Processing Invoices

  1. From Billing > Process/Print, process according to a set schedule based on clinic volume and cash flow needs (an invoice that has not gone out the door takes longer to be paid!). This may be as seldom as monthly or as often as daily (for example, workers’ compensation invoices weekly or daily, insurance invoices weekly, company invoices monthly, etc.).
  2. Print the HCFA 1500 Preprocess Audit report to check for errors prior to producing 1500 Claim Form (HCFA) invoices. Correct any errors found before proceeding. Invoices with errors that cannot be corrected can be excluded from processing until they can be corrected by selecting the Invoice screen’s Exclude from Processing option. This report can also be run daily during the month to assure that 1500 Claim Forms are in order.
  3. If you want a fresh marketing message on your non-1500 Claim Form (HCFA) invoices, go to File Maintenance > Report Library, pull up the report titled Standard Invoices and change the statement message.
  4. Leave the Invoice Status option set on Status O and R, and select a Charges Service Thru date. If you wish, also specify the type of invoices if you don’t want to process them all (for example, all workers’ compensation). Use Location ID only if you keep all your billing separate by location and each location proves its balance independently.
  5. Select the Preprocess Report button. Examine this report carefully. The total for unreconciled activity prior to the Charges Service Thru date you selected should be zero. If it is not, one or more patients have failed to reconcile transactions. Have the people who did not reconcile do it now before you continue. Then check the Preprocess Report again to verify that there are no remaining unreconciled dollars. Now notice if any detail prints below the selected totals. If it does, this is reporting any activity past the Charges Service Thru date. This section contains invoices that will not be processed because one or more items on the invoice fall outside the Charges Service Thru date. If an invoice appears here that you wish to process, you will have to remove (void) the charges that are outside the date range and put them on a different invoice. Continue to print the Preprocess Report until the Unreconciled activity total is zero and you are satisfied that all desired invoices are included. The Grand Total from the Preprocess Report is the amount that will be processed.
  6. Leaving the selection criteria exactly the same as they were for the Preprocess Report, select Process.
  7. When the Process Report Of New Activity prints, verify that the total matches the Preprocess Report. If there is any difference, you either did not match the Preprocess Report selections exactly (check at the top of the two reports) or you had a computer system failure sometime during the processing and should call Customer Support.
    Note: It is imperative that at least once a month you process everything (leave Resp Party blank) or you may inadvertently skip some category and fail to send out all your bills.
  8. Consider printing the following reports after processing:
    • Monthly Process Summary: this report is often given to the Finance department.
    • Aged Accounts Receivable: for management and collection efforts. Make a note of the total outstanding A/R amount, as you will need this dollar amount for the next month end.
    • Analysis of Processing: to track productivity.