Getting started with Bunya

Updated 2 September 20268 min read

Everything below happens on the phone. Have the plan letter handy, on paper or as a PDF, and the whole setup takes about three minutes.

Install and open

Install Bunya from the App Store. It needs iOS 17 or later.
Open it. The welcome screen explains what Bunya does and that your data stays on the phone. Tap Get started.

Start from the plan letter

The Bunya welcome screen with the Get started button — Welcome, then the choice of how to bring the plan letter in.

The What do you have? screen listing a PDF, a camera scan, photos, or typing the details in — Welcome, then the choice of how to bring the plan letter in.

The first screen asks What do you have? Pick whichever matches:

The plan letter as a PDF, from Files, iCloud Drive or an email attachment. No page selection needed; Bunya reads the whole file.
Scan the paper letter with the camera.
Photos of the letter, if you've already photographed it.
I'll type the details in, which skips straight to the form.

For scans and photos, Bunya shows which pages it needs. For most plans that's four to eight pages, in this order:

The cover letter. The first page, which says “Your plan has been approved” and lists the NDIS numbers.
The plan details page. Headed with the participant's full name and “NDIS Plan”, with the start and reassessment dates.
Every “Your NDIS funded supports” page. Each funding component, its amount and how it's managed. Stop when you reach “Information about you”.

Scanning: tap Start scanning, scan the pages one after another, then tap Save in the camera. Photos: tap Choose the photos and pick the pages in order.

The Which pages we need screen listing the cover letter, the NDIS Plan page and the funded supports pages — Scans and photos: Bunya tells you exactly which pages it needs.

Bunya narrates the reading, then shows Here's what we found: NDIS numbers, plan dates, total funding and each funding component. Anything it couldn't read is marked Not found for you to add on the next screens. If a page is missing, tap Scan more pages (or Add more photos). Otherwise tap Review the details.

The Here is what we found screen with the participant, NDIS numbers, plan dates, total funding and each budget ticked — Everything read from the letter, with anything missing called out before you go on.

The three steps

Whether the letter filled things in or you're typing, the same three short steps follow. Everything is editable later.

Who's this plan for? A first name or initials is plenty, plus the plan start and end dates. You can also record full names and NDIS numbers here; they stay on the phone and are handy when you're asked to confirm who the plan is for.
The budgets. Choose the categories the plan funds and enter each amount. Core categories sit under one Track Core as one pool switch, on by default, because Core money moves freely between them. A running total shows Entered so far against the letter's plan total. Already partway through the plan? Pop in what's left right now so every pace figure starts honest.
How is it managed? For each budget, choose Self (you pay, then claim it back from the NDIA), Plan (invoices go to your plan manager) or Agency (the NDIA pays providers directly). Then pick the funding release: all available from day one, released monthly, or released quarterly. Bunya pre-fills the most common settings; check them against the letter.

Tap Create plan. On the free version, the three largest budgets appear on the dashboard. Any others the letter funds are kept, amounts intact, and wait on the Plan tab until you unlock Plus.

The reminders offer

Step 2 of setup, the budgets, with the Core pool switch on and amounts filled in — Steps 2 and 3: the budgets, then how each is managed.

Step 3 of setup, how each budget is managed and how funding is released — Steps 2 and 3: the budgets, then how each is managed.

Last question: Want a weekly check-in? It's a short Monday-morning note with what's left and about what to spend a week, plus a quiet nudge when a claim's waiting, an entry needs reconciling, or a regular session hasn't turned up. Tap Turn on reminders or Not now. Either way you can change the day, the time, or any single reminder later on the Plan tab.

The Home tab

From the top down:

Days left and how far through the plan you are. Tap the plan name to switch plans.
The pace card. A gauge, a label (Starts soon, On track, Room to use more, or A little ahead) and a headline. Under pace, it's the amount that could go unused by the end date; unused funds don't carry over. Otherwise it's what's left to use.
The weekly figure. What to spend a week to use it all. It always carries the caption A guide only, based on N weeks left, because it comes from the real dates, not a rule.
Available right now. Money released so far, less what you've spent and committed. Unspent money from an earlier period rolls forward within the plan.
Owed to you. When you self-manage: every claim sent to the NDIA and not paid back yet.
Budgets. One card per budget (Core as one flexible pool) with what's left, a pace bar and a per-week figure. Tap one for spent so far, available now, a balance chart and its entries.

Adding your first invoice

Tap the plus button on Home or Transactions. Then choose:

The Add to plan sheet with Choose a PDF, Scan with the camera, Choose from your photos and Add manually — The + button leads with importing the invoice; typing it in is the fallback.

Choose a PDF, from Files or iCloud Drive.
Scan with the camera, pointed at the paper invoice.
Choose from your photos, a photo or screenshot of the invoice.
Add manually, typed or dictated, no invoice needed.

