Twenty minutes after the last patient
The last patient leaves at 5.30. Reception prints the day's takings report from the practice management system and the Z report from the card terminal. They do not match. Someone goes through the receipts one at a time and finds a payment taken on the terminal but recorded against the wrong patient, a deposit paid online that is not in the terminal total, and a refund done twice.
It is now after 6. The mismatch is written on a note for the practice manager.
Card terminals that batch transactions at different times, or split one day's takings across two reports, make the comparison harder still, especially at practices open into the evening or on Saturdays.
Why the numbers do not match
- Card terminals and practice systems are often not integrated.
- Online deposits, bank transfers and finance payments arrive by different routes.
- Payments are sometimes allocated to the wrong patient or appointment.
- Refunds and voids are recorded in one place but not the other.
- Cash is counted separately and recorded on paper.
What the daily mismatch costs
Reception time at the end of every day. Errors that are never fully resolved and carry into the month. Payments allocated to the wrong patient, which creates incorrect balances and confused patients. A practice manager who spends month end untangling the notes.
It also causes friction with patients. A payment allocated to the wrong family member, or a deposit that never reached the plan, shows up months later as a balance the patient insists they have paid. Sorting that out means digging back through terminal reports, which takes far longer than catching it on the day.
How we reconcile the day's payments
- Payments recorded in your practice management system are read for the day.
- Card terminal transactions are read from your payment provider, such as Stripe or your terminal provider's reports, where available.
- Online payments, bank transfers from your bank feed or accounting software, and finance provider payments are read from their sources.
- Each payment is matched to a receipt by amount, time and reference. Most match automatically.
- Mismatches are shown with likely causes, such as the same amount recorded against a different patient or a refund present in only one place.
- Cash is entered by reception on a simple screen and compared with recorded cash receipts.
- The day is closed with a record of who resolved what, and a summary goes to the practice manager.
| Mismatch | Likely cause shown |
|---|---|
| Terminal payment, no receipt | Receipt not recorded, or recorded on another day |
| Receipt, no terminal payment | Payment taken by another method |
| Same amount, different patient | Allocated to wrong patient |
| Refund in one place only | Refund not recorded in both |
Closing the day in minutes
Reception deals with a short list of real mismatches, often none. Payments allocated to the wrong patient are caught the same day, not when the patient queries a statement. The practice manager gets a clean daily record, which makes month end straightforward.
Deposits taken online for private treatment are matched to the plan they relate to, so the balance on the day of treatment is right. Finance provider payments, which often arrive as one sum covering several patients, are split and matched to each.
Is this your end of day?
- The cash-up takes a long time after the last patient.
- Takings and terminal reports often do not match.
- Mismatches are left on notes for the practice manager.
- Patients query balances caused by misallocated payments.