Credit on account is money a client has paid that hasn't come off their balance yet. FrontDesk holds it for them, shows it on their record, and uses it for their next visits, or you can put it against what they owe now with Apply credit.
Where credit comes from
- A payment kept as credit. When you take a payment in Collect payment for a client who has a balance, Apply payment to outstanding balance is ticked. Untick it and the payment is "Kept as a credit toward future visits": it pays their next visit charges, and the balance stays where it is.
- A payment bigger than the balance. Whatever was more than the client owed at the time is held as credit.
Money paid for one particular visit belongs to that visit and isn't counted as general credit.
See a client's credit
Open the client and look at:
- the Billing tab: under Patient balance, "$X credit on account";
- the Payments tab (shown when online payments are set up): the balance bar at the top shows "$X credit on account".
Nothing extra shows when the client has no credit. The mobile app doesn't show credit yet.
How credit gets used
- New visits use it by themselves. When a visit is completed and its charge is captured, the charge counts the client's credit as paid, oldest payment first.
- What they already owe needs Apply credit. Credit doesn't pay a balance that was there before it by itself: a client with $100 of credit and a $60 balance keeps both until someone applies it.
Apply credit to the balance
- Open the client and go to the Billing tab (or the Payments tab).
- Press Apply credit. It only appears when the client has credit and also owes something.
- Confirm Apply $X of credit to the balance? The amount is the smaller of the credit and the balance.
The credit pays the client's oldest open charges first, then their open invoices oldest first (an invoice it pays shows the payment and moves to Partly paid or Paid). Whatever credit is left stays on account. Every apply is recorded on the payment it came from, with who applied it and when, and in the audit trail.
Who can do it: the account owner, an admin, a practice manager, or a biller. It isn't available at athena-connected locations, where athena keeps the balances.
Refunds and credit
Refunding a payment gives back money the client paid; if part of that payment's credit had been applied, the charges and invoices it paid open again and that amount goes back on the balance. Credit can't be spent twice: two applies at once, or an apply and a visit charge using the same credit, never take the same money. See Refunds and disputes.
Messages you might see
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| "This client doesn't owe anything right now, so there is nothing to apply the credit to. It stays on account for their next visits." | There's no balance to apply it to. |
| "This client has no credit on account." | The credit was used (for example by a visit charge) since the page loaded. Reload. |
| "The client's credit changed while this was being applied (a visit charge may have used it). Reload and try again." | Something used the same credit at the same moment. Nothing was applied twice. |
| "Only the account owner, an admin, a practice manager or a biller can apply a client's credit." | Your role can't move client money. |
| "athena keeps the balances at athena-connected locations, so credit can't be applied here." | The location is connected to athenahealth. |