Explore our Payments Frequently Asked Questions by the most popular themes. Select a section below to find the answers you're looking for.
Getting Started/Setup
- How does HotDoc Payments work and how do I get started?
- How do I set up payments for an appointment type?
- Can I turn off a practitioner from HotDoc Payments?
- Can I set up HotDoc payments for Telehealth-Only?
- Can I set up HotDoc payments for Online Bookings Only?
- Can I set up HotDoc Payments for patients who book directly via Reception?
- Can I adjust the "Estimated Cost" that the patient sees when they book online?
- If an existing appointment is changed to an appointment type set up for automatic card detail requests, will the request send?
How does HotDoc Payments work and how do I get started?
HotDoc Payments lets patients pay online for appointments booked online or directly with your practice. It also allows you to send ad-hoc payment requests for immediate charges, like debt collection, late cancellations, or no-show fees.
For more information, see Getting Started with Payments.
How do I set up payments for an appointment type?
Visit How to set up automatic payment requests for appointments to set up payments for online or in-person appointments.
Can I turn off a practitioner from HotDoc Payments?
Yes, you can! For more details, see How can I turn a practitioner off for Payments? and follow the steps to exclude a practitioner from HotDoc Payments.
Can I set up HotDoc payments for Telehealth-Only?
Yes, you can! For more details, see Getting Started with Payments and follow the steps to enable only your Telehealth appointment types.
Can I set up HotDoc payments for Online Bookings Only?
Yes, you can! For more details, see Set up automatic payment requests for HotDoc booked appointments.
Can I set up HotDoc Payments for patients who book directly via Reception?
Yes, you can! For more details, see Set up automatic payment requests for Practice booked appointments
Can I adjust the "Estimated Cost" that the patient sees when they book online?
Yes, you can adjust per appointment type and per practitioner. See Set up automatic payment requests for HotDoc booked appointments. , which allows you to adjust the estimated cost the patient will see.
If an existing appointment is changed to an appointment type set up for automatic card detail requests, will the request send?
Yes, if the appointment type is changed to one that’s set for automatic requests, the patient will be sent a message asking for their card details. If you make changes to an appointment where the start time is within 5 minutes, you will need to send a request manually. Please see How to manually request patient card details for an upcoming appointment
Can I exclude an individual patient from adding a payment method?
Yes, you can exclude an individual patient from needing to add a payment method to secure any future appointments, to do this please see How to exempt a patient from adding a payment method for their appointment
Processing Fees
- What is the processing fee for using HotDoc Payments?
- Is the fee for using Payments inclusive of GST?
- Can we pass on the processing fee to the patient?
- Will the practice be charged a fee if the patient's stored card is declined?
What is the processing fee for using HotDoc Payments?
There is a 1.75% +30c processing fee per transaction. This includes the Stripe or Pin Payments fee.
Is the fee for using Payments inclusive of GST?
Yes, any fees incurred for using HotDoc payments are GST-inclusive.
Can we pass on the processing fee to the patient?
Yes. See How do I set up my HotDoc Payments or Repeats to pass the fee on to the patient? If you are using Quick Consults, you must pass on the fee - please see Quick Consults FAQs. Please note that you should always enter the total cost of the appointment in the invoice/receipt in your practice management system (PMS).
Will the practice be charged a fee if the patient's stored card is declined?
The practice will not be charged for a declined transaction. Please note: every attempted pre-authorisation incurs a $0.35 fee regardless of success or failure.
Pre-authorisations for appointments
- How do I set up pre-authorisations for appointments?
- How long does HotDoc pre-authorise the funds for?
- What happens if a patient has insufficient funds in their account at the time of booking?
- Can we pass the 0.35c fee on to the patient?
How do I set up pre-authorisations for appointments?
You can pre-authorise payment for your appointments per appointment type in your HotDoc Dashboard. This can be done for any appointments that are booked online by the patient, or directly through your practice (eg. over the phone or reception). To set this up please see How do I enable payment pre-authorisation settings for my appointment types? Usage fees apply for pre-authorised payments for appointments and are AUD$0.35 plus GST per authorisation attempt, and will be charged to your clinic directly as part of your regular invoice.
How long does HotDoc pre-authorise the funds for?
