Attendance Tracking Best Practices

Every day at your adult day center starts and ends with attendance. Who showed up? When did they arrive and leave? This data drives your billing, staffing decisions, and compliance reporting. Getting it wrong means lost revenue or audit problems.

Why Attendance Accuracy Matters

• Billing: You can only bill for participants who attended. Wrong attendance = wrong claims.
• Compliance: Auditors will match attendance records to billing. Discrepancies raise red flags.
• Staffing: Your staff-to-participant ratios are based on census. Inaccurate counts put you out of compliance.
• Meals: Meal counts for reimbursement come from attendance.
• Capacity: Know your true census to manage admissions and capacity.

Check-In Process

Build a reliable arrival process:

• Record arrival time immediately when participant enters
• Capture who transported them (agency van, family, other)
• Note any arrival issues (late, mobility changes, mood)
• Have backup process if electronic system is down
• Train all front desk staff consistently

During the Day

Track presence throughout the program:

• Do periodic head counts (at least at meals)
• Note early departures immediately with time and reason
• Track participants who go to medical appointments and return
• Document any participant who is "at the center" but not present (hospital transport, etc.)

Check-Out Process

End the day clean:

• Record departure time for each participant
• Capture pickup information (who picked them up)
• Note any incidents or concerns to report
• Verify all participants have left before closing

Handling Absences

Track who didn't come and why:

• Distinguish planned vs. unplanned absences
• Record absence reasons (illness, vacation, hospitalization)
• Follow up on unexpected absences (safety check)
• Track absence patterns for care planning

Billing Implications

Understand how attendance connects to claims:

• Know your state's rules for partial day billing
• Understand minimum hours for a billable day
• Know when you can and can't bill for absences
• Ensure attendance times support the units you bill

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Batch-entering attendance at end of day (times are guesses)
• Rounding arrival/departure times
• Not recording early departures
• Billing for participants who didn't meet minimum hours
• Mismatching attendance and transportation records
• Losing paper sign-in sheets

Digital vs. Paper

Electronic attendance systems offer significant advantages:

• Timestamps are automatic and accurate
• Data flows directly to billing
• Reports generate instantly
• No lost paperwork
• Audit trail for any changes

If using paper, digitize daily and maintain originals for audit.