allowing you to create more precise service delivery patterns. 
• Set a repeat end date if required, if the service ends before the budget period does, to ensure the total cost is calculated accurately. 

• You can then choose the applicable rate for the service or set a provisional cost e.g. allocating $500 from the budget towards that service. 
• The system will detect if the service delivery plan will fall on any public holidays. You can choose to include or exclude public holidays to help reduce costs for the member if needed: 

• At the bottom, you can add provider travel or client transport to the service, and the system will calculate the additional cost.

 

Generating a budget from the roster

The second way is to generate a budget from the roster. This fast-tracks the process by creating a draft plan from what’s already in the member’s roster. This is great for clients with a stable service history, but make sure to review and adjust. Your roster may not align perfectly with the ideal funds usage and could result in over/under utilisation of funds if left unchecked. Click the Build from roster button to use this method.

Once you have finished inputting income (if applicable), the service plan and other expenses, you can click the Summary tab to review the budget you’ve created.

When happy, click the blue Create plan button on the right-hand side.

A green confirmation box will pop-up to confirm your new plan has been created.

To get back to view the Member’s service plans, click the Budgets tab again, then the Service planning button. This will bring you back to the screen that shows a summary of all active and archived service plans.

The new plan we just made has a status set to Draft. You will also see a column advising if a signature has been completed.

 

Setting the budget live

When you’re ready, you can change the status of the budget from draft to approved. Approving the budget sets it live and enables live expenditure tracking, which we’ll cover in the next section.

This step acts as an internal signal that the budget is ready to be shared with the Member and used to track actuals in the real-time tracking tab. It does not mean the Member has approved it - member approval is tracked separately via the signature status.

To change the status of the budget to approved, click the three-dot button on the right side of the budget plan. A pop-up will appear with a few options; click Approve.

A green confirmation box will appear to confirm your action.

You can always revert an approved budget back to a draft if needed by clicking the three-dots on the right-hand side.

Live expenditure tracking

Once a budget is approved, Lookout will give you real-time visibility into how actual service delivery compares to your plan. At the top of the budget main screen, you will see the following summary metrics:

Total income: The total funds available for the period, based on the client’s current funding configuration. This may differ from what was originally entered in the budget service plan and reflects a more up-to-date view of their available income for the period.

Total budgeted: The total planned cost of services in the approved budget. This is what the organisation expects to spend based on what’s been budgeted for the client.

Total spend is the current committed spend across rostered services, visits, purchase orders, and fees, including past and upcoming items that have been scheduled or invoiced.

Leftover in budget: The remaining unallocated or unspent funds within the approved budget. This reflects how much of the planned budget is still available for use.

Leftover income: The unspent total income remaining, regardless of whether it was budgeted. This reflects overall underspend against the client’s available funding for the selected period of time.

This information is useful for maximising fund utilisation, which will become essential under Support at Home.

In the real-time tracking view:

• You can choose a window of time you’d like to drill down into (e.g. specific week or month within the budget). The screen will default either to the current active and approved budget date range, or if no budget exists, the current month.
• Green bars represent invoiced services - your actuals.
• Blue bars show scheduled services that haven’t yet been invoiced, which are your forecasts. This indicates what hasn’t been invoiced yet and is therefore still changeable.
• Red bars indicate overspend.

This visual contrast helps you quickly spot patterns like funds being under utilised or overspending in specific service categories, or overall.

Both the spend and budgeted sections are interactive. You can click through to explore the underlying details, including individual service lines, visit records, and associated invoices. This gives you a clear picture of what’s already been delivered and invoices, what’s forecasted to occur, and how it compares to your original budget.

Visual charts help you spot if you’re over or under budget at a glance, with actual and forecasted spending updated in real time as services are scheduled and delivered. You can also view detailed breakdowns by service type to understand where funds are going and click through for more information on specific expenses.

The system automatically connects to key activities like rostering, service delivery, and claiming to keep expenses tracked accurately. Smart backfill logic ensures any past data is captured properly, giving you a complete and up-to-date picture of your funding. You will also see any activity that isn’t budgeted for, to help you stay compliant and avoid surprises.

 

Budget approval and signing

When the budget is approved, you can use the three-dot button again and select Share & sign. This is how you request a digital signature from the client or their authorised representative. You can add a security question or a phrase to ensure the link is secure. For example, you could ask the client for their date of birth to use as a passcode or phone number to confirm their identity before opening and signing.

This sends the recipient a secure link where they can review the budget and sign it digitally.

Alternatively, you can also print the budget and collect a signature in person. You can then upload a photo or scan later and upload as evidence.

Once the recipient opens the link and enters the correct access phrase (if applicable):

• They can download the PDF to review the budget in full.
• They are prompted to agree to the budget terms with a checkbox.
• They then sign digitally and submit the form.

