# Support Time Segments Source: https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/support-time-segments > Split a support's billed time across different Charge Item Sets, or mark time as No charge, while keeping one rostered support. Scheduling add-on - This feature requires the Scheduling add-on, which is available on Astalty Premium. See How to enable Scheduling. ## Overview **Support Time Segments** let you split one support's time into windows that each bill their own way. A segment can either: - bill through a different [Charge Item Set](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/charge-items/managing-charge-item-sets) - for example, charge 12:00pm-3:00pm through a different set to the rest of the support, or - be marked **No charge**, so those hours are not billed at all. Any time not covered by a segment is charged through the support's primary Charge Item Set. The one exception is [segment-only billing](#segment-only-billing) on a group support, where the Participant has no primary set and uncovered time is not billed at all. Use this when one rostered support should bill through more than one Charge Item Set, or when part of a support should not be charged, without creating separate supports for each portion of the day. The Charge Item Sets selected for segments must be available to the Participant on the support date. Support Time Segments are a **finance and billing** setting for planners. They are not Support Worker-facing - workers do not see segments in the Support Worker app, and the rostered shift experience is unchanged. > **Not the same as sleepover segments** > > A support with a [Sleepover Window](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/sleepover-window) is also described as being split into segments, but those are worked out by Astalty from the window you set - you cannot add, remove or re-time them individually. Support Time Segments are windows you enter yourself. > > The two can now be used on the same support. A sleepover support with a sleepover window set can carry Support Time Segments in the active hours either side of the window - see [Sleepover Supports](#sleepover-supports). ## Adding Support Time Segments 1. Go to [Schedule](https://app.astalty.com.au/scheduling/schedule). 2. Create or open a support that uses **automatic charging**. 3. In the **Support Time Segments** section, select **Add Segment**. ![The Support Time Segments section on a create support form, highlighted, showing the feature description, the No time segments have been added yet empty state, and an arrow to the Add Segment button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/support-time-segments-add-segment.png) 4. Set **Segment starts** and **Segment ends**. Astalty shows the span length under the end time (for example, *2 hours span*). 5. Choose how the segment bills - either tick **No charge**, or select a **Charge Item Set**. 6. Add further segments if needed (up to 10 per support). 7. Save the support. ![A highlighted Support Time Segment row with Segment starts 30/10/2026 12:00, Segment ends 30/10/2026 15:00 and a 3 hours span hint, the No charge checkbox unticked, and the Charge Item Set set to CA.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/support-time-segments-segment-fields-guide.png) Every segment needs an explicit billing choice - you cannot leave both **No charge** unticked and the **Charge Item Set** empty. Ticking **No charge** clears and disables the Charge Item Set picker for that row, so the two are mutually exclusive. The Charge Item Set picker offers the sets available for the Participant on the support date. This includes the support's own primary set - segmenting alone can change the result, because each segment resolves its rate against its own end time and dates its charge line by its own start. > **Duration shortcuts** > > When you open the **Segment ends** picker, a set of shortcut buttons - *1 hour* through *6 hours*, plus *8 hours* - sits alongside the calendar. Selecting one sets the end time that many hours after the segment start, which is quicker than picking a date and time. Set the segment start first, otherwise the shortcuts do nothing. ## No Charge Segments Tick **No charge** in the **Billing** column to exclude a segment's hours from billing. Astalty creates no hourly charge line for that window, including no zero-dollar line, so those hours do not appear on the support's charges. ![The Support Time Segments table with one segment running 12:00 to 15:00, the No charge checkbox ticked, and the Charge Item Set picker greyed out.