Payment Preferences
How Open Dental behaves when entering Patient Payments is based on your selected preferences and setup options.
When deciding how to set up the system, here are a few questions to think about:
Once you have an idea of how you want the software to behave, select the preferences and options in Open Dental. If you don't know where to start, see the bottom of this page for typical scenarios and examples for the following:
See our video: Entering Patient Payments Webinar.
By default, Open Dental will automatically suggest paysplits allocated to the oldest adjustment, payment plan credit, or completed procedure (and their treating provider) with a balance remaining. Below are the default settings that determine the allocation behavior.
Definitions: These definitions determine the options available as payment types and unearned types.
Account Module Preferences: These preferences determine the level of allocation and logic used for allocations, as well as several default settings.
Payments and Adjustments
Insurance
Miscellaneous
In this scenario, Open Dental will suggest paysplits allocated to adjustments, procedures or as unallocated income to be allocated later. You can additionally set whether staff is required to allocate to these charges, or have more flexibility. Here are some questions to ask, and the settings and steps we recommend based on your answers.
Do you also attach adjustments to procedures? | Recommended Settings |
---|---|
Yes: All of our adjustments (including any sales tax), must be associated with procedures too. | Enforce Valid Paysplits: Enforce Fully Enforce Valid Adjustments: Enforce Fully |
No: Some of our adjustments are not associated to procedures (e.g. sales tax, finance charges) and staff need the flexibility to create adjustments and not be required to attach them procedures. | Enforce Valid Paysplits: Auto-Split Only Enforce Valid Adjustments: Link Only |
*Enforce Fully will require staff to always allocate payments to adjustments and procedures, and require adjustments to be attached to procedures.
**Auto-Split Only / Link Only will suggest paysplits, but staff is not required to allocate payments to adjustments and procedures, or be required to attach adjustments to procedures.
Are you a New Customer or an Existing Customer? | Enter a Payment and Allocate Adjustments and Procedures |
---|---|
New Customer with a blank database. |
Suggested paysplits should be accurately allocated to the correct outstanding charges. |
New Customer with a converted database. |
Suggested paysplits should be accurately allocated to the correct outstanding charges. |
Current customer who has been allocating payments to procedures. |
Suggested paysplits should be accurately allocated to the correct outstanding charges. |
Current customer who has not allocated payments to procedures in the past, but wants to start. |
Note: Reports prior to your allocation date may be inaccurate.
|
You have the option of setting Open Dental to work as it did in version 17.2 and earlier. We only recommend this method if you have no intention of ever paying providers by income, are not concerned about the detail in your production and income reports, or you want to manually create every paysplit.
Open Dental will only suggest paysplits allocated to the procedure's treating provider. Staff can manually create splits to allocate to procedures or unearned types (unallocated), but no suggestions will be given. Only useful for small, single provider practices that do not track production or income. If you decide to track/allocate later, using this method will cause problems.
Beware: When you do not allocate payments to procedures, some reports/user queries may be useless and inaccurate.
Settings:
The system will suggest paysplits allocated to adjustments and procedures (outstanding charges) or to the default unearned type (unallocated). Staff can modify allocations, but all splits must be allocated to a procedure or unearned type. This method is often used by large or multi-clinic offices who require users to allocate all income, including adjustments, to procedures.
Account Module Preference | Select... | Why |
---|---|---|
Patient Payments Use | Any | Sets the payment's default clinic. |
Default unearned type for unallocated paysplits | Prepayment | Prepayments will default to this unearned type. |
Enforce Valid Paysplits | Enforce Fully | Requires user to allocate paysplits to adjustments and procedures or unearned types. |
Enforce Valid Adjustments | Enforce Fully | Requires user to allocate adjustments to procedures. |
Recurring charges use primary provider | Uncheck | Ensures that recurring charges use the same logic for paysplit allocations. |
Open Dental will still suggest paysplits allocated to procedures (outstanding charges) or to the default unearned type (unallocated), but staff can also make splits not allocated to procedures (e.g. splits for adjustments).
Account Module Preference | Select... | Why |
---|---|---|
Patient Payments Use | Any | Sets the payment's default clinic. |
Default unearned type for unallocated paysplits | Prepayment | Prepayments will default to this unearned type. |
Enforce Valid Paysplits | Auto-split Only | User has option of allocating paysplits to adjustments and procedures and unearned types, or only to provider. |
Enforce Valid Adjustments | Link Only | User has option to attach adjustments to procedures. |
Recurring charges use primary provider | Uncheck | Ensures that recurring charges use the same logic for paysplit allocations. |