How to Access and Report on Applied Payments

Related Training
Applied Payments Recorded Class

Sensei Cloud's Applied Payments window enables you to view, filter, and report on the applied payment distributions. You can also print or export the report as needed.

The Applied Payments Report is an accounting of all payments received and distributed to specific transactions (and therefore specific production providers) or distributed to a specific provider.

With this report, you can identify and report on:

• Credits (especially payments) that have yet to be attributed to specific providers, so that you can take action and make sure that providers are appropriately credited from collections
• How much each provider has been credited from monies collected (or discounted/written-off) so that you can appropriately compensate your employees

To access Applied Payments:

1. From the Location or All Locations tab, select Financials > Applied Payments. The list is displayed for all providers, all payment types, all distributions, and credits entered last month by default.
   
   -- The Trans Date is the date on which the transaction was posted to the patient ledger/account.
   -- The Svc/Acc Date is the date specified when the credit was accepted (generally defined at the time of posting).
   -- The Amount is the transaction value associated with the posted credit.
   -- The Unapplied amount is the amount of the credit’s funds that are unapplied and available to distribute.
   -- The Net Applied Amount (this period) is the net sum of distributions (including reversals) associated with the credit transaction, based on distribution activity for the specified reporting period. 
   -- The Applied Details (this period) is a summary of the net distributions, per provider, for the credit during the reporting period. Note: When the credit includes distribution activity associated with a refund, this is displayed in the list as N/A Refund.
2. Use the Filter List to narrow the list of applied payments to display.
   -- Distributions made to: Select the desired providers.
   -- Distributions Made: Select the associated dates. 
   -- Credits Entered: Choose a Date Basis of Acceptance Date or Transaction Date. The acceptance date is the date that the payment was received by the practice, while the transaction date is the date the payment is actually entered in the computer. Use the Included Dates drop-down list to select a reporting period. Note: The default date basis is Acceptance Date, and the default reporting period is Last Month.
   -- Payment of Type: Select the payment types. 
   Note: They are excluded by default, but you can select to Include Discounts or Include Write-offs.
   -- Discount of Type: If Include Discounts is selected, you can select the discount types to include.
   -- Write-Offs of Type: If Include Write-Offs is selected, you can select the write-off types to include. 
   You can also select:
   -- Only Show Credits with Unapplied Funds: Filters the list of transactions to only display those that have funds that are unapplied (i.e., some of the credit's funds are available to distribute).
   -- Only Show Credits with Provider Distributions: Filters the list of transactions to only display those that have distributions directly to a provider (not based on specific debits / service charges) during the specified reporting period. 
   Tip: Click Reset to revert to the default filters, or click the icon to view more information about the filter options.
3. To save or share the report, select:
   - Export Report to export the results to a .CSV file
   - Print Applied Payments Report to create a .PDF file

*Important: It is recommended that you verify filter settings when distributing credits or generating reports to ensure the intended credits/distributions are included.

Note: Reports that are exported to .CSV files include Credit Location and Debit Location columns which list the Location Name associated with transactions (credits or debits).

Applied Payments Banner Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The following Applied Payments KPIs are displayed in the top-right of the Applied Payments window:

• # Payments (Total Amt): The number of payments and their total posted value for the payment transactions included in the report output.
• Unapplied: The sum of the unapplied funds (available to be distributed) for the payment transactions included in the report output.

The banner at the top of the window includes the following:

• Provider Distr.: The sum of the provider distributions (associated with providers) for the payment transactions included in the report output based on the specified filtering.
  Note: This does not include the reversals of provider distributions that occurred during the reporting period.
• Service Distr.: The sum of distributions made to procedure-based charges (associated with providers) for the payment transactions included in the report (based on filtering).
  Note: This does not include distribution activity for non-procedure-based debits or the reversals of distributions that occurred during the reporting period.
• Gross Distributions: The sum of the provider and service distributions associated with the payment transactions included in the report output.
• Distr. Reversals: The sum of all distribution reversals (for provider and service distributions), resulting from the removal or alteration of existing distributions, for the payment transactions included in the report output.
  Note: This does not include distribution reversals associated with discounts or write-offs, with non-procedure-based debits, with refunds, or those that occurred outside of the reporting period.
• Net Applied / Distributed: The net sum of distribution activity (for provider and service distributions associated with providers) for the payment transactions included in the report output.

The KPIs are calculated as follows: Provider Distributions plus Service Distributions equals the Gross Distributions minus Distribution Reversals equals the Net Applied / Distributed Payments.