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/support-time-segments-no-charge-guide.png) Time outside the no-charge segment still bills through the support's primary Charge Item Set. The no-charge window is not absorbed back into the primary set, so those hours are not billed. The one exception is approved times: if a shift's approved start and end times no longer cover the no-charge window, the primary set bills that time instead. See [Billing Behaviour](#billing-behaviour) below. The Support Worker is unaffected too. The shift is still rostered and worked in full, and payroll and Support Worker pay do not change. > **Additional charges still apply during no-charge hours** > > **No charge** only removes the *hourly* charges for that window. These continue to bill across the whole support, including the no-charge hours: > > - **Travel** (duration and KM) - rated against the whole support span on the primary Charge Item Set (on a [sleepover support](#sleepover-supports), against the active hours either side of the sleepover window instead) > - **Centre capital costs** - the quantity counts the real duration of the whole support, including no-charge time > - **Additional charges** added to the support > > For example, on a 9:00am-3:00pm support with a 12:00pm-3:00pm no-charge segment, the hourly charge covers 3 hours but a centre capital cost charged per hour still bills 6 hours. ## Segment Rules A support time segment must: - fall within the support start and end times - end after it starts - have an explicit billing choice - either **No charge** or a Charge Item Set, never both and never neither - not overlap another segment (segments that meet exactly end-to-end are fine) - sit entirely outside the [Sleepover Window](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/sleepover-window), on a sleepover support Support Time Segments also: - require **automatic charging** - they are not available when the support uses manual charges - need a [Sleepover Window](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/sleepover-window) to be set first on a [sleepover](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/adding-shifts/creating-a-sleepover-or-active-overnight-support) support - see [Sleepover Supports](#sleepover-supports) - are limited to **10** segments per support ## Billing Behaviour When automatic charges sync, Astalty bills each segment through its chosen Charge Item Set. Uncovered time bills through the support's primary Charge Item Set. | Portion of the support | How it bills | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Inside a segment with a Charge Item Set | Through that segment's Charge Item Set | | Inside a **No charge** segment | Not billed - no hourly charge line is created | | Outside any segment | Through the support's primary Charge Item Set | | Outside any segment, with [segment-only billing](#segment-only-billing) | Not billed - there is no primary Charge Item Set | | Inside a [Sleepover Window](#sleepover-supports) | One flat Night Time Sleepover charge - segments never apply here | On the support's Finance tab, Astalty lists each segment window and shows the matching charge line for that portion of the support. Each segment appears as a chip labelled with its time range and either the Charge Item Set name or **No Charge** - so a no-charge window is still visible on the Finance tab even though it has no charge line: ![The Finance tab with the Support Time Segments chip 12:00pm - 3:00pm - Community Access highlighted, and the matching 3 hour Access Community Social and Rec Activ charge line highlighted between Supported Independent Living charges.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/support-time-segments-finance-charges.png) Each segment resolves its own rate and Charge Item from **its** Charge Item Set (including that set's rate pattern). If the chosen set has no Charge Item for the rate Astalty needs for that segment, charge syncing fails for the support until the set includes the required item or you change the segment. The following stay on the support's **primary** Charge Item Set for the whole support, even when segments are present - including across **No charge** windows: - travel (including KM) - centre capital costs Support Time Segments are **billing-only**. They affect how the support is charged on the Finance tab and invoices. They do not change payroll, Support Worker pay, or anything Support Workers see when working the shift. ### Cost Previews The weekly schedule cost preview excludes no-charge hours from the charge total, so the preview matches what the Participant will actually be billed. Support hours and worker hours in that preview are **not** reduced - the time is still rostered and still worked. Expect hours and dollars to move independently once a no-charge segment is in place. > **Approved times can affect realised segments** > > Saved segments are the requested windows. If a shift later has approved start and end times, Astalty calculates billing against the approved span. A segment clipped by approved times bills only its overlapping hours. A segment that falls entirely outside the approved span does not bill, and the primary set covers that time instead. > > This applies to **No charge** segments too. If approved times move so that a no-charge window falls outside the approved span, the primary Charge Item Set covers that time and the hours are