Admin and invoice-processing support for NDIS plan managers, honestly compared
Offshore staffing, plan management software, a recruiter, a local hire and DotVA compared for NDIS plan manager invoice and admin work (8 options).
We run one of the options on this list. DotVA places offshore VAs, and for a plan manager that suits high-volume back-office work (invoice validation, reconciliation, statements, data entry) and does not suit every job. If the software you already pay for can do the capture and checking, or you need someone on the phone with participants all day, one of the other options below may be the better choice.
This guide is for plan managers. If you deliver supports as a provider, our comparison of NDIS provider admin services is the better read. The method is the same as our comparison of Australian VA agencies: every claim about another provider comes from its own website, checked on 11 November 2026 and linked in the table. Where a figure is not published we write “not stated publicly” rather than guess, and where a site does not say where its team is, we do not assume.
The options at a glance
| Option | What it is | Published price | Where the team is | Software named | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DotVA NDIS plan manager virtual assistant (that’s us) | Managed offshore VA: one dedicated person who works to your direction | $12-17/hr admin, $18-25/hr NDIS specialist, AUD ex GST, from 10 hrs/week | Philippines, working Australian business hours | Careview, Lumary, Flowlogic, Xero | No lock-in contract: stop any time in the first 14 days, then 30 days’ notice; free replacement any time; $500 + GST recruitment deposit credited to the first invoice |
| Outsourced Staff | Offshore staffing: NDIS plan manager page lists claims, invoicing, invoice processing and budget-monitoring roles | Not stated publicly; page claims “Up to 70% Cost Reduction” against a local hire | Offices in the Philippines; Australian office in Cromer NSW | Brevity, ShiftCare, Careview (plan administration page) | “Flexible agreements”; replacement guarantee; notice period not stated publicly |
| Beepo | Offshore staffing: NDIS administration assistants and bookkeepers; its NDIS page addresses plan managers and lists invoice-processing tasks | Not stated publicly | Office-based in the Philippines; Australian office in Melbourne | Not stated publicly | Not stated publicly |
| Tarino | Recruiter: you engage and pay the person directly. Its role prepares invoice and claim data for your team’s review | $5,000 once excl GST; typical salary $1,300 a month paid by you directly (currency not stated) | Philippines-based hires; Tarino is in Sydney (its about page) | ShiftCare, Lumary, Brevity, CareMaster, Xero (“Software we screen for”) | No monthly markup; 6 months’ replacement cover for the same role, on conditions in its terms |
| Brevity | Plan management software with invoice automation | $3.99 a client a month ex GST for plan management (annual or monthly basis not stated); its Business plan, which lists ‘SIL & Plan Management Modules’, says ‘Setup Fee Applies’ (amount not stated) | Not applicable (software) | Not applicable (software); lists ABA payment files | Demo on request |
| Tecala Transformr | Automation layer that sits on your existing platform: captures invoices, applies your rules, flags exceptions | Not stated publicly | Australian company, Sydney head office (tecala.com.au) | Delivers validated data to your existing systems | Complimentary assessment; “There is no obligation”; ongoing terms not stated publicly |
| FlowLogic | Plan management software; claims and invoicing features | Tailored; not published | Not applicable (software) | Not applicable (software) | “No hidden costs or lock-in contracts”; free demo and trial |
| Local hire | You employ a clerical or finance-processing staff member | Set by the award or agreement that applies; see the Fair Work pay guides | Your office | Whatever you use | Employment terms, leave and notice under the National Employment Standards |
Checked on each provider’s own pages on 11 November 2026. “Not stated publicly” means we could not find the figure on the pages we read. It is an observation, not a criticism.
Our row in full is on pricing. If a 30-minute call beats ten tabs, book a discovery call.
What each option says it does
Outsourced Staff. Its NDIS plan manager page lists claims officer, invoicing officer and invoice processing clerk roles, and its invoice processing clerk page says the clerk will “verify each invoice against the correct NDIS support item code, price guide limit, and active service booking”. Its outsourcing blog states that “many plan managers outsource the claims processing and provider payment aspects of their business” and that “the primary risk of outsourcing NDIS services is a lack of compliance knowledge”. That risk applies to every offshore option, including ours.
Beepo. Its NDIS page addresses plan managers directly (“Plan management businesses are notorious for having copious amounts of back office admin”) and lists accounts payable with coding, emailing providers for missing invoice details and “Interpreting the NDIS price list and determining categories for invoices”. It does not publish a price or its own terms.
Tarino. Its NDIS admin assistant role is built around preparing “invoice and claim data against the service agreement for your team’s review”, and your team submits. The page does not mention plan management. You hire and pay the person directly, so you manage them; its pages do not say whether the hire is an employee or a contractor.
Brevity. The product page lists “Automatically capture invoice data from supplier invoices using intelligent OCR technology”, “Automatic invoice import from email” and validation of “pricing against the NDIS Pricing Arrangements”. It also lists bulk claims, remittance matching and ABA payment files.
