Collecting Payments

Initial Setup

To edit Payments settings, go to Settings → Payments in NextPatient.

Whether your Payments is in “Live” or “Test” mode is controlled by your Account Manager. In order to successfully connect a Stripe or Square account with NextPatient, you should be in “Live” mode. Please contact your Account Manager to configure your account correctly so that you can connect your third party payment processor.

To set up your payment ‘blurb’, go to Settings → Payments in NextPatient and add or edit the blurbs. The blurb will appear in the payments section of the booking form once patients choose a time on the provider’s schedule:

Once your payment types are determined and the blurbs are created, you can now add the payment type and the amount to each appointment type. Go to Settings → Visit Reasons and you will see a column to the far right on the list of visit reasons. This is where you will choose what appointment type and the amount of payment required for that specific visit type:

Please ensure that all appointment types have the correct payment type selected from the drop-down and the correct payment amount on this page. Remember to hit Update to save any changes!

Types of Payments

NextPatient has the ability to collect payments in 5 different ways: charge, deposit, no-show, save card, and save card once.

Charge

Charge requires payment at the time of booking. This is for typically used when patients need to pay up-front for services.

Example blurb: “All new patients at our practice are required to pay an initial booking fee. This will only be required to reserve your booking for your first appointment.”

Deposit

Deposit also requires payment at the time of booking. This is typically used when a patient has

Example blurb: “Please understand that your appointments are personalized and limited. We have planned to have the necessary personnel, supplies, and room reserved for you. As a result of this we require a $100 non-refundable deposit to secure your appointment time. This deposit will be applied to your final cost of treatment."

No-Show

The no-show feature saves a card on file so that you can manually charge the patient that amount if they are marked as a no-show. Using this option will pre-fill a blurb that reads:

“To prevent no-shows or last-minute cancellations, we reserve the right to charge $** if you don't show up for your appointment.”

Save Card

This feature allows you to collect card information and charge the patient at a later date. The patient will be required to enter card information but will not be charged until you manually charge their card in your third party payment processor. Please visit How do I charge a card on file with Stripe? for more details on how to charge a saved card.

Example blurb: “Our office requires a credit card to be kept on file. This card will only be charged in the event of no-show, cancellation made less than 12 hours before the time of the appointment, or outstanding balance after 3 statements have been sent. We value your privacy and securely keep your payment information encrypted and stored in accordance with HIPAA guidelines. Once entered, we do not have access to your full card number information.”

Save Card Once

With this feature, NextPatient will look up the patient’s information and match them with their previously saved card so that they do not need to enter their payment information into the booking form again. This is typically used for practices with recurring appointments that are self-pay or cash pay. This way, the patient does not have to enter in their payment details each and every time they schedule their next appointment online.

Example blurb: “Please provide a credit card number so that we can charge your card for the services you receive following your visit.”

Payment Push

Although your third party payment processor collects the payment from patients, NextPatient is able to then push that paid balance into your EMR. For Nextech users, please visit Nextech - How to set up Payment Push for more information on setting up this feature.

Stripe Vs Square

NextPatient will process patient payments through a third-party processing system, either Stripe or Square. Both have the same fee structure: 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge. Typically, the fees increase if you manually enter the card information into Stripe or Square directly.

Stripe allows NextPatient to do more for you than Square does. Below shows a comparison between the two for collecting payments with NextPatient: