Payment Plan
Payment Plans, formerly called Dynamic Payment Plans, are patient repayment agreements.
In the Account Module Payment Plans grid, they show with the Type DPP.
To create a new Payment Plan, in the Account Module, click Payment Plan, Payment Plan.
Alternatively, double-click an existing Payment Plan to edit.
Related Links:
Payment Plans can be open-ended or fully locked once created. See General Setup at the bottom of this page for instructions.
Category: Assign a category to the Payment Plan (e.g., Ortho, Implant). Useful to distinguish one Payment Plan from another when families have many plans. Customize the category options in Definitions: Payment Plan Categories.
Patient: The person who was treated. Click Go To to switch to their account. Patients can have multiple Payment Plans, and each plan can have a different guarantor.
Guarantor: The person who makes the payments. Defaults to the family guarantor. The guarantor can differ from the family guarantor and does not have to be in the patient's family. Click Change to choose a different guarantor for the Payment Plan. Click Go To to switch to the guarantor's account.
Full Lock: Check to permanently lock the current terms of the plan.
Unlock: Option is available when opening an existing plan and Full Lock is unchecked. Click to unlock the Terms section in order to make edits.
Date of Agreement: Defaults to today's date. Can be changed to a past date. If the Allow future dated transactions preference is enabled, can also be changed to a future date.
Total Principal Amount: The total amount of the Payment Plan, excluding interest. Calculated based on the attached production.
Date of First Payment: Set the date the patient's first regular payment is due. Defaults to one month from today's date. Can be changed to any date. Used to determine the Amortization Schedule.
Down Payment: The amount of the down payment. Immediately due when the Payment Plan is created regardless of the Handle Treatment Planned setting or Date of First Payment.
APR: The percentage of interest to charge on the principal balance of completed procedures. If entered, additional options are available to delay interest charges. Enter only one. If both fields are left blank, interest is charged to all scheduled payments. Payment Plan must be locked before saving.
Interest is automatically calculated using the following method:
The amortization schedule can be based on a total number of payments or a specific payment amount. Enter only one.
Charge Frequency: Select the frequency of which charges are applied to the Payment Plan. The options below are calculated based off the Date of First Payment.
Handle Treatment Planned: Determine whether treatment planned procedures should be included in the total now, or as the work is completed. If toggling this setting, click Create Schedule to see changes.
Create Schedule: Create the Amortization Schedule based on the terms. A description of the terms show in the Note field. Production must be attached first. When editing the terms on existing plans, click Create Schedule to view the changes.
Cancel: Do not save changes made to the Terms on existing plans. Click Unlock to enable. Only appears for existing Payment Plans.
Save: Save changes made to the Terms on existing plans. Only appears for existing Payment Plans. Click Unlock to enable.
Templates: Open Payment Plan Templates to quickly set terms.
Once the schedule is created or, updated and saved, the calculations below are automatic.
Total Cost of Loan: Total Amount plus interest and any added charges.
Accumulated Due: The total amount that has been due up to the current date.
Paid so far: The total amount that has been paid towards the Payment Plan to date.
Principal paid so far: The total amount that has been paid towards the principal to date.
Tx Completed Amt: The total fee amount for charges that have come due.
Total Tx Amt: The total fee amount for all production that is attached to the Payment Plan. Does not display until after plan has been saved.
A detailed note of the terms shows for future reference. Any changes made to the terms are added to the note. Other notes can be added as needed. Right-Click the text box for additional options.
If Pay Plans use Sheets is enabled in Preference, additional Terms and Conditions are displayed when viewing or signing the repayment agreement. Customize the Payment Plan Terms and Conditions in Preferences. Updating the terms also updates any replacement fields used in the default message.
Amortization Schedule: The amortization schedule is generated based on the terms. Principal and interest are calculated automatically. Due dates are based on the Date of First Payment and selected Charge Frequency.
Ungrouped: Determine how Pay Plan Charges and payments are displayed in the Amoritization Scheduled.
Hide past activity: When checked, only future-dated line items are shown in the Amortization Schedule and past activity is hidden. When unchecked, all activity shows. Totals are not affected by this setting. To set the default setting for the checkbox, see Preferences, Payment Plans exclude past activity by default.
Current Totals: Automatically calculated based on current and past charges, accumulated payments, and the running balance.
Attached Production: Displays the procedures and adjustments attached to the payment plan.
Delete: Delete the selected production item from the attached production list.
Print: Print the list of attached production (as shown), including the production total.
Show Attached P&I: View Pay Plan Charges and paysplits associated with the attached production.
Add: Attach production to the Payment Plan. Opens the Select Production window.
Select from a list of adjustments, completed procedures, and treatment planned procedures to attach to the Payment Plan. Only positive adjustments not attached to procedures are listed.
Delete: Delete the entire plan. Also, clears any Authorized Recurring Charges attached to the plan. Payments cannot be attached.
Close Plan: Click to close a Payment Plan that is no longer being paid on (i.e., paid off or patient stopped making payments).
Print: Click to print a copy of the Payment Plan Amortization Schedule and Terms or Payment Plan sheet.
Sign & Print: Displays instead of Print when the preference Pay Plans use sheets for printing is enabled and the PaymentPlan sheet contains a signature box. See Sign and Print Payment Plan.
eClipboard: Send the Payment Plan to eClipboard. See eClipboard: Payment Plans.
Click Save to exit the window and keep changes or finish creating the Payment Plan.
To set up a Payment Plan, follow the steps below:
Double-click into an existing plan.
Click Unlock to edit the Terms. Payment Plans with Full Lock enabled cannot be edited.
Editing Amortization Schedule and Charges
Double-click an unpaid, posted Pay Plan Charge to edit.
Click Delete to remove the charge from its current date.
If a grouped charge with multiple production items is selected, the Pay Plan Charge Selection window opens instead.
Click Zero out charges to reduce the principal on all listed charges to zero. The charges are moved to the next charge date and subsequent charges rescheduled. To edit a specific charge, select it and click OK to open the Edit Payment Plan Charges window for the selected charge.
Update Amortization Schedule
After editing production or changing any terms, the Amortization Schedule must be updated. Click Create Schedule to update the Amortization Schedule. Any current charges that have been billed are not changed, but future charges are updated to match the current terms.
Once changes have been made to the Payment Plan Terms or the Amortization Schedule, click Save in the Terms area to keep any changes and lock the Payment Plan.
Payment Plans that have been closed are still available to view or to reopen if needed. Only open Payment Plans can be edited; changing historical information is not recommended.
To show closed Payment Plans in the Payment Plan grid:
All closed plans for the patient list in the Payment Plan grid in a light text color.
To reopen a closed Payment Plan:
Only past activity shows in the Amortization Schedule. To reinstate the Payment Plan, a new Amortization Schedule needs to be created.
Credits, debits, and payments for Payment Plans can optionally show as line items in the patient's Account Module and affect balances and aging depending on the Pay Plan charge logic preference.
If the Pay Plan charge logic is set to an option that display Pay Plan Credits as line items in the account grid, treatment planned procedures are treated differently depending on the selected Handle Treatment Planned setting of the Payment Plan.
In order for a Payment Plan to function properly with an ongoing Insurance Payment Plan, it must be set up a specific way. Follow the steps below to set up a Payment Plan for use with an Insurance Payment Plan.
If the patient portion changes, update the Amount Override in the Production tab of the Payment Plan for plans not set to Full Lock. If the plan is set to Full Lock, this cannot be updated.