Configuring Patient Payments

Select Configure > Patient Payments to display the Patient Payments window:

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Payment types

This area lists the available payment methods. The

button allows new payment methods to be added, whereas the button allows existing payment types to be edited. The “dustbin” icon deletes the selected payment method. The Up and Down arrows allow the order of the listed methods to be changed.

Note that if you are using HICAPS without using the EFTPOS option, you will need to edit the EFTPOS payment type to use 'Debit Card as the payment method'.

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Auto Discounts

No Auto Discounts: The Discount and Reason fields are removed from the ‘Patient Payments’ window. Discounts cannot be processed unless they are processed using the adjustments button.

Percentage Discount: Will automatically allocate a discount based on a percentage of the patient’s balance if the account is paid within the specified number of days.

Fixed Discount: Will automatically allocate a fixed discount if the account is paid within the specified number of days.

Discount If Paid Within: Specifies the number of days the account needs to be paid within to qualify for a discount. If the invoice is older than the specified number of days the discount will not automatically appear in the Processing window. It can however be manually entered if required.

Discount Reason: Is the default reason for allocating a discount, e.g. Prompt Payment Discount

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Stock Items

A Tick in the ‘Display Stock Items’ enables stock items to be viewed and added to a patient’s account directly through the payment screen. If this option is not activated all Stock Items will have to be charged through the Patient Chart Tab.

Stock Items can be set to ‘Charge to’ a particular provider. A practice may choose to ‘Charge all Stock Items’ to the Principal Provider, or alternatively a provider can be added on to the system and all stock items charged to this provider, e.g. Mr Stock. This enables Practices to keep Stock payments separate to Treatment payments.

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Edit Allocations

There are three options for the displaying of Allocations:

No Editing of Allocations - this will hide the allocations, thus not allowing these to be edited. All payments will be automatically allocated to the oldest open invoice.

Button to Edit Allocations - an Edit Allocation button will be displayed to the right of the Payment Due Amount (as displayed in the earlier picture of the ‘Patient Payments’ window). If clicked on, the Allocations can be viewed/edited.

Always Display Allocation List - this option displays a list of open invoices for the patient and the tick indicates which invoice the receipt will be allocated against.

Note that if HICAPS is enabled, the only available allocation option is to always display the allocation list when processing HICAPS payments.

When activated, this option allows you to specify cost centres to track payments against. When payments are processed you will be prompted to indicate the cost centre(s) the payment should be recorded against. A report which can be run from the ‘Transactions’ Menu, ‘List Items’, ‘Payments’ window will include a breakdown of payments by cost centre.

This feature is not widely used.

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Other Options

The first option defaults to "On", and shows the amount owing by family members, in the Patient Payments window for all family members.
The second option defaults to "Off", but if checked will cause all family members’ accounts to be ticked when the payments window is opened.
If it is not ticked then only the patient whose account it is will be ticked.
This box will be “greyed out” if the first box is not ticked.

‘Calculate Change’ adds additional fields to the payment window. The user will enter in the payment window the amount tendered, e.g., a $20 note. The system can then calculate the change that should be given to the patient.

This option will default the Payment Amount field to the total balance owed by the patient. It means that this field does not need to be entered if the patient is paying the remainder of the account. If they are not, don’t forget to change this field otherwise the payment will be processed incorrectly and the banking will not be accurate.

This feature does not operate when the Calculate Change feature is activated. Instead users are presented with a checkbox in the payment window which when ticked will ‘Set Tendered Amount to Payment Due’.

With this option ticked, the Bank Account field is available to change on the Processing window. If this option is not ticked, the payment will be automatically banked into the selected Providers bank account.
Not widely used, as most Providers bank into one account for the practice.

The 'Make all payments to' option is used where all patient payments are made to the bank account of one provider, such as the principle provider in a practice, rather than to individual dentists who might be paid a salary or just for treatment provided.

If this check box is ticked the amount for any planned treatment will be displayed in the payment window and can be added to the payment due amount.

If this check box is ticked the completed amount for treatment will be displayed in the payment window and can be added to the Payment Due amount.

These two options are mutually exclusive, and allow you to have either the 'Bank' and 'Branch' fields or the 'Comment' field displayed on the "Patient Payments" window.

Quicktip: As it is not necessary to restart EXACT for changes made in this screen to take affect, you can switch between these two settings whenever you wish to change which format is shown in the Payments window.