Key Concepts

ReliefBooks is organized around a handful of core concepts. Understanding how they connect will help you get the most out of the app.

Shifts

A shift is the fundamental unit of work. Each shift records where you worked, when you worked, and at what rate. Shifts live on your schedule calendar and are the starting point for creating invoices.

Facilities

Facilities are the places where you pick up shifts -- clinics, hospitals, practices, or any other location. Each facility has a name, address, and one or more contacts (for sending invoices and communicating).

The term "Facility" can be customized in your account settings. If you prefer to call them "Clinics," "Locations," or something else, you can change the label and it will update throughout the app. See Settings for details.

Agencies / Booking Sources

Agencies and booking sources represent how you get your shifts. This could be a staffing agency, an online marketplace, or a direct booking arrangement with a facility. Tracking the source for each shift helps you understand which channels are most valuable to your business.

Rate Cards

Rate cards are reusable templates that define your billing rates. A rate card might include an hourly rate, a flat day rate, overtime charges, or any combination. When you assign a rate card to a shift, ReliefBooks automatically calculates what you're owed. You can create different rate cards for different scenarios -- weekday vs. weekend, standard vs. premium, and so on.

Contract Policies

Contract policies capture the business terms for your engagements -- things like cancellation fees, minimum guaranteed hours, and payment due dates. Attaching a policy to a facility or shift ensures those terms are reflected when you create invoices.

Service Items

Service items are pre-defined line items that can appear on your invoices. Examples include "Shift Coverage," "Travel Fee," "On-Call Premium," or "Administrative Time." Creating service items ahead of time keeps your invoices consistent and saves you from retyping the same descriptions.

Invoices

Invoices are the bills you send to facilities for completed work. You create an invoice from one or more unbilled shifts, review the line items, and then finalize and send it. ReliefBooks tracks each invoice's status -- Draft, Sent, Overdue, or Paid -- so you always know where your money stands.

Expenses

Expenses are business costs you track for tax deductions or reimbursement. Mileage, supplies, continuing education, professional dues, and other costs can be logged with receipts and categorized. At tax time, your expense records are ready to go.

Payments

Payments represent money you receive from facilities. When a facility pays you, you record the payment and allocate it to one or more invoices. This keeps your accounts receivable accurate and lets you see at a glance who still owes you.

The overall flow

The core workflow in ReliefBooks follows a straightforward path:

Shifts → Invoices → Payments

You work a shift, invoice the facility for it, and record the payment when it arrives. Along the way, Expenses are tracked separately so everything is organized when tax season comes around. Rate cards, contract policies, and service items are the supporting templates that make the process faster and more consistent.

For a hands-on walkthrough of this flow, see Your First Shift.