billed. Check approved times when a support was meant to include unbilled hours. > **Invoiced segments cannot be changed** > > Once a segment's charges have been invoiced, Astalty blocks edits to that segment - including ticking **No charge** on it. Marking a segment as no charge does not retrospectively remove hours that have already been invoiced. > > To correct time that has already been billed, you need to [void the invoice or the individual invoice line](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/invoicing/invoices/voiding) first, then edit the segment. Voiding is **NDIA managed only**, and a partially or fully paid invoice cannot be voided until the payment is removed. Set segments up before the support is invoiced wherever you can. ## Sleepover Supports A sleepover support that has a [Sleepover Window](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/sleepover-window) set can also carry Support Time Segments. Use this where part of the waking evening or morning either side of the sleepover should bill through a different Charge Item Set to the rest of the active hours - for example, a 6:00 PM - 10:00 AM overnight support where the evening hours bill through a community access set and the morning hours bill through the support's usual set. Every segment must sit **entirely outside the sleepover window** - wholly in the active hours before it, or wholly in the active hours after it. A segment that overlaps the window at all is refused: > A support time segment must sit outside the sleepover window. A segment that meets the window exactly is fine. A segment can end at the moment the sleepover starts, or start at the moment it ends, in the same way two segments can meet end-to-end. ### Set the Sleepover Window First A sleepover support with **no** sleepover window cannot carry segments. Its whole span bills as one flat sleepover charge, so there is nowhere for a segment to sit. Astalty refuses to save with: > Set a sleepover window before adding support time segments. Set the sleepover window first, then add the segments. On a **group** support, the **Support Time Segments** section stays hidden until the sleepover window is filled in. ### Adding a Segment on a Sleepover Support **Add Segment** is sleepover-aware - Astalty pre-fills each new row so it already sits outside the window: - while there is still unsegmented time before the sleepover starts, the new segment runs from there to the **start** of the sleepover window - otherwise it starts at the **end** of the sleepover window, or the last segment's end if that is later, and runs to the support end On a 6:00 PM - 10:00 AM support with a 10:00 PM - 6:00 AM sleepover window, the first **Add Segment** offers 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM, and the next offers 6:00 AM - 10:00 AM. You can still shorten either row - the pre-fill is a starting point, not a fixed choice. ### How a Combined Support Bills Astalty splits the support by the sleepover window first, then applies your segments inside the active regions either side: | Portion of the support | How it bills | | ------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Before the sleepover window, inside a segment | Through that segment's Charge Item Set, or not at all for **No charge** | | Before the sleepover window, outside any segment | Through the support's primary Charge Item Set | | The sleepover window | One flat Night Time Sleepover charge | | After the sleepover window, inside a segment | Through that segment's Charge Item Set, or not at all for **No charge** | | After the sleepover window, outside any segment | Through the support's primary Charge Item Set | The sleepover window is never subdivided, and the flat sleepover charge is unchanged by any segment. Because segments split the active hours further, a combined support can create more than the three charge lines a sleepover window alone produces. Travel on a support with a sleepover window is rated against the **active** hours either side of the sleepover rather than the sleepover rate - travel anchored to the start of the shift takes the rate of the first active portion, and travel anchored to the end takes the rate of the last. The travel Charge Item still comes from the support's primary Charge Item Set, as it does on any segmented support. > **Moving the sleepover window over an existing segment is refused** > > If you widen or move the sleepover window so that it would cover a segment already on the support, Astalty refuses the update with the same message - *"A support time segment must sit outside the sleepover window."* > > Move or shorten the segment first, then change the window. The same applies in reverse: clearing the sleepover window while the support still has segments is refused with *"Set a sleepover window before adding support time segments."