Travel charges

When a provider drives to a patient, the trip can be billed: by the hour for drive time and by the mile for mileage. Travel bills only to a patient who pays for their own care or to a school or agency payer; insurers are never billed for travel. Travel charges are separate from the provider's pay: payroll pays drive time and mileage on its own.

Set the rates#

• Clinic rates: open Setup > Claim Forms > Travel rates, enter Drive time ($ per hour) and Mileage ($ per mile) and choose Save Rates. Leave a rate blank to bill none of that kind.
• A patient's own rates: open the patient's chart, then Billing > Travel rates and choose Edit Rates. A rate you leave blank follows the clinic's. The section shows which rate applies.

Changing a rate never changes travel already charged; the next finalized visit takes the new rate.

How travel is charged#

When a visit is finalized, NeatPractice looks at the trip to it:

• Drive time: the provider's confirmed drive time into the appointment, billed in hours to two decimals.
• Mileage: the miles recorded on the visit, or else the confirmed drive's miles.

A travel charge follows its visit while it is open: entering or correcting the visit's miles, or confirming the drive afterwards, updates it, and clearing the miles or voiding the visit voids it.

Work travel charges#

Open Travel charges in the Billing panel of the main menu. It lists open travel charges, newest first, with the patient, the drive time or miles and rate, who it bills and the amount. Use Status to see voided ones. To take one back, choose Void in its row menu and give a reason; the charge stays on record as voided.

Pick patients in the patient panel to see only theirs.

Each travel charge bills through a manual charge: on the patient's balance and statement for self-pay, or on the agency's invoice for a school or agency. Once it is paid or on an issued invoice, it no longer follows the visit. Travel already on an agency invoice cannot be voided here; correct the invoice instead.