When you use the Collections Manager to generate a list of patients with overdue balances, there may be times when you need to set up a payment agreement with the patient. A payment agreement is a financial arrangement you set up with patients in which they agree to pay off their balance through regular payments instead of in one lump sum.

From the Collections Manager you can set up and track payment agreements, amounts, and due dates; print payment coupons; and even set up interest rates for the agreement. Because payment agreements are set up by guarantor and not by patient, Dentrix allows only one payment agreement per account.

1. From the Collections Manager list, double-click the patient you want to set up an agreement with. A message appears asking if you want to create a payment agreement for the patient. Click Yes to set up the agreement and open the Billing/Payment Agreement Information dialog box.
   
2. Use the drop-down list to select an Interval at which the payments should be made.
3. Click Agreement Templates to choose the settings for the agreement from the list of options. To learn how you can set up your own templates, read this past tip.
   Note: Selecting a payment agreement template will automatically fill in the Annual Finance Charge, Annual Late Charge, Minimum Late Charge, Grace Period, and Minimum Balance to Charge fields for the agreement.
4. The patient’s outstanding balance appears in the Total Agreed Amount field. Edit the amount as needed for the agreement.
5. In the First Payment Due field, enter the date the first payment for this new agreement is due.
6. Enter the dollar amount for each payment in the Payment Amount field. Dentrix will automatically calculate the # of Payments based on this amount.
7. Click Print to print a truth in lending disclosure statement, amortization of payments and finance charges, and/or a coupon book for the scheduled payments.
8. You can update the patient’s billing type (if needed) by selecting an option from the Billing Type drop-down list.
9. Click OK to save the payment agreement and return to the Collections Manager list.

Additional Information

• You can also set up a payment agreement from the Ledger by clicking the Billing/Payment Agreement button or from the Family File by double-clicking the Account/Billing Type group box.
• Dentrix calculates the total number of payments necessary and puts that number in the Total # of Payments field. Conversely, you can enter the number of payments and have Dentrix calculate the Payment Amount of each payment.
• The Truth in Lending Disclosure Statement lists the terms of the agreement. It includes the annual percentage rate, finance change amount, total amount financed, and total amount paid at the end of the agreement.
• The Amortization of Payments and Finance Charges is a schedule listing the interest accrued on the remaining balance for each payment interval.
• The Coupon Book for Scheduled Payments is a group of payment remittance coupons for the patient. Select the check box for Pre-Printed Form to print the information on pre-printed coupons. Select Plain Form to print the form and information on blank coupons.