* > **Segment-only billing cannot be used on a sleepover** > > On a group support, [segment-only billing](#segment-only-billing) is still not available on a sleepover support. A Participant using it has no primary Charge Item Set, so there would be no set for the sleepover window to bill through. Astalty refuses with *"Segment-only billing cannot be combined with a sleepover support."* > > Ordinary Support Time Segments on a sleepover group support are fine - it is only the **Bill only through Support Time Segments** option that is blocked. ## Finding Segmented Supports on the Schedule To see which shifts use Support Time Segments, apply the **Support Time Segments** filter on the [Schedule](https://app.astalty.com.au/scheduling/schedule) - select the filter icon, choose **Support Time Segments**, then pick **With** or **Without**. See [Support Time Segments filter](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/viewing-the-schedule#support-time-segments-filter) for what each option includes. A support switched to manual charging shows under **Without**, because its segments no longer apply to billing. ## Group Supports On group supports, segments are set on **each Participant's child support**, not once at the group level. There are no group-level segment rows. This means you can mark one Participant's time as **No charge** while the other Participants on the same group support continue to bill normally. There are two ways in, and both open the same **Update Support Time Segments** window for that one Participant: - On the Participant, select **Actions** and then **Update Support Time Segments**. - Or select **Update Details** on the group support, and select **Edit Segments** against the Participant. ![The Supports Involved panel on a group support with the Participant Aileen Greenholt selected, the Actions for Aileen Greenholt menu open, and the Update Support Time Segments option highlighted alongside View Participant, Message via SMS, Assign Support Worker, Update Charge Items, Update SMS Reminder, Cancel Support and Remove from Group Support.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/support-time-segments-group-participant-actions.png) ### Only One Support Worker A group support that uses Support Time Segments can have **at most one Support Worker**. This is a hard rule rather than a warning you can dismiss, and it applies from both directions - you cannot add segments to a group support that already has two workers, and you cannot add a second worker to a group support that already has segments. Astalty blocks the action wherever a second worker could arrive: creating the group support, updating it, changing a shift's Support Worker, approving a shift broadcast, and adding Participants. In each case it refuses with: > Support time segments are only available for group supports with a single support worker. Where the group support already has more than one Support Worker, **Edit Segments** is disabled and the same message explains why. Until the group support has a Support Worker, the segment options, including **Bill only through Support Time Segments**, stay disabled with the message *Support time segments will be enabled when there is a single support worker.* If you need segments on a group that runs with two Support Workers, set it up as two separate Group Supports instead - see [Two separate Group Supports](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/adding-shifts/adding-a-group-shift#two-separate-group-supports). ### Setting a Charge Ratio on a Segment On a group support, each segment row gains a **Charge ratio** column holding a **Numerator** and a **Denominator**. Use it when part of a Participant's time is delivered at a different ratio to the rest of the session - for example a 1:3 group where one Participant is supported one-to-one for an hour in the middle of it. 1. Open the group support and select **Update Details**. 2. Against the Participant, select **Edit Segments**. 3. Add a segment, or open the one you want to change. 4. Enter the **Numerator** and **Denominator** under **Charge ratio**. 5. Select **Apply Segments**, then **Update** to save the group support. Leave both fields blank to use the group's ratio - the column header says as much, *Blank = group default*. Coming in from the Participant's **Actions** menu instead, the segments save on their own and the button reads **Update Segments** rather than **Apply Segments**. ![The Update Support Time Segments window for Aileen Greenholt on a group support, with one segment running 29/10/2026 11:00 to 12:00 labelled 1 hour span, the No charge checkbox unticked, the Charge Item Set set to CA, and a Charge ratio column headed Blank = group default holding a Numerator of 1 and a Denominator of 1, above an Add Segment button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/support-time-segments-group-charge-ratio.png) #### Which Ratio Applies A group support already has a [Group Billing Ratio, and per-Participant ratio overrides](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/adding-shifts/adding-a-group-shift#updating-charge-ratios). A segment ratio sits on top of those, and