Note:

• Non-payment credit distributions (discounts or write-offs) and refund distribution activity are never included in the KPI calculations. The following items are displayed in the report in gray italics (to indicate that they are purely informational and are not actively included in the calculations):
  -- Write-offs and discounts when enabled in the filter options.
  -- Refund distribution activity (displayed under the Applied Details (this period) column as N/A Refund next to the amount).
  -- Distribution activity associated with providers that are filtered out of the report.
• Credits that have been adjusted (e.g., Corrected or Removed) are included in the report in red italics when they contain distribution activity from the defined reporting period. Applicable provider distributions, service distributions, and distribution reversals from any of the adjusted payments are included in the KPI value calculations.
• Credits that are fully unapplied and have no distribution activity are not included (this is subject to the defined reporting period).
  Note: If the credit has distribution activity during the reporting period, but the activity sums to net zero (distributions plus equal reversals), then the credit is included in the report output, and the distribution activity is included in the KPIs, as applicable. 

Applied Payments Report Icons

The following icons may be present in the report output:

• : The credit has other, additional distribution activity outside of the reporting period. This icon only appears when the Distributions Made filter is set to anything other than All Dates (unless it is an adjusted credit). This icon is displayed in the Net Applied Amount (this period) column.
  Note: An account of the distribution activity for the selected reporting period is available by expanding the row and clicking View Distribution Detail. To view a full accounting of the credit's distribution history, you must view the distribution details in the patient ledger.
• : A provider's net distribution activity includes provider distributions (i.e., applied directly to a provider rather than a specific service item or debit) within the selected reporting period. This icon is displayed in the Applied Details (this period) column next to the applicable provider's name.
• : There has been a distribution reversal (an existing distribution has been removed or altered)
  within the selected reporting period. This icon is displayed in the Applied Details (this period) column next to the applicable provider's name.

Unapplied Payments Report

The Unapplied Payments Report is a list of payments that have been received, but not yet fully distributed to a specific transaction or provider.

To view and work with the Unapplied Payments Report from the Applied Payments window:

1. Select the Only Show Credits with Unapplied Funds option.
   -- The Unapplied column includes the amount of the credit's funds that are unapplied and available to distribute.
   -- The Net Applied Amount (this period) is the net sum of distributions (including reversals) associated with the credit transaction, based on distribution activity for the specified reporting period.
   Note: This is the overall distribution activity for the credit, including distribution reversals and distributions for any provider (i.e., the total of this credit's distributions that occurred during the reporting period).
   -- The Applied Details (this period) is a summary of the net distributions, per provider, for the credit during the reporting period.
2. Use the Filter List to narrow the list of unapplied payments to display. 
   Note: The Filter List options available are the same as in the Applied Payments mode. However, the Distributions Made to filter is automatically set to All Providers, and the Distributions Made filter is set to All Dates in the unapplied mode and cannot be changed. This is to ensure that any potential credits with unapplied / available funds are not being filtered out based on certain contextual factors.
3. To save or share the report, select:
   -- Export Report to export the results to a .CSV file
   -- Print Unapplied Payments Report to create a .PDF file

Note: Reports that are exported to .CSV files include Credit Location and Debit Location columns which list the Location Name associated with transactions (credits or debits).

Unapplied Payments Banner Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

When the report is filtered to show unapplied payments, the banner at the top of the window includes the following KPIs:

• # of Credits: The total number of credits that have any unapplied funds for the reporting period (subject to the assigned filter settings, such as types of credits to include).
• Total Amount: The sum of the transaction values for any credits (e.g., payments, discounts, and/or write-offs) that are included in the filtered list of transactions.
• Net Applied / Distributed: The net sum of distributions (accounting for distribution reversals) associated with the filtered list of transactions for the reporting period.
• Unapplied / Undistributed: The sum of the undistributed funds from the filtered list of transactions, which are available to distribute directly to providers, open services (e.g., unpaid procedures), or to open debits.

Note: Unlike in the Applied Payments mode, the calculations include transactions and associated distribution activity from all credit types (including discounts and write-offs when selected in the filter options) as well as those associated with refunds.

Since discounts and write-offs are included in the calculations for the unapplied payment KPIs, they are displayed in regular black text rather than gray italics in the Unapplied Payments Report. Distribution activity associated with refunds is still displayed in gray italics. 

Credits that have been adjusted (e.g., Corrected or Removed) are not included in the unapplied payments view, as there are no funds that are unapplied.

Tip: Click the icon to view more information about how the Applied Payments KPIs are calculated as well as descriptions of the report table columns. The information that is displayed is different if you are viewing the Applied Payments view versus the Unapplied Payments view. 

For more information, see How to Configure and Use Applied Payments. 

Sample Report