Technology has advanced rapidly, and payment means and formats have also changed for businesses and consumers. In many ways, this can be an advantage for a dental practice. But it can also be a challenge. For making payments, a consumer may find it simple and convenient to use new-age digital payment options such as dental EFT payments.
For the dental team, however, such payment options bring a lot of documentation along with them. The team needs to follow processes to ensure that documentation and reconciliation are properly followed and completed so that all receivables and dues are properly accounted for.
A dental practice can get dental EFT payments or electronic funds transfers from an insurance company as well as from the patient. These payments are directly credited to the bank account of the practice. The dental team needs to ensure that all EFTs are properly accounted.
As is well known, EFTs are a safe, low-cost, and viable alternative to regular cheque or card payments. In some cases, some payers also use virtual credit cards to lower any administrative costs. This means of payment comes at a price for a dental practice, as they need to pay additional merchant fees. On the other hand, payments received through EFTs cost much less,
Accountability is very important, and the team needs to work to avoid any financial complications or errors from occurring through regular reporting and transparency in communication with the insurance company and the patient.
The American Dental Association has issued an EFT implementation checklist for dental practices. The highlights and benefits of EFTs are outlined as well, and steps to get started are explained. This includes an implementation plan to complete training, software requirements, banking arrangements, and getting enrolled with insurance companies.
Trace Number and Deposit Date in the insurance portal before posting
The dental team needs to check with the insurance portal for two elements before ticking off a claim from the pending list and posting it on the software system as paid. They are as follows:
Trace number: This is a unique number that is linked to a particular deposit amount
Deposit date: The date when the EFT was deposited into the bank account of the dental practice
Once the team has confirmed these two indicators in the insurance portal, one can be assured that the dues that the insurance company owes the practice have been deposited into the practice’s bank account. The amount and date of the transaction will be displayed. The team can then close the claim once payment is confirmed.
There can be times when the dental team might not be able to view posted insurance payments, even when done. The team, however, must not post the payment to the dental
software system until one is certain that the funds have entered the bank account of the practice.
Balance EFTs weekly rather than daily is adequate.
This is a simple but vital task that needs to be done by the assigned dental team. Balancing EFTs received by the practice is simple. One needs to ensure that all values in the dental software system, bank account, and insurance portal match to the last cent. This means that the amount paid by the insurance company is reflected everywhere.
When it comes to making payments, a few insurance companies might deposit one large payment on a certain day of the week. The team can then decide on a particular day when all payments of the week are balanced and confirmed. Any discrepancies that arise can be addressed by the dental team immediately.
Even if insurance companies pay on a random basis, it makes more sense for the dental team to define a particular day to balance all payments received in the past week. The team must ensure that this dedicated day for balancing EFTs and deposits without interruption is a great way to keep accounts organized.
While balancing your EFTs and deposit reconciliation is simple, the task can be cumbersome and time-consuming. The team must concentrate on the job and not lose focus.
It has been observed that some insurance companies might stagger payments across the week or in lots. Hence, it makes more sense for the team to reconcile and balance payments weekly. Thus, a weekly schedule of checking and balancing can help make the process smooth.
It has been observed that some dental practices post insurance payments received by payers into the Dental Practice Management System while simultaneously balancing all EFTs and deposits on the same day.
Ideally, this kind of process is not recommended as it can get confusing for the team to switch back and forth between various web portals. This also needs to be done by inputting numbers. It could also be possible that an insurance company can make transactions across different bank accounts of the dental practice, and this can lead to errors.
Hence, the team must ideally post all payments received by insurance companies on a particular day of the week. Hence, balancing bank accounts with the dental software system as well as the insurance portal is the optimal way to ensure that everything matches up.
As per data from the American Dental Association, nearly a third of dental practices have been embezzled at least once. This can be of grave concern for a practice, and with the lack of accountability or transparency, a practice may not realize that remittances are being allocated correctly. A dedicated team at the practice can lower this risk if there are checks and balances in place at the practice.
There is a possibility that an insurance company provider might transfer funds incorrectly into the account. The dental team must immediately detect the inaccuracy. It must then rectify and redistribute such funds properly. This can happen when processes are followed at the practice.
The practice can outsource the critical task of billing and collection to Capline Dental Services. This will help alleviate the staff at the practice and enable them to focus more effectively on managing patients. Capline Dental Services can handle all queries and ensure that all payments and dues are accurately reconciled.
The dental team must ensure to follow all processes outlined for EFT and deposit reconciliation. The team must ensure that all payments made to the practice are reconciled promptly and accurately.
