Auto Spend Down is a setting that allows agencies to automatically generate billing records based on a predefined weekly unit schedule.
When enabled, admins assign a number of units to each day of the week, and Giv automatically creates billing records on those days for the life of the budget. Units are deducted and budget usage is updated in real time, eliminating the need for staff to manually start services or admins to manually create billing records for predictable, recurring billing patterns.
Budgets with Auto Spend Down enabled are not available for DSPs to manually select in the mobile app.
Step 1: Enable Auto Spend Down for Your Agency
Before you can set up Auto Spend Down on a budget, turn the feature on for your agency:
Click the Agency Settings icon in the upper-right corner
Select the Finance card
Turn on Auto Spend Down
Once enabled, the Auto Spend Down setting becomes available when creating or editing a client budget.
Step 2: Access the Client Budget
Click Clients in the left menu
Search for and select the client
Click Budget in the slide-out menu
Step 3: Set Up Auto Spend Down on a Budget
You can enable Auto Spend Down when creating a new budget or when editing an existing one.
Option 1: Enable on a New Budget
On the client's Budget screen, click Create Budget +
Fill in the required budget fields:
Service Code: Select the service or billing code from the dropdown.
Payer: Select the payer responsible for billing the service.
Available Units: Enter the total number of authorized units for the service period.
Rate: Enter the rate if it differs from the default rate associated with the service code.
Start Date and End Date: Enter the beginning and end of the service period. The end date can be set up to one year in the future.
Reference ID: Enter any relevant identifier, such as an authorization number, PCP number, or other state-provided reference.
Turn on Auto Spend Down
Select the staff member assigned to the billing record from the Select Staff dropdown
Enter the address where the service will take place
Enter the number of units and start and end times for each applicable day of the week (Monday–Sunday)
Click Save
Option 2: Enable on an Existing Budget
On the client's Budget screen, find and select the budget
Turn on Auto Spend Down
Select the staff member assigned to the billing record from the Select Staff dropdown
Enter the address where the service will take place
Enter the number of units and start and end times for each applicable day of the week (Monday–Sunday)
Click Save
As you enter units, each day shows a projected daily billing amount. A projected weekly total appears at the bottom of the schedule so you can review spend before saving.
Days set to zero are skipped and do not generate billing. Only positive integers are allowed for days that should bill. The weekly unit total cannot exceed the budget's total authorized units.
Note: Restrictions and Auto Spend Time cannot be used together.
How Auto Spend Down Works
After the budget is saved:
Giv automatically generates billing records on the configured days each week for the duration of the budget
Generation starts from the day the budget is saved. Records are not created for previous dates
Used and remaining budget units update as records are generated
Auto-generated claims and service records appear alongside manual entries on the Claims and Service Records pages
Automatic billing stops when all authorized units are consumed
Important: Budgets with Auto Spend Down enabled will not appear for staff to manually start services against in the mobile app.
Turn Off Auto Spend Down
Auto Spend Down stops generating billing records when any of the following happens:
An admin turns off the Auto Spend Down toggle on the budget
The budget is archived
All authorized units are consumed
To turn it off manually:
On the client's Budget screen, find and select the budget
Turn off Auto Spend Down
Click Save