How To Increase Your Time-Of-Service Collections

If you’re having trouble keeping your outstanding accounts receivable under control, you may want to begin asking for payment at the time of service. If a patient leaves your dental practice without paying their bill, the value of the account will decrease the longer it takes to get paid. Other reasons to consider the time of service payments include the avoidance of billing and collections activities, as well as more positive ongoing patient relationships.

HOW TO INCREASE PAYMENT AT THE TIME OF SERVICE

• Offer discounts for cash payments – If you offer an incentive for your patients to pay their bill at the time of service, you’ll see an increase in your collections. The most common way this is done is by knocking off a percentage of the bill in exchange for a time-of-service payment.
• Accept payment in the form of credit cards – In this day and age, most people will be paying their bills through the use of debit or credit cards. It’s important that you allow your patients to pay their bills using a card. Otherwise, you’ll have difficulty collecting payment from many patients.
• Add due dates to statements – If you do end up sending out statements, make sure they have a due date clearly printed. People prioritize bills with clear due dates over bills without them. You can mark the due date between 2 weeks to a month out.
• Add a finance charge to past due to accounts – In addition to adding a due date, including the implementation of a finance charge to accounts that are past due. This will serve as the motivation for your patients to pay on time.

For help with marketing your dental practice, or for more tips on how to keep it running smoothly, please contact Pro Dental Designs.