Cash on the mantelpiece, a cheque next time
A domiciliary podiatrist finishes a visit. The patient points to an envelope of cash on the mantelpiece. The next patient asks if a cheque is still all right. The one after that says her son will pay by bank transfer, as he did last time, or did he? The podiatrist writes it all in a notebook.
At the end of the week, someone matches the notebook against the bank statement and the diary. Some transfers have no reference. A cheque is missing. A patient seen three times has not paid for the second visit, and nobody noticed.
Why home visit payments are so untidy
- Many housebound patients prefer cash or cheques, and some have nobody to help with cards.
- Family members pay on the patient's behalf, from their own accounts, with their own references.
- Payments are recorded in a notebook or in memory, not in the clinic system.
- Bank transfers without clear references are hard to match.
- Chasing an elderly patient for money feels awkward, so it does not happen.
What it costs
Unpaid visits that nobody notices. Time spent reconciling notebooks, bank statements and diaries. Cash and cheques carried around. Families who are embarrassed to find arrears months later. And the podiatrist doing bookkeeping on Sunday evening.
| Payment route | Problem | What we build |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | Only in the notebook | Recorded on the phone at the visit |
| Cheque | Lost or not banked | Recorded, with a banking list |
| Family bank transfer | Unclear reference | Unique reference per patient, matched automatically |
| Card | No reader | Card reader or payment link |
| Unpaid | Unnoticed | Balance shown and polite reminder to the payer |
How we build home visit payments
- Each patient has a payer: themselves, a family member or someone else, with contact details and preferred method.
- At the end of each visit, the podiatrist records what was paid and how, on their phone, in a couple of taps. This syncs with Cliniko, WriteUpp or your clinic system.
- Card payments are taken with a card reader linked to your system, or by a payment link sent to the payer by text.
- Family members paying by transfer are given a unique reference per patient, and transfers are matched automatically against your bank feed in Xero.
- Cash and cheques produce a banking list, so what was collected can be checked against what was banked.
- Balances are shown on the round list, so the podiatrist knows before the visit if anything is outstanding.
- A gentle reminder goes to the payer, not the patient, for unpaid visits, with the wording and timing set by you.
Where a family member has asked to be the payer, reminders and receipts go to them, so the patient is not troubled by paperwork.
Fees that differ by distance or by visit type, such as a higher charge for a first home assessment or for patients outside your usual area, are set once and applied on the phone at the visit, so the podiatrist does not have to remember the price list at each door.
What the week looks like afterwards
Payments are recorded as they happen. Transfers match themselves. Unpaid visits show up the same week, and reminders go to the right person without awkward conversations at the door. The Sunday evening reconciliation disappears, and the podiatrist's notebook is retired.
Is this how home visit payments work for you?
- Payments are recorded in a notebook.
- Family members pay by bank transfer with unclear references.
- You carry cash and cheques for days before banking them.
- You have discovered unpaid visits weeks later.
- You avoid chasing housebound patients for money.