Trying to use the payment plan functions
Is there any way to include an administrative fe for in house financing?
Payment plans
Re: Payment plans
Before we try and answer this one, it'd be helpful to understand how the fee is structured.
Is it a one time admin fee?
When is it charged?
Is it a flat fee regardless of the principal loan amount or is it a percentage of the loan amount?
Are you charging interest on your payment plans?
There are also some legal considerations regarding full disclosure with regards to loans. I'm not an expert in this matter, however there may be a little research needed into the legality of this setup if you haven't already considered that.
Is it a one time admin fee?
When is it charged?
Is it a flat fee regardless of the principal loan amount or is it a percentage of the loan amount?
Are you charging interest on your payment plans?
There are also some legal considerations regarding full disclosure with regards to loans. I'm not an expert in this matter, however there may be a little research needed into the legality of this setup if you haven't already considered that.
Entropy isn't what it used to be...
Arna Meyer
Arna Meyer
Re: Payment plans
I charge a flat 5% fee to all in house payment plans. we break up the payment into 4 equal payments automatically billed to a cc on file.
Re: Payment plans
We do payment plans like this...and are very clear about the extra fee. We use an excel sheet to easily calculate payments and fees, and then type in those numbers to OD to make sure it matches.
For example: Procedure is $100
Option 1: Pay in advance and save 5%
Option 2: Pay 30% to begin, then 3 additional monthly payments of 100-30%/3.
Option 3: Pay 40% to begin, then 5 additional monthly payments of 100-40%/5.
To both option 2 and 3, we add a flat 3% as an administrative fee - specifically this is the amount we calculated that our credit card processing company charges to hold and automatically process the card as well as the miniscule time our staff needs to track and input payments into the system. So we show patients if they use the payment plan options, their new balance is $103, not $100.
There is no interest or anything, we're not providing loans or checking credit so theres no legal issues - just splitting up cost into payments. No penalty fees or late fees (a risk we are okay takin and have never had a problem with).
You do have to watch because over 6 month period a patient may have a new credit card issued and so you have to update their information, this is sometimes a hassle but patients are apologetic and very willing to provide new information over the phone.
For example: Procedure is $100
Option 1: Pay in advance and save 5%
Option 2: Pay 30% to begin, then 3 additional monthly payments of 100-30%/3.
Option 3: Pay 40% to begin, then 5 additional monthly payments of 100-40%/5.
To both option 2 and 3, we add a flat 3% as an administrative fee - specifically this is the amount we calculated that our credit card processing company charges to hold and automatically process the card as well as the miniscule time our staff needs to track and input payments into the system. So we show patients if they use the payment plan options, their new balance is $103, not $100.
There is no interest or anything, we're not providing loans or checking credit so theres no legal issues - just splitting up cost into payments. No penalty fees or late fees (a risk we are okay takin and have never had a problem with).
You do have to watch because over 6 month period a patient may have a new credit card issued and so you have to update their information, this is sometimes a hassle but patients are apologetic and very willing to provide new information over the phone.