Payment plans

A payment plan lets a family pay their balance in installments. NeatPractice does not keep cards on file, so a plan never charges anyone automatically: each installment is paid like any patient payment, and statements ask for the installment due.

Set up a plan#

1. Open the account from Accounts.
2. In Payment plan, click New Payment Plan.
3. Enter the Amount covered ($), at most what the patients on the account owe now, less credit.
4. Enter the number of Installments (2 to 60) and how often they fall due, Monthly or Every two weeks.
5. Choose when the First installment due falls.
6. Add any Notes, such as how the plan was agreed, and click Create Plan.

The installments are equal, rounded up to the cent; the last one is a little smaller when the amount does not divide evenly. A plan covers every patient of the responsible party, so one plan serves brothers and sisters.

Follow a plan#

The Payment plan section lists each installment with its due date, amount, what has been paid and what is still due. Every patient payment received on the account since the plan started counts, oldest installment first.

A plan is:

• Active while installments are paid on time;
• Defaulted when an installment is still unpaid 10 days after it was due. Call the family, then decide whether to end the plan or let them catch up;
• Completed once the whole amount is paid;
• Cancelled when someone ended it.

While a plan is active, the account's statements ask for the installment due rather than the whole balance, and its collection stage does not move. The accounts list shows the plan and the next installment due.

End a plan#

Click End Plan, give the reason and click End Plan again. Statements ask for the full balance again and the collection stage moves again with each statement run. Payments already received stay where they were applied. You can then set up a new plan.

Permissions#

Setting up and ending payment plans needs permission to manage payment plans.