Tecala Transformr. The page says it will “Automatically capture invoices from email inboxes, shared folders or other incoming channels”, extract the details and apply your business rules, and that “only invoices requiring attention are presented for human review”. It is built to sit on your existing platform rather than replace it. The page cites a UiPath case study in which the share of My Plan Manager’s claims processed without employee intervention rose from 25% to more than 70%. That is one large plan manager’s result, so ask what applies to your invoice mix.
FlowLogic. Its plan manager software page says it helps you “generate accurate claims, track payments, and maintain financial records”. Its guide to plan management software describes OCR capture, inbox import and price guide validation as what to look for in software generally, not as FlowLogic’s own features, so confirm in a demo which of those it includes.
We could not confirm Careview’s or Lumary’s invoice features from their own public pages, so they are not in the table as software options. Both are platforms DotVA works in, per our plan manager page.
Software or a person?
In our experience, the two do different jobs. Software takes the keying and the price-limit check. A person handles what the software flags: an invoice with no service booking, a line above the price limit, a provider asking why they have not been paid, a participant asking what is left in a budget. Many plan managers end up with both.
The questions to ask are practical ones. What share of your invoices arrive as clean PDFs through one inbox? How many exceptions does your team handle a week? How many hours a week go on unmatched remittances? If the exception work is small, software alone may be enough. If it is large, you need people regardless of the software.
What the work is, and where the line sits
The work a VA does for a plan manager is the invoice-to-claim loop described on our NDIS plan manager page: validating each provider invoice against the support category, available budget and price limit, preparing claims, reconciling remittances, producing monthly participant statements, onboarding providers and participants, and answering routine queries.
The boundary is firm. Plan managers are registered providers, and the NDIS Commission and the NDIS pricing arrangements set the rules. A VA prepares and validates within your policy. A VA does not approve a payment outside the plan, does not make funding-eligibility or reasonable-and-necessary judgements, does not give financial advice, and escalates anything touching participant choice or a related provider to the registered manager. In our setup, submission to the NDIA, in the my NDIS provider portal or through your software’s NDIA connection, stays with you or a member of your own team. Portal access needs that person’s own myID and Relationship Authorisation Manager authorisation, and a myID is personal and is not shared. A myID is personal and is not shared.
Participant records include health information. Giving an overseas assistant access is, in most cases, a cross-border disclosure under APP 8 of the Australian Privacy Principles, so scope the access and document it. Our guide to hiring an offshore VA legally and data security page cover it. If you would rather not carry the APP 8 obligation, choose a local hire.
Worker screening
Plan managers are registered providers, so you must assess each role, including roles filled through an agency, and keep a written list of those that are risk assessed. Under the NDIS Worker Screening Rules, contact includes oral, written and electronic communication, so a role that regularly answers participants may need a clearance where pure invoice processing may not. Our NDIS provider comparison sets out the rule. This is general information, not legal advice.
What 10 hours a week costs
Only some options publish a rate. The multiplication is our arithmetic (10 hours x 4.33 weeks a month), not the provider’s quote.
| Option | Published rate | 10 hours a week, a month |
|---|---|---|
| DotVA admin VA | $12-17/hr ex GST | $520-736 ex GST |
| DotVA NDIS-specialist VA | $18-25/hr ex GST | $779-1,083 ex GST |
| Tarino hire | $1,300 a month typical salary, paid by you directly (currency and hours not stated) | Not comparable: hours not stated; plus $5,000 once excl GST |
| Brevity (software) | $3.99 a client a month ex GST | Not comparable: priced per client, not per hour |
| Outsourced Staff, Beepo, Tecala, FlowLogic | Not stated publicly | Quote on enquiry |
Our plan manager page puts typical plan-management hours at 20-38 a week, so 10 hours is the floor, not the usual case.
Who should pick whom
- Your platform already captures invoices and checks price limits, and exceptions are few: the software you have, with a demo of Brevity, Tecala Transformr or your vendor’s own tools before you hire anyone.
- You want automation on top of the platform you already run: Tecala Transformr, which says it does not replace your platform.
- You want to employ and manage the person yourself: Tarino charges once and adds no monthly markup, and the salary is paid by you directly. You carry the obligations of the engagement.
- A larger plan manager building a dedicated offshore team and happy with a quote-based price: Outsourced Staff or Beepo.
- The role is mostly phone contact with participants and providers, or you want someone in your office: a local hire, paid under the award that applies. The Clerks Private Sector Award covers private sector employees wholly or principally engaged in clerical work; check whether it or another instrument applies to your role.
- 10 to 38 hours a week of invoice validation, claim preparation, reconciliation, statements and onboarding from one dedicated person at a published hourly rate: that is the work we built DotVA for. See the NDIS plan manager page, or by platform: Careview and FlowLogic.
Run your own numbers
Price your hours on the VA cost calculator, check our tiers on pricing, and read what claims work involves on our NDIS billing page. If the right answer for your business is one of the other options in the table, we would rather you find that out now than in month two.