Originally published – March 2021. Republished for relevance May 2024.

As an Occupational Therapist with 10 years of experience in private practice, I’ve seen it all. I’ve worked independently and with another private company, both as an employee and a subcontractor. Transitioning to self-employment involves a steep learning curve and significant mindset adjustments.

Part of running your own private practice means…

…you have the freedom and flexibility to set your own processes and do things your way. All of this is really exciting, and let’s be honest, a bit scary and stressful at first. But you are not alone! I am so glad that you found your way here, because now we get to go through this together. I will guide you through the journey of learning the business admin aspects of being an Occupational Therapist in private practice in Canada.

If there is one thing that they don’t teach you in Occupational Therapy school…

…it is how to manage the business admin tasks required to run a business. While it may seem overwhelming at first, it’s actually not that hard to figure out! Trust me, as a private practitioner myself, I’ve definitely been there, digging through different websites trying to figure out how to even start processes like invoicing. 

The first topic I am going to cover is invoicing.

After all, at the end of the day, it’s really important that you get paid for your services! You know how to be an Occupational Therapist, but you also need to get paid for that work. I wrote this blog post to help with some tips on how to get started with invoices. What components make up a good invoice and what it all means. 

Here are the main items required by most clients and agencies on an invoice:

1. Client information. Make sure to include:  Client’s full name, date of birth (DOB), If this is an injury or work claim, you will also need to include: Date of loss (DOL) and Claim #
2. Clinic info. Consider whether you are a sole proprietor or incorporated. As a sole proprietor you are required to use your name and the service you are delivering in your business title. For example: Ashley Reina OT services.  Business name, address, phone number, email address
3. Who the services are being billed to. If this is the client, then add phone number and address to the client information.  If it is a government agency or insurer be sure to include: Name of funder, primary contact person, funder reference number.
4. Date service(s) were delivered. This is important because most insurers or government funders work within certain date parameters and so they need to know if the date of service falls within that time frame. 
5. Type of services offered. What is the service that you offered, several funders require a different line item for the professional service, travel and mileage if the later applies. You  may also be asked to indicate if the services were offered directly or indirectly to the client.
6. Rate of service. How much does it cost for your services, this will likely include either a flat fee, or a rate per hour. 
7. # of hours/units for service. The # of units, multiplied by the rate of service is going to be what you will bill your client. 
8. Provider name and registration #.  Don’t forget your registration number, this validates that you are able to provide the services outlined. 
9. Total due. This will be the amount of hours multiplied by the rate of service, likely accumulated over a time period of 2 weeks to 1 month. 

Your job as an Occupational Therapist changes lives,

It is crucial, to help people gain back control of their lives. Your time and energy should be spent on the important things like assessment and treatment, not admin tasks like invoicing. After spending years, using the OT invoice template you can access here, I felt there had to be a better way, after all I was just moving data from my calendar to a spreadsheet. With Therabyte EMR the invoices are automated for you!  With 1-click you can create your invoice and with 1 more you can send it off for payment. Just like that, invoicing completed in seconds. Using Therabyte invoices has saved me several hours each month I sit down to bill my clients.  

While I am a huge advocate for automation,

You may not be ready to sign up for a Practice Management software like Therabyte. That is why I’m sharing my invoice template with you, the same one I used for over 5 years, before creating Therabyte and getting the system to do the heavy lifting for me. Fill out the form below to access a free downloadable PDF of the Occupational Therapy Invoice Template.

Learn more about automated invoicing and how you can get paid quicker with Therabyte EMR. 

Start my free Trial!

References – to learn more about billing in private practice from your college, find the article listed below which correlates to the province in which you practice OT services.

CAOT – BC – Private Practice Occupational Therapy Services in British Columbia (2019): Survey Results and Suggested Fee Guide

ACOT – Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About: Private Practice

COTBC – COTBC Managing Client Information (MCI) Practice Standards

COTO – Guidelines for Private Practice 

COTNS – Practice Standard: Record Keeping 

Looking forward to connecting soon, please reach out with any comments or questions at team@therabyte.com.

Check out our Intake Template and Progress Report Template.

Ashley Reina,

Occupational Therapist & Co-founder of Therabyte App