When a patient books an appointment HotDoc will hold the funds for the appointment for 7 days unless collected prior. After this time, we release the funds and store the patient's payment method so that payment can still be collected.
What happens if a patient has insufficient funds in their account at the time of booking?
If patients do not have sufficient funds on their card at the time of booking, they will not be able to book the appointment.
Can we pass the 0.35c fee on to the patient?
When pre-authorisation is turned on for appointments, a 35c fee is charged as soon as the appointment is requested or booked and the funds are held for 7 days. If the payment isn’t collected or the pre-authorisation expires after those 7 days, the 35-cent fee is still charged to the clinic.
The fee allows us to cover the cost from our payment providers for the pre-authorisation to occur. We cannot pass this fee on to the patient because if payment isn't collected, we cannot recover the cost of pre-authorising the funds.
This feature reduces the need for costly follow-ups on unpaid accounts after appointments and is a great way to prevent bad debt. If you would like to account for the fee, we recommend incorporating it into the overall appointment cost.
Payment Provider
- What are Stripe and Pin Payments?
- How will the practice get paid?
- How can I change the frequency of the payouts to my bank account?
- We are with Stripe and we have set our preferences for a daily payout - why is the first payout taking longer?
- Can we set up payments so that Practitioners get paid out to their own bank account?
- What do I do if I want to change payment providers?
- What will the transaction look like on the patient's bank statement or banking app?
- What cards are accepted for payments?
What are Stripe and Pin Payments?
Stripe and Pin Payments are secure payment platforms, which allow HotDoc to accept a payment on your behalf. As part of HotDoc Payments, you will need to set up an account through Stripe or Pin Payments.
How will the practice get paid?
You will receive funds into your bank account from your payment provider (Stripe or Pin Payments). The frequency of payments will depend on the settings with your payment provider.
How can I change the frequency of the payouts to my bank account?
You can change this with your payment provider directly by following the instructions in the respective articles:
- For Stripe: https://stripe.com/docs/payouts#payout-schedule
- For Pin Payments: https://pinpayments.com/support/transfers/transfer-schedule
We are with Stripe and we have set our preferences for a daily payout - why is the first payout taking longer?
The first payout for Stripe has a waiting period between 7-14 days. For more info, see Stripe's support page: https://support.stripe.com/questions/waiting-period-for-first-payout-on-stripe
Can we set up payments so that Practitioners get paid out to their own bank account?
Yes. Please see How to set up individual Practitioner Payouts for Payments for more information
What do I do if I want to change payment providers?
Please contact our Support team using the green 'Support' button below and select 'Get in touch' describing your query, and our team will assist you.
What will the transaction look like on the patient's bank statement or banking app?
The Statement Descriptor is set up within your Pin Payment or Stripe account settings.
What cards are accepted for payments?
If your clinic uses Stripe, these cards will be accepted: VISA, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express, China UnionPay, Japan Credit Bureau.
If you use Pin Payments instead, these will be accepted: VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Japan Credit Bureau.
Medicare and Bulk Billing:
- How will a patient receive their Medicare Rebate?
- Does HotDoc automatically submit the Medicare Claim?
- Will patients who are eligible for Bulk Billing be sent card detail requests when booking directly with the practice?
- Do patients need to add a payment method when booking online if they're eligible for bulk billing?
- What if the practitioner decides to bulk bill the patient instead of using the private fee?
- Where can I check which patients were exempt from providing card details for their appointments?
- What do I do if the patient needs to be billed for a different consult type?
How will a patient receive their Medicare Rebate?
If using HotDoc Payments, we recommend that you charge the patient for the full amount of the appointment upfront and then send the claim electronically to Medicare using your clinical software. See How should we process a patients Medicare Rebate for appointments paid for via HotDoc? for more information.
Does HotDoc automatically submit the Medicare Claim?
HotDoc does not automatically submit the patient's claim to Medicare. You can either make an online electronic claim to Medicare on behalf of your patients in your Practice Management Software.
Or, alternatively, the patient can claim their own Medicare rebate, once you send them an invoice/receipt. See How should we process a patients Medicare Rebate for appointments paid for via HotDoc for more information.
Will patients who are eligible for Bulk Billing be sent card detail requests when booking directly with the practice?
