Payment Plan

A Payment Plan is a static patient repayment agreement.

In the Account Module Payment Plans grid, they show with the Type PP.

Note: The grid can also include Installment Plans, Dynamic Payment Plans, and Insurance Payment Plans.

To create a new Payment Plan, in the Account Module, click Payment Plan, Patient Payment Plan.

To set when Payment Plan payments will be due, see Preferences, Days in advance to bill Payment Plan amounts due.

See Dynamic Payment Plan to create an open-ended repayment agreement.

Related Links:

See General Setup steps at the bottom of this page for instructions on setting up a Patient Payment Plan. Find details about the Payment Plans grid (shown above) in the Patient Payment Plans in the Account Module section of this page.

Patient Information

Category: Assign a category to this 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 will make the payments. Defaults to the currently selected patient. The guarantor does not have to be in the same family as the patient. It also can differ from the account's guarantor. Click Change to select a different guarantor. Click Go To to switch to their account.

Provider Information

Provider: Defaults to the patient's primary provider. Click the dropdown or [...] to change. If using clinics and providers are restricted to clinics, only providers available for the selected clinic are available.

Clinic: If using clinics, defaults to the patient's clinic. Click the dropdown to change.

Term Options

Date of Agreement: Defaults to today's date.

Total Amount: The total amount of the Payment Plan, excluding interest. It defaults to the patient's current balance.

Date of First Payment: Defaults to one month from today's date.

Down Payment: The amount of the down payment. Immediately due when the Payment Plan is created.

APR: The percentage of interest to charge. If entered, additional options are available to delay interest charges. If both fields are left blank, interest is charged to all scheduled payments.

Interest is automatically calculated using the following method:

  1. Subtracts the down payment from the Payment Plan balance.
  2. Calculates the number of payments, or the payment amount, based on the new balance (balance minus down payment).

The Amortization Schedule can be based on a total number of payments or a specific payment amount. Enter only one.

Term Buttons

Recalculate: Recalculate payments and interest (optional) when a patient prepays, pays on principal, or overpays. See Payment Plan Recalculate.

Note: Payment plan adjustments will not be recalculated. Manually edit any plan adjustments in the patient account, Amortization Schedule, and in the Payment Plan Procedures and Credits window.

More Options: Select how often payments will be due based on the Date of First Payment. The default frequency is Monthly, however other options include every other week, specific day of a month (e.g. first Tuesday, etc.), or quarterly.

Create Schedule: Create the Amortization Schedule based on the terms. A description of the terms will show in the Note field.

Attaching Production

View Tx Credits: Attach production to the Payment Plan. Opens the Payment Plan Procedures and Credits window.

Payment Plan Summary

Once the schedule is created or updated, calculations are automatic.

Total Cost of Loan: Total credits (not associated to procedures) and production amount attached to the Payment Plan plus interest.

Accumulated Due: Total amount that has been due up to the current date.

Paid so far: Total amount that has been paid towards the Payment Plan to date.

Principal paid so far: Total amount that has been paid towards the principal to date.

Note: Paid amounts only reflect the correct total if paysplits are attached to the Payment Plan Charges.

Tx Completed Amt: Total credits and completed procedure amount attached to the Payment Plan, excluding interest.

Total Tx Amt: Total credits, completed and treatment planned procedure amount attached to the Payment Plan, excluding interest.

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 the frequency selected from More Options. Double-click a row to edit.

Exclude past activity: When checked, only future dated line items show 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.

Note

A detailed note of the terms shows for future reference. Any changes made to the terms will be added to the note. Other notes can be added as needed.

If Pay Plans use Sheets for printing is checked, additional Terms and Conditions are displayed when viewing or signing the repayment agreement. Customize the default message in Preferences. Updating the terms will also update any replacement fields used in the default message.

Buttons

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). If any remaining charges, they will become due immediately. See Close Payment Plan.

