Simple Ways to Decrease Your Dental Office Accounts Receivable

If patients are leaving your dental office without a solid payment plan in place, you may have an accounts receivable problem. There are a few simple things you and your office staff can do to decrease your accounts receivable, allowing your dental practice to function more like a dental practice and less like a bank!

Decreasing Dental Office Accounts Receivable

Below are a few tips on how you can reduce the accounts receivable in your dental office:

• Change the way you send bills – There are a few ways you can change your billing procedures to decrease accounts receivable. First, we recommend billing after 10 or 15 days instead of waiting the customary 30 days. We’ve also found that it’s a good idea to put a due date on the bills, as people tend to prioritize bills with due dates over those without them.
• Offer discounts for payment in full or in advance – It’s a good idea to offer a special discount for those dental patients who are able to pay in advance or pay in full at the time of service. You can also offer discounts for patients who are able to pay with cash or check. This way, you won’t need to pay any merchant card fees!
• Ask for payment at checkout – Train your staff to start asking for full payment at the time patients check out. It may surprise you how many people are able to pay just by being reminded. Your staff may feel uncomfortable with this at first, but it will get easier with time and you’ll notice your accounts receivable begin to decrease.
• Hire an outside company – Lastly, if outstanding accounts receivable has become a big problem for your dental office, you may want to outsource. There are many companies who will contact your patients and request payment for you, saving you time and preventing you from looking like the ‘bad guy.’

To speak with a skilled and knowledgeable dental consultant or for more ways on how you can improve your dental practice, please contact CTC National! The success and profitability of your dental practice are important to us.