Posting patient payments

You can post a payment from a patient to that patient's ledger.

To post a patient payment

How to get there

1. Use the Patient Search box to access a patient's record.

   Notes:

   • If the last patient record you accessed since you last logged on is the correct patient's record, you do not need to re-enter the patient's name in the Patient Search box.

   • You can include inactive patients in the search results by setting the Include inactive patients switch to On.

2. Do one of the following:

   • On the Patient menu, under General, click (or tap) Overview. The patient's Overview page opens. Click (or tap) the Ledger box.

     

   • On the Patient menu, under Financial, click (or tap) Ledger.

   The patient's Ledger page opens.

1. On a patient's Ledger page, click (or tap) Payment.

   

   The Enter Payment dialogue box appears.

   

2. Leave the current date entered in the Date box, or click (or tap) in the box to select a different date. However, you cannot backdate a transaction to a date that would cause it to become locked based on your organisation's transaction lock setting.

3. Enter the Amount of the payment.

4. Select the Method of payment received from the patient (such as a cheque, cash, or credit card).

5. Enter the payment details, such as the cheque number and amount.

   Set up the following options:

   • Cheque # - The cheque number. This option is available only if the payment type is a cheque.

   • Reference # - The reference number of the transaction or electronic funds transfer (EFT). This option is available only if the payment method is patient financing, an electronic transfer, or an electronic e-claim payment.

   • Bank/branch # - The bank account number on the cheque. This option is available only if the payment type is a cheque.

   • Apply to charges for - The payment goes towards charges for the patient whose record you are viewing or another member of his or her household. If you select [Guarantor], you can apply the payment to charges for any household members.

   • Paid at patient visit - The payment was made at the office when services were rendered. Statistics regarding payments collected during visits appear on the Payment Analysis Report.

6. The payment amount is applied automatically to the procedure with the oldest date of service and then to subsequent procedures based on the date until the payment amount is used up. However, you can change the Applied amount for any procedure in the procedure list as needed.

   

   For your reference, the following amounts appear:

   • The Amount Not Applied is the payment Amount minus the sum of the amounts in the Applied column. This amount will appear as a credit on the account of the patient whose record you are viewing, another household member, or the guarantor, according to the selection that you made from the Apply to charges for list.

   • The Amount Applied is the sum of the amounts in the Applied column.

   Notes:

   • If you are entering a payment for procedures on the same date as the date of service or for procedures prior to the current date that are attached to a claim, Dentrix Ascend automatically calculates the estimated guarantor portion of the charges (if the patient has third-party coverage). However, if you are entering a payment for procedures prior to the current date that are not attached to a claim, Dentrix Ascend automatically calculates the estimated guarantor portion to be 100 percent of the charges.

   • If the patient has third-party coverage, and the estimated third-party portion for a given procedure is 100 percent, that procedure does not appear in the Enter Payment dialogue box.

7. On the Tags tab, add tags to the payment as needed.

8. On the Notes tab, enter any notes regarding the payment.

9. Click (or tap) Save.

Related Topics

• Posting procedures

• Setting up ledger options

Related Errors/Questions

• None