only ever affects its own segment: | Charge line | Ratio used | | ------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------- | | A segment with a **Charge ratio** entered | That segment's ratio | | A segment with **Charge ratio** left blank | The group ratio | | Time outside any segment | The group ratio | | Travel and centre capital costs | Not affected - ratios only apply to hourly charges | > **A later group ratio change won't undo an explicit segment ratio** > > If you update the **Group Billing Ratio** afterwards, Astalty re-applies it to every hourly line **except** segments where you entered a ratio yourself. Those keep the ratio you set. > > This is the opposite of a per-Participant ratio override, which a later group ratio change *can* overwrite. If a ratio needs to survive group-level changes, set it on the segment. #### Charge Ratio Rules - Enter both numbers or neither - *"Enter both a numerator and denominator, or leave both blank."* - The numerator cannot be greater than the denominator - *"The ratio numerator cannot be greater than the denominator."* As elsewhere in Astalty, a ratio can only reduce a charge. - The numerator can be `0`. The denominator must be at least `1`. - A **No charge** segment cannot carry a ratio - *"A no-charge segment cannot use a charge ratio."* Ticking **No charge** clears the ratio, because there is no charge line for it to apply to. ### Segment-Only Billing Normally the time outside a Participant's segments bills through their primary Charge Item Set. **Segment-only billing** removes that fallback for one Participant: only their segments are billed, and the rest of the session is not billed at all. On the Participant's row, tick **Bill only through Support Time Segments**. The description under it reads *"Time outside this participant's segments is not billed."* A Participant using segment-only billing has **no primary Charge Item Set** - the field must be left empty, or Astalty refuses to save: > Leave the participant Charge Item Set blank for segment-only billing. ![The Participants section of a group support with two Participants selected. Aileen Greenholt has Bill only through Support Time Segments ticked, described as Time outside this participant's segments is not billed, a Support Worker of Chadd Metz and a greyed-out, empty Charge Item Set field. Alison Satterfield below has the checkbox unticked and an available Charge Item Set picker.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/support-time-segments-group-segment-only-billing.png) Reach for this where a Participant's funding only covers defined windows of a longer session - the group runs 9:00am-3:00pm, but this Participant's plan funds two specific hours of it. Without segment-only billing you would need a primary Charge Item Set covering the other four hours, and those hours would bill. > **Segment-only billing is different to a No charge segment** > > **No charge** excludes one window from billing and leaves the rest of the support on the primary Charge Item Set. **Segment-only billing** flips the default the other way - nothing is billed *unless* a segment covers it. #### When Every Participant Uses Segment-Only Billing Two further rules apply to the group support as a whole once **every** Participant on it uses segment-only billing: - **The segments must cover the full group support time, with no gaps.** Nothing falls back to a primary Charge Item Set, so uncovered time would silently disappear from billing. Astalty refuses to save it: *"Together, Support Time Segments must cover the full Group Support time without gaps."* - **Travel cannot be charged.** Travel rates against the primary Charge Item Set, and there is no longer one. You can still record travel on the support - the charge options for it are unavailable: *"Travel cannot be charged when the Group Support uses segment-only billing."* Both rules are group-wide. If even one Participant on the group support still has a primary Charge Item Set, neither applies. ## Recurring Supports When a support repeats, Astalty re-anchors the segment start and end times onto each occurrence so the same relative windows apply to every date in the series. A **No charge** segment carries across occurrences the same way, so every date in the series repeats the unbilled window. ## Tips - Plan Charge Item Sets and plan coverage first - the segment set must be available for the Participant on the support date. - Prefer segments that meet end-to-end when you want continuous alternate billing without leaving gaps on the primary set. - Use **No charge** for goodwill or unbillable time you still want rostered and paid, rather than shortening the support - the Support Worker keeps the full shift and their pay is unchanged. - If you switch a support to manual charging, the **Support Time Segments** section is hidden. Segment settings require automatic charging again before they apply to billing. ## Video Walkthrough Video walkthrough: Support Time Segments walkthrough.