Best Practice

If you have HotDoc payments enabled for your appointment types, you will need to collect payment once a patient finishes their appointment.

If you're using our automation features to collect and receipt features, HotDoc will automate the payment collection and receipt the invoice for you 10 minutes after you click 'Store' on the invoice. 

• We'll sync the patient's invoice from Best Practice and display the actual outstanding amount in your Dashboard for collection.
   
• The "Collect" button will appear in the Dashboard once the appointment time has passed, or if the status changes to Seen, No Show, or At Billing.

Please follow the instructions below, based upon whether you have enabled best practice automations or would like to collect payments manually in the Dashboard.

How to collect payment with the HotDoc Sidebar

Once the patient’s appointment time has passed or their status is in billing, you will see in the Sidebar that the patient’s card is ready to collect.

• To collect in the Sidebar and process the invoice by clicking 'Pay Now':
• To collect in the Sidebar and process the invoice by clicking 'Store':

To collect in the Sidebar and process the invoice by clicking 'Pay Now':
 

1. Open the Sidebar and click the Pin icon to pin the Sidebar so that you can use it  side-by-side with your practice software, and go to Menu > Bookings:
   
   
   
    
2. Click the Payments to action tab, and you will see a list of appointments with a payment method for today. 
   

If a payment shows Paying via HotDoc, this means the patient has chosen to pay via HotDoc when booking online, instead of paying at the clinic. Their card details have been stored for you to easily collect payment. For further information, please see: How to set up Flexible Checkout for HotDoc Payments

3. When you're ready to collect payment, create an account for the patient in your practice software and finalise any item numbers/cost, ensuring bill to: patient/head of family, then click 'Collect' in the Sidebar:
   
   
    
4. Manually adjust the amount in the Sidebar so it matches the total in the patient's account, and press 'Collect' to charge the patient:
   
   
   
   
5. Once the payment is successful, click 'Pay Now' on the patient's account in Best Practice.
   
   
    

6. The status of the appointment in the Sidebar will change to 'Needs receipt'. Finalise the invoice by entering the cost of the appointment in the 'Direct credit' field, check the box to Submit Medicare claim (if applicable), then process the invoice:
   • The status of the patient's appointment in the Sidebar will change to paid as the invoice is receipted:
     
     
     
      

To collect in the Sidebar and process the invoice by clicking 'Store':

1. Open the Sidebar and click the Pin icon to pin the Sidebar so that you can use it  side-by-side with your practice software, and go to Menu > Bookings:
   
   
    

2. Click the Payments to action tab, and you will see a list of appointments with a payment method for today. 
   
   

   If a payment shows Paying via HotDoc, this means the patient has chosen to pay via HotDoc when booking online, instead of paying at the clinic. Their card details have been stored for you to easily collect payment. For further information, please see: How to set up Flexible Checkout for HotDoc Payments

    

3. Create the account for the patient in your practice software and finalise any item numbers/cost, then click "Store"
   • If you check the Open Billing History checkbox, their unpaid invoice will be easily accessible
     
     
     
      
4. In the Sidebar, when you click "Collect", you will see the 'Amount synced' from the account, and can click "collect" without adjusting this. 
   • Note: It may take up to 30 seconds to sync the invoice amount
     
     
      
5. You will then see a 'Needs receipt' status next to the patient's name as a reminder to receipt the invoice and send any medicare claims. 
   • You will then need to go into the patient's account to finalise the invoice in your Billing History
   • Then enter the full amount in 'Direct credit', and check the box to Submit Medicare claim (if applicable), then process the invoice:
     
      

How to collect payment with Best Practice automations enabled (automatically collect and receipt an invoice)

If you have enabled the Best Practice automations to automatically collect payment and automatically receipt invoices, HotDoc will automatically manage the collection for you once you finalise your invoice and click 'Store'. Please see below for how to do this: 

1. Firstly, confirm the patient has added their card details with HotDoc for their appointment.

   • In your Best Practice appointment book, you'll see an appointment note on their appointment that says 'Card details stored for payment'. 
      

   • In your Dashboard under Payments > Booking Activity > All,  the status will say Card Details Stored or Pre-authorisation Received.
     
     
     
      
2. After the appointment, the practitioner will need to select 'Finalise Visit' in Best Practice, enter the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers for the appointment and click Save. 
   
   
    

3. Once the appointment is in Billing Status (appointment will be green in the appointment book), click Create Account.  
    

   You must create the account directly from the appointment tile in Best Practice.

   
   
   
    

4. In the 'Bill to' field, select 'Patient' or 'Head of Family', then click Store. The invoice amount will sync to HotDoc and update the cost to collect if required.

   Note: If the 'Bill to' field is set to 'Medicare Direct Bill' the payment request will be automatically cancelled by HotDoc. For more info, see How do I cancel a HotDoc Payment?

   
   
   
   

5. HotDoc will then automatically collect the amount from the patient's card 10 minutes after the invoice was stored. The patient's appointment will be updated to 'Paid' in HotDoc and Best Practice. 

   Note: If payment has failed, a 'Failed payment' note will be added to the appointment details in Best Practice. HotDoc will automatically send a follow-up payment request to the patient via SMS to capture payment. We'll retry the patients card 24 hours later, and update it accordingly. Please see the following page for further information:  How to manage failed payments for appointments

   Paid in HotDoc

   Paid in Best Practice

   If the invoice matches the pre-authorised amount, we'll capture the payment from the hold; if it's more, we'll release the hold and take a new payment. If the invoice is less, Stripe will capture the payment from the hold and release the difference, while Pin Payments will release the hold and take a new payment.

