How do I record a pending payment in a patient's account?
To manually record a pending payment in Canada:
Go to the patient's 'Account' tab.
Find the invoice you wish to assign a pending payment to and click the three dot menu to the far right of the chosen invoice.
Select 'Record pending payment'.
In the pop-up window that appears, enter the amount that is pending, and the payment method.
You can also enter the date, transaction number, payer and other notes. For the date, we recommend entering the date that you received confirmation from the insurance carrier.
When you have added the details, click 'Record payment'.
The pending payment will then appear in the 'Insurance balance' column for the chosen invoice.
It will also be visible in the patient's account and family account, at the top of the 'Account' screen.
How to remove a pending payment?
Should the occasion arise where your pending payment has been added to the wrong invoice or the wrong patient you can remove the pending payment. To delete a pending payment:
Go to the patient's 'Account' tab.
Navigate to the 'Payments' section of the Family Account.
Click on the three dots and select 'Delete'
Why should I record pending payments in the patient account?
Pending payments allow you to show that payments are incoming but have not yet been received. This is particularly useful when reflecting payments due from an insurance carrier, and will help with tracking and taking payments.
A workflow which includes recording pending payments might look like this:
Once you have submitted a claim, the insurance carrier will respond confirming how much they are going to pay towards the invoice.
At this point you can record the pending payment, showing the amount the insurance carrier has confirmed they will pay.
The patient's invoice balance will then go down by that amount, so you can charge the patient only for the remainder.
Once a payment has been taken from the patient, the remaining balance will change from red to amber, showing you are only waiting for payment from the insurance carrier.
When you do receive the payment from the insurance carrier (usually combined in a lump sum with other patients' amounts), you can mark it as paid.