Adding Direct/Indirect Activities to a Contact

Navigate to either the global Contacts module or to a client file to create a contact. 

1. Select New Client Contact.
    
2. Complete required fields (Date, Program, Worker, Worker(s), Client(s), Format, and Method) and complete any other applicable non-required fields.
    
3. Select an Activity.
    
4. Select the Duration. 
    
5. Select if the client interaction was Direct or Indirect. If administrators have set a default for this field, the default selection will display upon selecting an activity. 
    
6. Select Add an Activity to add multiple and repeat steps 4 and 5. Activity Total Duration will be automatically calculated. 
   
   
    
7. Enter Case Note as applicable. 
    
8. Select Save. For best practice, when edits are completed, → Authenticate. 

Review a video demo here.
 

System Logic for Direct vs. Indirect Time

•  After creating and saving a Contact, the system automatically determines whether time is counted as Direct or Indirect based on the following rules:

Note: Direct time only applies when the activity is marked Direct and the client is present or the Significant Participant box is checked.
 

Client Contacts (Individual)

The client must be marked as Present for Direct activities. If the client is marked as Absent, the contact will function as an indirect interaction regardless of whether the activity has been specified as Direct or Indirect.

Review our FAQ about Contacts here. For reporting purposes, always ensure to review the report help screen for further specifications.

• This feature only affects contacts documented after the Client Activities Direct/Indirect setting is enabled., and no historical data should be impacted. 
• If a worker changes an activity from direct to indirect in the future, the contact will reflect any updates made to the default values. 
• Default values set at the administrator level can be changed and overridden by workers when documenting a contact. 
   

Group Contacts

Group contacts are designed to capture shared activities, not detailed time tracking for individual clients. It is not recommended to use multiple direct/indirect activities in a group contact due to:

• Direct vs. Indirect minutes cannot be defined separately for each client.
• Significant Participants are tracked for the group as a whole - not for individual clients.
• If a client is absent, they should not be included in the group contact (and their time shouldn’t count as direct time).
• Any direct/indirect hours entered apply to the entire group, not to individual clients.

Recommended Approach

To ensure your records are accurate:

• Create one group contact for the shared session.
• If direct/indirect activities vary for the clients in the group:
  • Include only clients who attended. If a client was absent, leave them out of the contact and create an individual contact for that client. 
  • If a significant participant was present on behalf of a client - record that separately as an individual contact for that client.