Recording payments and the wallet

Every payment a patient makes can be recorded, whether it was taken online, by card in clinic, in cash or by bank transfer.

Recording a payment

Payments are recorded against the patient, usually linked to a treatment or booking. Online payments through Stripe are recorded automatically; payments you take in clinic you add yourself, choosing the method so your records reflect reality. Open the appointment and choose Check out, or View payment details if it is already settled.

Two things worth knowing at the till. The amount box starts filled in with the full outstanding balance, so glance at it before you press the button: pressing with the box untouched records the lot. And if you want to reduce the price rather than record money, that is a discount, not a smaller payment; apply the discount first and the balance updates, then take what is actually owed. See the article on applying a discount in clinic.

If a payment does go in wrong, it can be reversed: see the article on correcting a recorded payment.

When you take less than the visit costs

If checkout asks about the difference, choose the option to record the difference as a discount or leave it owing before taking payment. For a discount, Agreed price in clinic is preselected as the Discount reason; change it if needed and add an Internal note (optional) if useful. The payment records the amount actually taken; the discount covers the difference you confirmed. If the price changes during checkout, any extra balance stays owing. Leaving it owing keeps the visit part paid.

This choice is for treatment payments. Account credit and payments with products do not offer it. A visit with any linked invoice, including a draft, cannot use the checkout discount. Leave the balance owing, then correct the invoice. If the payment is recorded but the discount cannot be confirmed, do not record the payment again. Reload and check Discount in Treatment prices.

Account credit (the wallet)

Each patient has Account credit, shown on the Billing tab of their record and sometimes called their wallet: value they hold with you that has not yet been spent on a treatment. It is made up of top-ups they have paid, gift vouchers that have been redeemed to their account, and any credit you add by hand. Credit is spent by recording a payment with the Account credit method. Only owners can add manual credit or record account top-ups. Redeeming a gift voucher into credit needs an owner or a team member with Finance access. Loyalty points you redeem also become account credit.

A booking reservation fee is not credit. It is a payment against that appointment, and it comes off that appointment's balance when the patient attends. The Finance page shows the total of reservation fees held for future appointments so you always know how much is committed.

Choosing Account credit limits the payment to the credit available. If it only covers part of the bill, record the remainder as a second payment. Account credit cannot pay for products in the combined diary sale or be used at online booking checkout.

To record a reservation fee taken at the desk for an eligible unpaid visit, choose Take reservation fee. Record it using the method you actually took it by.

Why it helps

• You always know what a patient has paid and what they still owe.
• Booking reservation fees and account credit are visible and accounted for, not lost in your head.
• Applying credit at the point of treatment is straightforward, because the Account credit card shows exactly what is available.

Accurate payment records also feed your finance reporting, so your numbers reflect what has genuinely been taken.

If the balance cannot be checked

If you are told a payment was recorded but the balance could not be checked, do not record it again. Reload and check the payments before making another change. The same caution applies when the message says some money may already be recorded.