Payments

Information about Payments in Billing

Filters

filters system based on selected entries from list

Billing / Payments Inputting CAS Adjustment Codes

When posting payments, the “Adjustments” button allows users to enter CAS Adjustment codes into that field.

Please note, for Change Healthcare users, spaces will be removed from CAS segments when submitting secondary claims.

To do so:

  1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Billing
  2. Click the checkbox next to the code(s) to apply payments to
  3. Click Bulk-Apply Payments at the top of the grid
    • The “Adjustments” field is located at the top of the “Apply bulk payments” page These standardized codes are not in CentralReach. It is recommended to search “CAS Adjustment Codes” to review the list and input those codes into the “Adjustments” field.

Billing / Payments Reconciling a Payment with a Mismatched Reference

When trying to reconcile a payment, an error will appear if there is a mismatched reference on a claim. The error means that the reference on the payment does not match the billing entry.

To reconcile a payment with a mismatched reference in a claim:

  1. Click the blue hyperlink on the ERA and select View Billing Entry
  2. Verify the billing entry is correct. If correct, click reconcile from ERA.
  3. If it is incorrect, follow the steps below:
    • Manually post the payment
    • Post the payment as an electronic payment with the check number from the ERA payment as a reference number.
      • Putting the check number in the reference field will link it to the ERA, so that it will show completely.
    • The payments without the “!” can be reconciled normally. Be sure to uncheck the payments you are manually posting.

Billing / Payments How to View Client Payment History

Users with the following permissions can view client payment history to reference and provide clients with a copy of their payment history:

  • (Billing > Access): basic access to the Billing module for creating timesheets
  • (Payments > Access): access to the payments screen
  • (Billing > Manage Timesheets): manage timesheets on behalf of other employees and clients in their network. This includes converting appointments, being able to add/edit timesheets of others, see billed rates, as well as override authorization overbilling and grace period restrictions

There are two ways to view the history of client payments.

To view client payment history from the Billing module:

  1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Payments
  2. Click the calendar icon to filter for a desired date range
  3. Record the payment reference number(s) in the “Reference” column 
    • Click the + icon on the left-hand side of the payment for billing entry details
  4. Navigate to the Billing screen in the Billing module
  5. Enter the reference numbers in Search billing entries at the top of the screen to filter for all entries associated with that payment
  6. After populating those entries, users can generate and print a billing statement that acts as a receipt

To view the history of client payments from the Billing widget:

  1. Navigate to the Contacts module and select Clients
  2. Choose a client to be directed to their Dashboard
  3. The Billing widget will contain the last payments added by the client
  4. Select View Entries in “Billing Overview” 
    • Or, click Activity and then Details
  5. The following window contains the billing entry in the Billing screen of the Billing module

Billing / Payments Search for Transactions in the Reconcile Payment Screen

Search for transactions, using billing labels or payment reference numbers in the Reconcile Payments screen in the Billing module.

To search for transactions:

  1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Reconcile Payments
  2. In the search bar, enter the billing label name or the payment reference number to filter transactions
  3. Click the value or keywords in the search results drop-down that matches your search criteria
  4. The filter will be added on top of the screen and applied to the transactions displayed
  5. Click the x on the filter to remove the filter

Billing / Payments Posting Payments: Bank Deposit and Payment Reconciliation

CentralReach allows you to reconcile your bank deposits to the payments posted to billing entries.

To reconcile your bank deposits to payments posted:

  1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Reconcile Payments
  2. A bank account must be added to CentralReach to be able to reconcile payments. To add a new bank account to CentralReach, proceed as follows. Otherwise, continue to step 3 below
    • Click the funnel icon on the top left corner to open the left-hand side panel to expand the Labels, Filters, and Accounts tabs
    • Click the Accounts tab
    • Click the gear icon and then the +
    • Complete the form
      • Name: enter your bank account name
      • Reference: enter your account reference number
      • Click Save
  3. Click Batches
  4. Click + UPLOAD BATCH on the top right corner
  5. Complete the Import Batch form
    • Click the link download a template of the required import format file, to download a CSV file to be completed with the bank deposit details
      • Open and complete the template
        • Deposit Date: the date when the deposit was made to your bank account
        • Transaction date: the date the funds were received
        • Description: additional details about the deposit
        • Reference: posted payment reference number. This value must be equal to the reference number of the payments posted on the billing entries for the deposit, in order to reconcile the deposit to the posted payment in CentralReach
        • Amount: total deposit amount
        • Payer: name of the payor who made the payment
      • Save the file to your computer
    • On the Import Batch form, complete the following:
      • Account: select the bank account name. If there are no bank accounts, go to step 2 above to add your bank accounts to CentralReach
      • Batch Name: enter the name of the batch list
      • Date Range (optional): click to select the batch start and end dates
        • Please note, batches will not save if the start date occurs after the end date, the end date occurs prior to the start date, or one date is left empty
      • Upload File: click + Choose File
        • Select the file saved in your computer
    • Click Perform Upload
  6. Click View Transactions to go to the transactions page and reconcile the deposit to your billing entries
    • Click the right arrow > icon to view all of the billing transactions payments posted with the reference number included in the batch file of the deposit
    • Under the Candidate Payments section, click the checkbox next to the billing entries you are reconciling the deposit to
    • Click Reconcile Selected. Once done, the transaction selected will be moved from the Candidate Payment section on the left-hand side, to the Reconciled Payments section on the right-hand side
      • To un-reconcile the payment, click the checkbox next to the reconciled payment, and click Unreconcile selected
  7. The reconciled transaction will be added to the Payments table, with the total amount reconciled for the reference number

