How to Apply Pre-Payments

Pre-payments are a type of Applied Payments that enable you to apply credits to a particular provider before charges are posted. For payroll purposes, this is useful if you pay providers based on the reporting period in which funds are collected, or if you collect partial payments before treatment is completed. Pre-payment credits are distributed directly to providers instead of open charges.

Important: Insurance payments and balance adjustments, such as discounts and write-offs, cannot be distributed as pre-payments.

To apply a Pre-Payment:

1. From the Post New Payment window, enter the payment information and click Post Payment. 
2. From the Patient tab, select Financials > Ledger.
3. Select a payment to view the details.
   
4. Select Apply as Pre-Payment. The Apply as Pre-Payment window is displayed with the payment amount and current distribution details listed at the bottom.
   
5. In the Amount Paid column for the Provider being credited, enter the amount being distributed to the provider. 
   Note: You can distribute to multiple providers as needed. The distribution details are adjusted automatically.
6. Click Save.

Redistribute Pre-Payments

You can modify pre-payment distributions at any time, and redistribute them to specific charges once treatment is completed. When applying a credit, the presence of any pre-payment distributions is displayed in the Apply [Credit] window and can be quickly reviewed (View Pre-Payments) or removed (Clear Existing Pre-Payments) to free up those funds for distribution to open charges.

Note: Sensei Cloud creates a record of all changes to distributions. Off-setting distribution records ensure that a credit is not overdistributed, and that providers are not paid twice with the same money. When you select Clear Existing Pre-Payments, those distributions to providers are removed, and those funds become available to be distributed toward procedural charges or other debits. Reverse distributions to the providers are created to ensure collections records are accurate. Providers associated with any debits, such as completed work, are then credited with any new distributions.

Distribution Details

To view pre-payment details and related adjustments, select the payment in the ledger and click
View Distribution Detail. 

Accessing and Reporting on Prepayments

To view a list of prepayments and generate a report:

1. From the Location tab, select Financial > Applied Payments. The Applied Payments window is displayed, listing all providers and credit types, all credits earned, and all distributions for the current month.
2. Select Only Show Credits with Pre-Payments. 
3. Use the Filter List to narrow the list as needed.
4. Select Export Report or Print Applied Payments Report.

For more information, see How to Access and Report on Applied Payments.