Question

How do I use Payments reporting in the HotDoc Dashboard to reconcile our payments to the receipts in our practice management software (PMS)?
 

Solution

In the Payments > Reporting > Payment Activity section of the Dashboard, you can filter and generate a report of all payments made via HotDoc to use when reconciling patient receipts in your PMS.

There are a few important things to note before you reconcile:

• If you pass on the platform fee to the patient, use the Subtotal net amount to reconcile, as this is what you received from the patient. This is also the amount that will be paid out to your bank account.
  • If you use Routine Requests, the platform fee is always charged to the patient, regardless of your pass-on setting.
     
• To balance, enter the net amount you receive from the patient in your invoices in your PMS.
   
• Note the payment method you use to record the patient's HotDoc payment on their receipt. We recommend recording the payment on the patient's invoice or receipt in your PMS as Direct Credit or Direct Deposit.

How to reconcile your payments

1. In your PMS, run a report showing receipts for the date range you're reconciling. This is sometimes called a 'Receipt Report' or a 'Banking Report'.
    
2. In the PMS report, make sure you can see the payment method used for payments via HotDoc. Find the total dollar amount for all invoices paid via HotDoc.
   • Reminder: We recommend using the payment method 'Direct Credit' (Best Practice) and 'Direct Deposit' (Medical Director and Zedmed).
      
3. In HotDoc, go to Payments > Reporting > Payment Activity > All Payments. This shows all payments captured via HotDoc.
   • Note: To search for specific patient invoices, select the Bookings, Payment Requests or Routine Requests tab for a more granular result.
      
     
      
4. Adjust the Charge Date and Time filters to match the date range in your PMS report.
   • If you're reconciling for individual practitioners, tick the Practitioner checkbox and select their name.
      
     
      
5. Check that the Subtotal net dollar amount matches the total dollar amount in your PMS report.
   • If you pass on the platform fee to the patient, use the Subtotal net amount.
   • If your practice absorbs the platform fee (i.e. what you charge in HotDoc is the total cost of the appointment), use the Subtotal charged amount.
      
     
      
6. If the subtotal amount in HotDoc does match the amount in your PMS report, all PMS receipts have been created and correctly marked as paid.
   • Click Reconcile All to mark all payments in HotDoc as reconciled. They'll stay marked for future reference.
      
     
      
7. If the subtotal amount does not match the PMS report, an invoice may not have been created or a receipt may not be marked as paid, even though the patient was charged via HotDoc. In this case:
   1. Go line by line through each payment in the HotDoc report and find the corresponding patient receipt in your PMS report to check whether it was marked as paid.
      • You can filter by payment type using the Bookings, Payment Requests or Routine Requests tabs.
         
        
         
   2. If the invoice was created and receipted, tick the reconciled checkbox in HotDoc.
       
   3. If it was not invoiced in your PMS, create and receipt the invoice in your PMS, re-generate the PMS report, then tick the reconciled checkbox next to the patient's payment in HotDoc.
       
      
       
   4. If you use Routine Requests and have enabled automatic invoicing (Best Practice and Medical Director clinics only), you'll see an 'Invoiced by HotDoc' icon next to the patient's payment if we were able to create an invoice.
      If it says 'Needs invoice', create and receipt the invoice in your PMS, re-generate the report in your PMS, then tick the reconciled checkbox in HotDoc. The status will change to Manually invoiced.
       
      
       
   5. Once you've re-generated the PMS report with the updated receipts, check that the total dollar amount for all invoices paid via HotDoc balances with the Subtotal net amount in the HotDoc Dashboard report.
       
8. Your payments are now reconciled to your receipts. Repeat these steps for each reconciling period, and for each practitioner if you reconcile per practitioner.
    
9. Once you receive your payout from your payment provider (Stripe or Pin) to your bank account – depending on your payout frequency – follow How do I use Payments Reporting to reconcile payouts to my bank account?
   • Tip: Once you've received the payout, click View next to the patient's payment to see which payout it contributed to.