Click here to learn how to download the Reconcile Payments export report.

Billing / Payments How to Bulk Void Payments

To correct errors related to a reference number, incorrect posting dates, or other general errors, the bulk void payments feature can be a valuable tool.

To bulk void payments:

  1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Payments
  2. Click the checkbox  next to each payment you want to void
  3. Click the  Void Payments button on the top of the page
  4. Enter in a reason for the void, click the checkbox  next to I’m sure, then click Void Payments

Billing / Payments Bulk Apply Payments

To post payments in bulk in the “Billing” grid:

  1. Navigate to the Billing module and select Billing
  2. Check the billing entries that payments are being applied to
  3. Click Bulk Apply Payments
  4. On the top of the screen:
    • Enter the payment Date
    • Select the Payment type
    • Optionally, click to attach a Resource file to the payment
    • Enter the Reference number
    • Optionally, add any Notes
  5. Complete the information for each client:
    • In the “Apply Payments” column, there are two Owed  payment type drop-downs:
      • Click the Owed  drop-down in the column header to apply a payment type to all of that client’s service lines
      • Click the Owed  drop-down in each service line to apply a payment type to each individual service line
    • Select from the drop-down:
      • Owed: apply the payment to the amount in the “Owed” column of the billing entry
      • Owed – Patient Responsibility: apply the payment to the amount in the “Owed” column minus the amount in the “PR Amt.” of the billing entry
      • Patient Responsibility: apply the payment to the amount in the “PR Amt.” column of the billing entry
      • Zero: zero out the payment(s) for this client

    • Click the comment  icon to enter notes pertaining to the payment
    • Select a payment method in the “Select” drop-down, under the “Apply Payments” section, displayed within each client service line and click Charge

  1. Click Apply Payments
  2. Billing entries will now be updated to “paid” (green) in the billing grid

Billing / Payments The Difference Between “Charge” and “Apply Payments”

When bulk applying payments, there are two options, Charge and Apply Payments. The difference between Charge and Apply payments is:

  • Charge: applies all payments for just one client
  • Apply Payments: applies all payments for all clients on the page

Billing / Payments Pre-Billing For Services

If clients want to pay in advance for services, use the pre-bill feature. The first step is to create a new service code that will only be used when pre-billing clients. This will make it easier to find services that have been pre-billed later on.

The next step is to attach a fee schedule to the code. Make sure the fee schedule is set to $0, so you can manually enter an amount after generating a timesheet.

Now that you have your pre-billing code set up, the next step is to create a new timesheet:

  1. Navigate to  Billing and select  Add New Timesheet
  2. In the Client section, choose the client that is paying in advance
  3. In the Provider section, add an admin employee or any employee that is salaried. This is to prevent the service from being included in payroll
  4. Select the service code and finish filling out the timesheet
  5. Click Save

Once the timesheet is saved, you will need to enter the pre-billed amount:

  1. In the  Billing module, click the  icon next to the timesheet you created above
  2. Select a payment date, payor, payment type, and add a reference number. We recommend that you add a note like “$___.00 paid upfront,” so you will know what this payment was later on

After the payment has been added, the Owed column will display the overpayment in red, reflecting the prepaid amount.

  • Let’s say you provide services to the client on 6/8 and the client now owes $200. To correctly apply this payment, expand the pre-paid timesheet entry, and the actual service timesheet, then add a payment of $200 to each entry. A recommended best practice is to keep the reference numbers the same for easier tracking between the payments
  • As you deduct the amount owed from multiple entries, make sure to deduct the same amount from the credit, until the pre-paid amount reaches $0
    • Keep in mind, applying a positive amount will decrease the amount owed, and a negative will increase it. While the amount paid to the actual date of service will be positive, the amount deducted from the pre-billing entry will be negative. Applying payments to the actual timesheet, as well as the pre-billing timesheet, allows billers to track between multiple payments while ensuring that the receivable amounts remain accurate