You can set up Bulk Billing criteria to exempt patients within a certain age range from being asked to provide card details when booking directly with the clinic. We read this information from their patient file. We're unable to read concession card criteria however for these bookings. For more information and instructions on how to set this up, please see: How to exempt a patient from adding a payment method for their appointment
Do patients need to add a payment method when booking online if they're eligible for bulk billing?
You can exempt Bulk Billed patients from being requested to provide a payment method when booking via HotDoc based on their age or if they have a selected concession card. For more information and instructions on how to set this up, please see: How to exempt a patient from adding a payment method for their appointment
What if the practitioner decides to bulk bill the patient instead of using the private fee?
If a doctor decides to bulk bill a patient, HotDoc will automatically cancel the request for payment in the Dashboard. For more information about how to process an invoice in Best Practice in order to cancel the request for payment, please see: How do I cancel a HotDoc Payment?
Where can I check which patients were exempt from providing card details for their appointments?
You can check which patients were not requested to provide card details based on your bulk billing criteria in your Booking history in the dashboard and also in the appointment notes in your Practice Management Software. For more information, please see Why was a patient exempt from being sent an automatic payment request for their online or practice booked appointment?
What do I do if the patient needs to be billed for a different consult type?
If the patient requires to be billed for a larger or smaller amount than what has been estimated, you can edit the amount that the patient is charged when you capture the payment. Please see How to collect a payment for a patient's appointment for how to do this.
Managing Payment Issues
- Can I cancel a request for payment without cancelling the appointment, if the patient does not want to pay via HotDoc?
- Why does the payment status in HotDoc state "Refund Failed"?
- What if the patient has paid directly at the clinic?
- If the patient's card is declined when you attempt a charge, will HotDoc attempt to charge the patient's card again?
- Can we verify if the patient's stored card details have sufficient funds before collection?
- What do I do if the patient does not attend their appointment?
Can I cancel a request for payment without cancelling the appointment, if the patient does not want to pay via HotDoc?
Yes, you can! You can cancel a request for payment without cancelling the patient's appointment by following the steps in the below article:
Why does the payment status in HotDoc state "Refund Failed"?
When you refund a charge, funds are returned to the card originally used by the patient to collect payment. Typically a refund will succeed and appear as a credit on your customer's statement.
If the card has expired or was cancelled, the customer's bank will decline the refund and your Payment Provider will update the refund to failed. You'll need to go ahead and arrange an alternative method to refund your patient in these situations.
What if the patient has paid directly at the clinic?
If a patient has paid directly at the clinic, HotDoc will automatically cancel the request for payment in the Dashboard. For more information about how to process an invoice in Best Practice in order to cancel the request for payment, please see: How do I cancel a HotDoc Payment?
If the patient's card is declined when you attempt a charge, will HotDoc attempt to charge the patient's card again?
If the payment method is declined, we will send the patient an SMS informing them to add a new payment method. HotDoc will try the charge again 24 hours after the first charge. If we are unable to take the funds at that point, the practice will receive an email informing them of the unpaid appointment so they can phone the patient directly.
Can we verify if the patient's stored card details have sufficient funds before collection?
If 'Store a payment method' is selected, we only verify that the card is valid. We don't have the ability to check if there are sufficient funds until we actually try to make the full charge.
If 'Pre-authorise appointment cost' is selected, we will hold the estimated cost for up to 7 days, thus verifying they have sufficient funds before collection. Please note: After 7 days, this will convert to 'Card stored' where we will need to reattempt the charge upon appointment completion.
What do I do if the patient does not attend their appointment?
You can cancel or collect the payment using the instructions in this article How do I cancel or collect a payment if a patient did not attend?
Reporting & Reconciliation
- I'm new to payments. How do I use HotDoc reporting to reconcile correctly with my PMS and bank account?
- What payments are included in my HotDoc payments reporting?
- How do I generate a CSV of my payment report?
- Do we need to account for the fee when reconciling?
- How should I process a patient's receipt in my practice software for payment made via HotDoc?
- How do I reconcile payments if we use Direct to Practitioner Payouts?
I'm new to payments. How do I use HotDoc reporting to reconcile correctly with my PMS and bank account?
The Payments > Reporting section of the Dashboard allows you to reconcile your HotDoc payments to the receipts in your practice software, and the payouts made to the clinic's or the practitioner's bank account. To view our suggestion on how to use this tool, please see:
- How do I use HotDoc payments to reconcile my receipts in my Practice Management Software?
