📝 Please note: Explaining a payment is the same as allocating a payment. The words can be used interchangeably throughout this article and in the Dentally app.
How does automatic allocation of payments work?
Dentally will automatically allocate payments to the invoices it thinks are the correct, meaning that manually explaining/allocating payments isn't necessary in most cases.
It will aim to allocate the payment against any invoice which matches the amount being taken - otherwise, it will automatically allocate to the oldest unpaid invoices.
If there are no outstanding invoices to allocate the payment against, it will remain unallocated. The summary will say 'This payment needs allocating/explaining', with an amber question mark to the right of the total amount, and the patient will be credited.
When an invoice is raised for the patient, any unallocated payments will be allocated to it automatically.
💡 Top tip: You can manually allocate or unallocate a payment whenever you need.
How do I enable automatic explanation of payments?
Automatic allocating/explaining is enabled by default. You can disable/enable automatic explanation of payments:
In Dentally's 'Settings', go to 'Practice'.
Click 'Other' and scroll down to the 'Payments' section.
From here you can tick or untick the 'Enable automatic explanation of payments?' checkbox.
📝 Please note: Payment allocations will affect your financial reporting so it is important to ensure they are allocated accurately. We recommend using the 'Payment Allocation Totals' report to pay your practitioners, so monitoring and correcting your allocations is essential.