Add: Add a new Payment Plan Charge to the Amortization Schedule. The Edit Payment Plan Charge window will open. Enter the principal amount for the new charge and the date the charge will be due.

Add Adjustment: Add a negative Payment Plan adjustment to discount a portion of the Payment Plan balance (e.g., courtesy discount). The Negative Pay Plan Adjustment window will open. Enter the amount to adjust off the Payment Plan.

Pay plan adjustments automatically reduce the Total Amount, apply credits to future due amounts, and reduce the Total Tx Amt (via a credit in the Payment Plan and Procedures and Credits window). To also include an adjustment in the Patient Account ledger with today's date, check Also make line item in Account Module, this is not recommended when using the Preference Pay Plan Charge Logic, Do Not Age (Legacy). Check box is only available if the logged-on user has the Adjustment Create permission.

eClipboard: Send the Payment Plan to eClipboard. See eClipboard: Payment Plans.

Clear Schedule: Erases the current Amortization Schedule, including adjustments (e.g., if terms have been changed and the schedule needs to be replaced).

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 Payment Plan sheet contains a signature box. See Sign and Print Payment Plan.

Click OK to save changes, or Cancel to close without saving.

General Setup

To set up a Patient Payment Plan, follow the steps below:

  1. Verify the Date of Agreement.
  2. Optional: Enter the Down Payment. The down payment will be due today when the scheduled is created, regardless of the Date of First Payment or Date of Agreement.
  3. Input the Total Amount.
  4. Input the APR and interest terms.
  5. Input the Number of Payments or Payment Amt.
  6. Click More Options and choose the payment frequency.
  7. Click Create Schedule to create the Amortization Schedule.
    • To edit any line items (e.g., Down Payment), double-click a row to edit the date, principal amount, or note. If editing the principal, ensure the Tx Credits and Total Amount match. See next steps for attaching Tx Credits. Total Cost of Loan and Total Amount will adjust automatically when making changes to the principal.
  8. Attach Treatment Credits (Tx Credits). This is required to ensure a credit for the Payment Plan is applied to the patient's account. Failure to attach Tx Credits may cause patients to be overcharged until a Payment Plan is closed. See Payment Plan Procedures and Credits.
    1. Click View Tx Credits.
    2. Select any procedures to be paid by the Payment Plan.
    3. Optional: Adjust credit amount as needed.
    4. Click Add.
    5. Click OK on the popup.
    6. Repeat steps to add any additional procedures.
    7. Click OK to close the Procedures and Credits window once the Total Credits attached matches the Total Amount of the Payment Plan.
  9. Verify the Payment Plan information.
  10. Print or send the Payment Plan to the eClipboard for patient signature.

Editing an Existing Payment Plan

To edit individual Payment Plan Charges, double-click the charge from the Amortization Schedule. The Payment Plan Charge interest field is read-only. If APR is included in the plan terms, charges cannot be added or edited; however, users with the Pay Plan Charge Date Edit Permissions may edit the charge due dates.

To delete a Payment Plan Charge, double-click the charge from the Amortization Schedule and click Delete or, right-click the posted PayPln: Debit from the Patient Account and select Delete Charge. The right-click option is only available when the Pay Plan charge logic preference is set to Age Credits and Debits. Payments cannot be attached to the charge. If a charge is deleted, update the Payment Plan Procedures and Credits and use Payment Plan Recalculate.

To edit patient Payment Plans with overcharged production, see Payment Plan Q and A.

Patient Payment Plans in the Account Module

Payment Plans Grid

A summary of all Payment Plans (including Patient, Dynamic and Insurance Payment Plans) and Installment Plans associated with is shown at the top of the Account Module. Plans associated with the patient are those the patient is assigned as the guarantor or patient.

Patient Account Grid

PayPlan Credits, PayPlan Debits, and payments attached to payment plans can optionally show as line items in patient accounts and affect balances and aging. This is determined by Pay Plan charge logic in Preferences. See more information in Payment Plan Q and A.