For the first three, Bunya reads the invoice on the phone and shows Here's what was read: amount, date, provider, category, invoice number and who it's billed to. Tap Looks good, save to file it in one go, or Need to edit to open the form first. The invoice is attached as the receipt.

If it looks like the same invoice twice, Bunya says so and shows the matching entry. Cancel and review is the safe choice; Save anyway is there if it really is a separate one. Bunya also flags an invoice that seems to be billed to a different child.

The Reading your invoice checklist shown while an invoice is read — An invoice being read, then the summary of what was found.

The Here is what was read summary showing amount, date, supplier, invoice number and category with Looks good, save — An invoice being read, then the summary of what was found.

The manual form asks for the amount (with a Switch to refund option for credits), or you can type or dictate a line like “OT $210 today, out of pocket” and let Bunya fill the fields. Then: the entry date (today by default) and an optional service date for when the support happened on a different day; who you paid (search or add a provider, and new ones get asked for a usual category); the category, picked for you and changeable; an invoice number; No invoice? Note why for your records; and a receipt photo or PDF. Tap Save entry.

Keeping entries up to date

Every entry has a status, and the words follow how that budget is managed:

Self-managed: Logged, then Claimed from NDIA, then Reimbursed.
Plan-managed: Logged, then Sent to plan manager, then Processed.
Agency-managed: Logged only. Nothing to chase.

On the Transactions tab, swipe an entry left to mark the next status or delete it (with a short undo). Filter by All, Logged, In progress or Settled, or search by provider or category. Tap an entry to change anything, including the status and receipt. Once a self-managed entry has been claimed, a Claim reference field appears for the reference the NDIA gave you. On the Owed to you screen, swipe a claim to mark it Reimbursed when the money lands.

Providers

The Providers tab totals what you've logged with each provider, phrased the way you'd say it in a plan review: “We used $8,400 of speech therapy across 42 sessions this plan.” Tap a provider for their entries; edit one to set its usual category, merge a near-duplicate from a scan, or remove it (the entries stay).

Reports and exports

Open Reports from the button on Home, or from the Plan tab under Reports & exports. Choose a period: this plan, the last three months, or a custom range. Then:

Plan summary, PDF. Per-category spending, provider totals and session counts. The one to bring to the reassessment meeting.
Every entry, CSV. For your accountant or an NDIA audit. Opens cleanly in Excel and Numbers.
Records vault. Shows how many entries that need a receipt have one, and lets you attach any that are missing. Export the records bundle (a ZIP of the CSV, the PDF summary and every receipt, named by date, provider and amount).

Families are asked to keep invoices and receipts for three years. Bunya shows the date that runs to for this plan, and the bundle is yours to file anywhere.

Reminders

On the Plan tab, under Reminders, there are five switches:

Weekly check-in. What's left, and about what to spend a week.
Claim follow-ups. A nudge when a claim's been waiting a fortnight.
Reconcile reminders. Entries still marked Logged after ten days.
Quiet-plan nudge. If nothing's been logged for a fortnight.
Missed-session nudges. When a regular provider's entry doesn't turn up.

Set the Check-in day and Check-in time below them. Every reminder arrives at that time on the day it's due, and all of them are worked out on the phone.

Plan settings

The Plan tab is where the plan itself is edited:

Dates. Plans are often extended. Update Plan ends here and every pace figure follows.
Names and NDIS numbers. Optional, stored on the phone only.
Track Core as one pool. On by default; turn it off to track each Core category separately.
Budgets. Tap a category to change its name, amount, funding release, or hide it from the dashboard. Add a category from presets or your own name.

Another child, or a reassessment

Tap the plan name at the top of Home to open Whose plan?, then Set up another plan. The same three steps follow. After a reassessment, set the new plan up the same way; the old one stays in the list, so its history is a tap away. Reminders cover every plan on the phone.

One plan is free, always. A second plan, and more than three budgets on one plan, are what Bunya Plus unlocks: one purchase of A$34.99, yours forever.

Privacy, plainly

There are no accounts. Your private data never leaves the phone: plans, entries, receipts, names, NDIS numbers, dates and amounts, and the letter and every invoice are read on the phone too. Bunya does send anonymous usage and crash reports, so we can fix what breaks and see which features are worth improving. They contain counts and event names only, never anything you typed, scanned or imported, and they are not linked to you. Bunya is independent and not affiliated with the NDIA. The full picture is on the privacy page.

Getting help

Email hello@biliby.co. A screenshot helps. A person answers, usually within one business day.

Bunya is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by the NDIA. Figures are your own records, not NDIA data; confirm balances in the my NDIS portal. Not financial advice.

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