A payment plan is a payment method with a systematic timeline that allows a patient to pay the dues over time instead of a one-time payment. Let's explore how to create a new payment plan as well as edit plans and amortisation schedules.
Topics Covered
Create a New Payment Plan
To begin,
- Select the intended patient using the Global Search bar.
- Hover over Billing > click Payments.
- On the Add New Payment/Adj. or Payment Plans tab.
- Click + Create Payment Plan.
- You must select Procedure Codes to link them to the payment plan.
- Select the required Procedure Codes > click Proceed.
| Note: You can view the Patient Balance of the selected codes below. |
- Enter the required Payment Plan Details. See below to see definitions.
- Click View and Sign Agreement.
- Review the information on the agreement.
- Click Add Signature to input your signature.
Note: You can click Skip Signing & Proceed to continue without signing the form. To print the agreement, click Print Agreement. |
- Click Complete.
Definitions of Payment Plan Details
- Patient Name: Enter the patient’s first name and surname.
- Payment Plan Name: Assign an easily identifiable name for this payment plan.
- Plan Type: Select the type of plan.
- Location: Specify the location associated with the payment plan.
- Total Amount: Enter the total payable amount, including any interest.
- Down Payment: Enter the initial payment required before the schedule begins.
- Financed Amount: Enter the sum of the Financed Amount and APR amount.This will be split into monthly payments.
- APR (Annual Percentage rate)(%): Optional. Enter an APR to be calculated into the financed amount
- Contracted Amount: The sum of the Financed amount and APR Amount. This is the total amount to be divided into monthly payments.
- Number of Payments: Enter the total number of installments.
- Periodic Payment Amount: This is calculated by dividing the financed amount by the number of payments.
- Payment Frequency: Select the billing interval, such as weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
- First Periodic Pmt (Payment) Date: Enter the date when the first installment is due.
- Add Credits As: Choose where the credits should be posted.
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Payment Type: Select the method of payment.
- If CREDIT/DEBIT or CHECK is selected as the payment type and you are signed up with Stripe as a merchant processor, you can select the Enable Direct Debit option to enter the patient’s card or bank details. This will automatically process payments according to the payment plan schedule..
Viewing Payment Plans
- On the Global Search bar, select the Payment quick link for the the intended patient.
- Select Payment Plans. Here you can see Active Payment Plans and Completed/Terminated Plans.
Editing Plans & Amortisation Schedules
To edit the amortisation schedule and payment plan details, perform the steps below.
- Click the three-dot menu beside the intended payment plan > click View Details.
- You can view all linked treatment codes in the 'Contracted Treatment Codes' section.
To Link Treatment Codes:
- Click Link Treatment Codes.
- Select the required codes.
- Click Proceed.
- To remove any linked codes, click Delink.
Edit Amortisation Schedule
Under the Amortisation Schedule, you can view the due dates and installment amounts for each payment. You can also perform several actions to edit the Amortisation Schedule installments. Let’s explore them.
1. Pay Now: Click this button to pay an upcoming installment upfront.
- Users can make partial or split payments toward an installment, allowing them to use multiple payment sources by entering the desired Payment Amount.
- Confirm the action by clicking Proceed.
2. Edit: Click this button to edit the Due Date and Installment Amount of the selected installment. When you update it, changes will be reflected in the other installments, and the amounts will vary.
- Choose if you need to Apply the Difference Amount To the Next Upcoming Instalment or across All remaining Instalments equally.
- You can view the updated amount in the Revised Installment Amount column.
- Click Proceed.
3. Skip: Click this button to skip an installment payment. The skipped installment will be marked as '--'. The amount will be recouped by revising other installments with increased dues.
- Choose if you need to apply the Difference Amount to the Next Upcoming Instalment or across All remaining Instalments equally.
- You can view the updated amount in the Revised Installment Amount column.
- Click Proceed.
4. Skip & Add: Click this button to skip an installment and add another installment towards the end of the schedule, while keeping the due amounts of the other installments the same.
Click Proceed to add a new installment.
Exempt Patient From Installment
You can exempt a patient from a single installment, and the amount due will be removed. To do this, under the Amortisation Schedule:
- Click the three-dot menu > select Exempt Installment.
- Click Proceed on the warning modal.
Link an Existing Receipt
You can link an existing receipt to an installment to mark it as paid.
| Note: Multiple receipts can be linked to a single instalment, even if the individual amounts do not match the instalment total. If a linked receipt’s amount exceeds the instalment total, the remaining balance can be linked to future instalments. |
To do this, under the Amortisation Schedule:
- Click the three-dot menu.
- Click Link an Existing Receipt.
- Select the receipt to be linked to the instalment.
- Click Proceed.
Edit Payment Details
You can edit the payment type for the payment plan, such as card, cash, or check. To do this:
- Click Edit Payment Details on the Payment Plan slide-out.
- Edit the Payment Type > click Update Payment Details.
Edit Payment Plan
You can edit any details entered during the creation of a payment plan. These details are displayed on the left side of the payment plan slide-out.
To edit the Payment Plan details:
- Click Edit Payment Plan on the Payment Plan slide-out.
- Make the required changes to the payment plan.
- Click Update Plan Details.
- Once saved, you can view the last four digits of the Card Number in the Payment Details section if Direct Debit is enabled.
- The securely protected and partially encrypted card number reveals only the last four digits, so you can easily identify which card is being tokenised for direct debit.
Additional Actions on a Payment Plan
Let's explore the additional actions on a payment plan.
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Terminate: Click Terminate to stop all upcoming payment schedules and remove the associated payment token if Direct Debit is enabled. This will cancel all pending, overdue, and failed transactions for this payment plan.
- Click Proceed to continue.
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Complete: Click Complete to mark the payment plan as complete if the payments have already been collected, or to complete the payment plan and collect the remaining amount using other methods.
- Choose the reason to complete the payment plan.
- Click Complete to proceed.
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Pause: Use the Pause option to stop all upcoming Direct Debits and pause future schedules until you resume the payment plan.
- When resuming the payment plan, any paused transaction(s) with past dates will be skipped, and an equal number of future pending schedule(s) will be added to the end of the Amortisation Schedule.
- Click Proceed to continue.
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New Payment Agreement: You can create a new payment agreement if you have changed the payment or installment amounts, or if you want to modify the terms and conditions of the previous agreement.
- Verify the payment details.
- Make changes to the agreement as needed.
- To add a signature, click Add Signature.
- Click Print Agreement.
Practices can use this simple guide to learn how to create a new payment plan and update it as needed.