- How do I use Payments Reporting to reconcile payouts to bank accounts?
What payments are included in my HotDoc payments reporting?
Your payment activity will show all a list of all patients payments that you use HotDoc for, including Bookings, Payment Requests and Repeats.
In the Payouts section, you will see the payouts that were made to your bank account. Payouts are made up of the payments from Bookings, Payment Requests, Repeats & 'Other'. 'Other' refers to unrelated payments that you may use your payment provider account for, such as if you use your Payment Provider account across multiple different practices or something unrelated to HotDoc.
How do I generate a CSV of my payment report?
You can generate a CSV of your filtered payment report in the Payment Activity or Payouts section of Reporting. Please follow the steps in this article to see how to do this: How do I generate a CSV of my Payments Report?
Do we need to account for the fee when reconciling?
As the fee will be covered by the patient, you do not need to account for the processing fee when reconciling. You should use the 'subtotal net' amount to reconcile your payments however, as this is what you received from the patient.
If you are not passing on the fee, you would use the 'subtotal net' currently, however if you are a new user as of April 1st 2024, or you start using HotDoc Quick Consults, you will be required to enable this setting for all online payments in order to standardise the fee structure and have the simplest reconciliation experience. See how to update this setting here.
How should I process a patient's receipt in my practice software for payment made via HotDoc?
We recommend processing HotDoc payments in the patient's receipts as Direct Credit or Direct Deposit. This will allow you to keep track of all the receipts and payments that were processed through HotDoc and reconcile these payments with your HotDoc report accordingly.
How do I reconcile payments if we use Direct to Practitioner Payouts?
In the Payments > Reporting > Payment Activity and Payouts sections of the Dashboard, you can use the practitioners filter to select specific practitioners.
For our recommendation on reconciling your payments and payouts, please see:
Automatic Invoice Collection & Receipting (Best Practice Only)
- How do I enable the automatic collect and automatic receipt features? (Best Practice Only)
- How long does it take for HotDoc to automatically collect payment and automatically receipt an invoice? (Best Practice Only)
- When does the Best Practice invoice amount sync through to HotDoc? (Best Practice Only)
- HotDoc hasn’t synced an invoice amount. Can I still collect funds? (Best Practice Only)
- I have created my invoice in Best Practice. Why hasn’t the invoice amount synced through to HotDoc? (Best Practice Only)
- Can I add the Payments processing fee to the Invoice in Best Practice? (Best Practice Only)
How do I enable automatic collection and automatic receipt features? (Best Practice Only)
These features are in the Payment > Payment Setup > Account section, under Best Practice Automation. Please see How to set up and use Payment Automation for Best Practice (automatic collect and receipting) for how to set this up.
How long does it take for HotDoc to automatically collect payment and automatically receipt an invoice? (Best Practice Only)
Once you have clicked "Store" on the patient's invoice in Best Practice, it will take 10 minutes to automatically collect and receipt. This is to allow for any changes to the invoice, or avoid double charging in case the patient pays directly through your practice.
When does the Best Practice invoice amount sync through to HotDoc? (Best Practice Only)
HotDoc will sync the invoice amount from Best Practice after you click the “Store” button in Account Details. If you go to the Dashboard > Payments > Booking Activity, this amount will appear in the Charge column. It can take 5-10 minutes for this to appear. Please see How to collect a payment for a patient's appointment for more details.
HotDoc hasn’t synced an invoice amount. Can I still collect funds? (Best Practice Only)
Yes, you can manually adjust the amount to collect from the patient. Please see How to collect a payment for a patient's appointment for more details.
I have created my invoice in Best Practice. Why hasn’t the invoice amount synced through to HotDoc? (Best Practice Only)
There are a few scenarios where we are unable to sync the invoice amount.
- If you have already completed the payment in Best Practice.
- If you created more than one account for the same appointment in Best Practice.
- If the Account is not linked to a patients appointment.
Please see Why wasn't the invoice synced to the Dashboard? for more information.
Can I add the Payments processing fee to the Invoice in Best Practice? (Best Practice Only)
We recommend you do not add a line item for the processing fee, and that the receipt/invoice should always be the total cost of the appointment.