6. If automatic receipting is enabled, follow the next 2 steps. If you do not have automatic receipting enabled, skip to step 8. 
   • HotDoc will receipt the invoice in Best Practice once the payment updates to 'Paid.' The payment amount will be recorded in the Credit Card, EFT, or Direct Credit field (based on your Dashboard settings), and the appointment will show as light blue 'Paid' or light grey 'Completed.'
     
      

   • The invoice will include a payment reference if you wish to search for the payment in your Stripe or Pin Payments Dashboard.

7. If the appointment is eligible for a medicare rebate, you must send this on the same day the invoice is paid. You can view a list of outstanding claims in the HotDoc Dashboard under Payments > Bookings Activity > Send Patient Claim. To send the claim in Best Practice: 
   • Click on the appointment, then click Billing > Account History 
   • Check the box next to 'Show payments/deposits
   • Right-click on the 'Payment - Invoice' line and select Send online patient claim.
     
     
   • If the option is greyed out, double-click the 'Payment - Invoice' line and click 'Send.' We'll also generate a payment reference.
     
     
     
8. If you do not have automatic receipting enabled, finalise the invoice in the Billing History in Best Practice. Double-click on the patient's account to view the Payment details screen: 
    
   •  
     • Tick the 'Pay full amount' box
     • Enter the amount in the 'Direct credit' field
     • If you are submitting a claim to Medicare, tick 'Send via Patient Claiming'

     • Click 'Process' to finalise the payment
        

       *Please note: Regardless of whether the practice or patient is covering the processing fee, please ensure you only enter the total cost of the consult in your invoice. 
       We do not recommend adding a line item for the processing fee

       

        

       How to manually collect payment in the HotDoc Dashboard

       1. Firstly, confirm the patient has added their card details with HotDoc for their appointment.

          • In your Best Practice appointment book, you will see an appointment note on their appointment that says 'Card details stored for payment'. 
             

          • In your Dashboard under Payments > Booking Activity > All,  the status will say Card Details Stored or Pre-authorisation Received. 
            
             
       2. After the appointment, the practitioner will need to select 'Finalise Visit' in Best Practice, enter the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers for the appointment and click Save. 
          
          
          
           

       3. Once the appointment is in Billing Status (appointment will be green in the appointment book), click Create Account.  
           

          You must create the account directly from the appointment tile in Best Practice.

          
           
           

       4. In the 'Bill to' field, select Patient or 'Head of Family' > click Store. This will enable HotDoc to sync the invoice amount into the Dashboard.
           

          Note: If the 'Bill to' field is set to 'Medicare Direct Bill' the payment request will be automatically cancelled by HotDoc. For more info, see How do I cancel a HotDoc Payment?

          
          
           

          Regardless of whether the practice or patient is covering the processing fee, please ensure you only enter the total cost of the consult in your invoice.  We do not recommend adding a line item for the processing fee

          
          

       5. To collect payment in HotDoc, go to the Dashboard > Payments > Booking Activity and locate the patient's appointment. You'll see the outstanding
          payment in the Charge column once we've synced the invoice. Click 'Collect'.
           
          • We show the patients invoice/receipt number, who it is billed to (patient or Medicare), and the Invoice Status (outstanding/paid).
             
          • It may take up to 5 minutes for the invoice to sync. If it doesn't appear, refresh your Dashboard. After 5 minutes,, if the Charge column is '-', please see Why did HotDoc not sync the Invoice?
            
            
             

       6. If required, amend the amount to collect from the patient in the Amount to collect field and/or select Collect Amount to charge the patient's card:
           

          Example if practice is covering the fee.

          Example if patient is covering the fee.

          If the invoice matches the pre-authorised amount, we'll capture the payment from the hold; if it's more, we'll release the hold and take a new payment. If the invoice is less, Stripe will capture the payment from the hold and release the difference, while Pin Payments will release the hold and take a new payment.

          
          

       7. Once the patient has successfully been charged, you will see the Payment Status column change to Paid or update accordingly depending on the outcome.
          
          
          
           
       8. To conclude the payment, go to Billing History within Best Practice. Double-click on the patient's account to view the Payment details screen: 
          
           
          • Tick the 'Pay full amount' box
          • Enter the amount in the 'Direct credit' field
          • If you are submitting a claim to Medicare, tick 'Send via Patient Claiming'

          • Click 'Process' to finalise the payment
             

            *Please note: Regardless of whether the practice or patient is covering the processing fee, please ensure you only enter the total cost of the consult in your invoice. 
            We do not recommend adding a line item for the processing fee

            
            
            
             

       What to do if the patient is eligible for bulk billing or has paid directly at the clinic?

       • HotDoc will automatically cancel or release any requests for payment where you have processed the invoice as 'Bill to: Medicare Direct Bill' in Best Practice.
         
          
       • HotDoc will also automatically cancel or release any requests for payment where we can see that the full invoice amount has been paid (the amount owing is $0)
          
       • In your Dashboard under Payments > Booking Activity > 'All',  next to the patient's appointment, we'll update the payment status to 'Cancelled' and list the reason why.
         
         
          
       • You can also cancel requests manually in the Dashboard if you no longer require to collect payment via HotDoc.

       For more information about cancelling payments,  please see How do I cancel a HotDoc Payment?