Requesting payments

To help prevent delays in collections, Dentrix Ascend Pay now allows you to send a text message with a link so a patient can make a payment online. You can use this functionality for such things as deposits and to allow patients to make payments on their own instead of providing credit card information over the phone. You can also use this functionality when there is not a payment device (card reader) available.

Prerequisites:

• Dentrix Ascend Pay is enabled with a Worldpay MID. The MID must already be registered for the text-to-pay feature.

• At least one lane must be set up. But after it is set up, you do not need to have physical access to the associated payment terminal (card reader) to request a payment.

To request a payment

1. How to get there

   1. If the correct patient is not already selected, use the Patient Search box to access the patient's record.

      Note: You can include inactive patients in the search results by setting the Include inactive patients switch to On.

   2. Do one of the following:

      • On the Patient menu, under General, click (or tap) Overview. The patient's Overview page opens. Click (or tap) the Ledger box.

        

      • On the Patient menu, under Financial, click (or tap) Ledger.

      The patient's Ledger page opens.

   On a patient's Ledger page, click (or tap) Payment.

   The Enter Payment dialog box appears.

   

2. Leave the current date entered in the Transaction date box, or click (or tap) in the box to select the correct date.

3. Enter the Amount of the payment.

4. From the Method list, select Credit Card Payment.

   

5. The payment amount is applied automatically to the procedure with the oldest date of service and then to subsequent procedures based on the date until the payment amount is used up. However, you can ignore how the payment is applied to procedures at this point in the process, because the Applied amount for any procedure in the procedure list will be discarded, and you will have to apply the online payment after Dentrix Ascend receives it (on the Online Payments tab of your location’s Inbox page).

6. Do one of the following:

   • If the Saved Cards option is selected, select the Lanes option, and then select Request To Pay from the corresponding list.

   • Leave the Lanes option selected, and select Request To Pay from the corresponding list.

   

7. Click (or tap) Request to Pay.

   Note: If a physical device is selected, the button to the right of the list is Process Card. If Request To Pay is selected, the button to the right of the list is Request To Pay.

   The Send Payment Request by Text dialog box appears.

   

8. Verify that the mobile number is correct. If the number is not correct or not present, get the number from the patient or guarantor, and enter it in the Phone Number box.

   Note: If you entered or changed the phone number, and want to update the mobile phone number on file in the guarantor's record, select the Update Phone Number checkbox.

9. Click (or tap) Send Payment Request.

   A message appears and states that a payment request was sent and for what amount.

   A text message is sent to the patient.

   

   Note: The link will expire 10 minutes from the time that it is sent, which means that the patient has to complete the transaction within that time period.

10. The patient taps the link in the text message.

    A summary of the payment details appears for the patient’s reference, and the options for entering credit card information appear.

    

11. The patient enters the Card Information:

    • Card Number

    • Expiration - Month and Year

    • CVV

12. Click (or tap) Make Payment.

    When the transaction is processed successfully, a message appears.

    

    Note: The patient can use this message as a receipt. Additionally, you will be able to get a receipt from the patient's ledger once the payment appears on the Online Payments tab of your location's Inbox page in Dentrix Ascend (by clicking the payment's paperclip icon in the Att. column).

    The payment automatically appears on the Online Payments tab of your location's Inbox page in Dentrix Ascend in approximately five minutes (you will be notified of the payment accordingly).

    Note: For information about applying the payment amount to posted procedures, see the topic about applying online payments to charges.

13. How to get there

    1. If you are not already viewing the correct location, select it on the Location menu.

    2. On the User menu, click (or tap) Online Payments.

       

       The Inbox page opens with the Online Payments tab selected.

    On the Online Payments tab of your location's Inbox page, select the payment's checkbox.

    

14. Click (or tap) Auto Apply.

Note: After the payment is applied to charges in the guarantor's account, you can do any of the following:

• Change how much of the payment amount is applied to each charge.

• Void or refund the payment.