The signature is embedded in the PDF with:

• The signer’s name
• The time and date of signing
• A permanent, locked version of the approved document

If the budget is later updated, this signed version remains unchanged for auditing purposes.

When the budget is signed, an approval event is logged in Lookout for auditing and future reference. This ensures a clear, traceable record of the approval process.

The member or their authorised representative can access the budget PDF via the app, which includes:

• Summary of the agreed-upon services and their costs
• Their expected contributions (if applicable)
• Clear signed PDF copy of the budget for their records

This transparency helps build trust and clarifies what services have been agreed to and how the funds will be used.

 

Bulk tooling for budgets

For teams managing many clients, bulk tooling helps scale your workflow. You can generate budgets for multiple clients based on their existing funding setup and rosters. Navigate to the Care section in the main side menu, and then select Members.

You can use the search filters or scroll through the list to find the members you need, then use the bulk selection tool to select multiple members at once. As you select members, a bulk action menu will appear. Click the + Actions dropdown button to access the following budget-related options:

• Generate budgets: Create draft budgets for the selected members based on their existing rosters.
• Approve budgets: If the selected members already have draft budgets and you’re confident they’re accurate, you can bulk approve them to make them live for real-time tracking and analytics.
• Share & sign budgets: For members with approved budgets, you can request digital signatures in bulk, making it faster to send out multiple budgets for client approval.

 

Bulk generating budgets

Clicking the Generate budgets options will reveal a side-window where you can:

• Pick the start and end date for the budgets you wish to generate for the Members selected
• Choose whether you’ll only generate drafts, or if you’ll have then generated and approved/set live immediately for tracking actuals immediately.

 

Bulk approving budgets

If you are confident in your drafted budgets, you can bulk approve them all at once. Approval means the budgets are set live, allowing you to compare live expenditure against them or request a signature from the Member. Lookout will approve the draft budget for each of the selected Members that covers the current date. If multiple drafts apply, the most recently updated one will be approved.

 

Bulk requesting signatures

You’ll also see you can bulk request signatures with a few easy clicks here as well. If you bulk request a signature, this will set any draft budgets to an Approved state and emails a secure link to review and sign the budget. Since the link grants access, we recommend adding an access phrase for security (e.g. something only the recipients will know), but this is not required.

 

Summary

Lookout’s budgeting tools are a powerful planning system that brings together client funding details, planned service delivery, real-time tracking, and budget compliance in one place. This gives you the tools to plan accurately, deliver confidently, and stay in control of your client’s outcomes and your organisation’s finances.

 

FAQs

How can I enable the new budgeting features for my team now?

To get started, head to the Release Hub and choose when you’d like to make the budgeting features available to your team. Before switching it on, consider setting some team protocols or expectations around how the tool should be used and what best practice looks like.

 

Are APIs available for budgeting?

Shortly! We’re working on exposing budgeting APIs so you can integrate budget creation, updates, approvals, and reporting into your own systems or workflows. Stay tuned for updates as we roll this out.

 

How can I make my budget auto-renew so I don’t have to keep manually building or generating new ones?

We’re currently working on a feature that will allow budgets to auto-renew or continue ongoing. This means you won’t need to rebuild budgets from scratch each period - perfect if your service delivery remains consistent and you only need to make changes when a Member’s needs change. Stay tuned for updates!

 

Can I see non-budgeted spend?

Yes, if you scroll down towards the button of the real-time tracking, you’ll see an area labelled ‘Not budgeted’ that will outline service expenditure that isn’t part of the budget.

If you’ve avoided spending outside of a budget, we’ll congratulate you! The box will remain empty if all your services are budgeted for.

 

What’s the difference between a draft and an approved budget?

A draft is your editable working version. Approving a budget sets it live for tracking actual expenditure and signals that it’s ready to be shared with the Member. Member approval is tracked separately through the signature status.

 

Why do I need to approve a budget?

Approval is what sets a draft budget live. Once approved, it becomes the source of truth for tracking actuals against in real time. This ensures clarity and accountability around what’s been planned and agreed to and how you’re tracking towards that.

We don’t allow overlapping approved budgets to prevent double-counting or confusion — each approved budget should clearly define its own period of coverage. Drafts, on the other hand, can overlap while you’re still planning or reviewing.

 

Can I update a budget after it’s been signed?

Yes. If a Member’s needs change, you can revise the existing budget and share it again if needed. Alternatively, you can create a new version to maintain a clear record of what’s been previously shared and agreed to. This may be preferred if your team values strong version control. Just keep in mind that editing a signed budget will overwrite the previous version, so creating a new version may be best.

 

What happens if I haven’t created a budget for a period?

You’ll still see income and expenditure for that period, but without a budget, live tracking can’t compare actuals to planned spend. Any costs will be shown as non-budgeted expenditure.