When I started work in my second dental practice in the state of Washington, I was trained by the outgoing financial coordinator and was taught all of her bad habits. I knew I had to make some changes to the accounts receivable management system since my doctor had not received a paycheck in more than three months. My Dentrix software not only helped me get a handle on my A/R, but I also created a stress-free system for billing statements. I think you will relate.
What I was taught from the former financial coordinator in the office was to send out billing statements on the last day of the month. At that time, we were sending out a couple hundred statements each month, so the time involved to sort through all these statements was exhausting. I had to first print them all, then go through each one individually. After performing this task for a couple years, I had to make a change. I didn’t like the fact that it was taking me a couple of days to sort through the statements, then the following week I would receive a load of phone calls and payments to post. This was a very inefficient, inconvenient, and stressful system.
I needed a system that was more streamlined, less time-consuming, and would create better cash flow for my office. After learning everything that my Dentrix software could do for me, I created a plan and I want to share it with you.
- I started generating and sending out billing statements on Mondays and Thursday afternoons. What this did was make sure patients were receiving a statement closer to their date of service or closer to the time their insurance paid on any claims. What I teach now is to do billing statements every day because it is so easy.
- Sending statements everyday also evened out the cash flow for the practice. This way, my doctor was not having to transfer money to cover payroll. It also evened out the phone calls I received throughout the month. Everyone was happy.
- Since I was now sending statements out daily, I was only having to sort through a few per day. This helped create a more streamlined, efficient workflow.
When I implemented this billing statement routine, the process was much more systematic, and I could make time for more important things like filling the schedule or following up with unscheduled treatment. If you would like to take a deep dive into this topic, you can take my course or join my membership of other Dentrix Superusers!
