Why Roles Matter
Roles define the different provider categories in your organization and set the hierarchy used for billing, compliance, supervision, and assigning the right staff to the right clients. Getting these right ensures your organization runs smoothly, your claims go out correctly, and your providers are set up for success.
Understanding Roles
Roles represent the clinical and non-clinical positions your staff can hold. Think Licensed Provider, BCBA-D, BCBA, OT, SLP, BCaBA, RBT, BT, and so on.
Each role can include important details such as taxonomy codes, supervision permissions, access levels, and requirements (like certifications).
Roles also determine the hierarchy Motivity uses when a provider has multiple credentials, ensuring the system uses their highest applicable role for billing.
Understanding Designations vs. Roles
Designation = Your job title
A designation describes what a staff member does within the organization (e.g., Scheduler, Clinical Director, RBT, Supervisor).
It does not determine billing—it's simply the person's position or title.
Role = The credential or provider type used for billing
A role indicates how a staff member should be billed if they provide clinical services.
In other words, it answers: “If this person delivers clinical care, what provider type should appear on the claim?”
Why This Matters
Many staff members hold more than one responsibility. Someone may work as a Scheduler but still hold an RBT credential.
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Their designation tells your team and Motivity what their job position is.
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Their role tells the system how to bill them if they provide clinical services.
This ensures accurate billing while still reflecting each employee’s actual job position.
Examples
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Scheduler (Designation) + No Clinical Role
→ They do not provide clinical services, so no billing role is required. -
Scheduler (Designation) + RBT (Role)
→ Their job is scheduling, but if they step into a session, Motivity bills them as an RBT. -
Clinical Director (Designation) + BCBA (Role)
→ Their title is Clinical Director, but when delivering clinical services, billing uses their highest credential (such as BCBA).
How to Manage Roles
Accessing Roles
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Navigate to the Admin module.
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Select Roles and Clearance to open the full list of roles in your organization.
Adding a New Role
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In the top right, click Add Role.
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Enter the Role Name and Taxonomic Code (used on claims when certain payors require it).
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Fill in any additional settings:
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Type – Clinical or Non-Clinical
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Criteria – Requirements for the role (e.g., “Clinical Supervisors must have a BCBA”). You may add multiple criteria depending on regulations.
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Taxonomy – Professional classification, if applicable.
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Supervision Settings – Whether the role requires supervision or provides supervision.
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Designation – Job title. A role can have multiple designations
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Access Level – Defines what a user with this role can access in the system. (See the Access Level article for more details.)
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Click Save.
Editing Existing Roles
You can edit any existing role to adjust its details by clicking the pencil icon next to it, under "actions". Each role displays how many staff members are assigned to it and includes a tile where you can update criteria, supervision settings, access information, and more.
Important: For all supervisor-level roles, make sure Assignable as Patient’s Primary Supervisor is selected. This allows these roles to be designated as the supervising provider for a client.
After making updates, click Update to save your changes.
Setting Role Hierarchy (Highest to Lowest)
Your role hierarchy matters, especially for billing compliance and concurrency rules. Motivity will always use the provider’s highest applicable role when multiple are assigned.
To set the hierarchy:
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In the top right, click Set Order.
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Drag and drop roles into the correct order, placing the highest-level credential at the top.
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Click Save to lock in your ordering.
This ensures clean billing logic and accurate provider assignment behavior across the system.
Summary
Managing roles in Motivity ensures your organization is structured clearly and compliantly, helps your billing run smoothly, and keeps staff permissions and supervision settings accurate. With a little setup, and the right hierarchy, your teams can work more efficiently and your claims can flow without interruption.
Updated 12/8/2025 by Amanda Kelly