Financial Contract

(Topic Last Updated On: 05/05/2010)

The Financial Contract menu item on the Accounting menu launches the Financial Contract screen, which is used to place patients with overdue balances on a financial contract for repayment. The patient's current balance is displayed at the top and can be overwritten if necessary. Individual payment amounts and increments can be scheduled, as well as the balance amount at which the contract expires. The Custom Contract Generator allows users to schedule non-fixed-interval repayment schedules. Available 'Consequence' selections can be customized and will appear on the generated contract hard copy that the patient should sign. Scheduled events are generated for the patient for each scheduled 'Due Date', so that flags will appear reminding accounting staff to collect the extra payment and for tracking repayment progress.

Field Descriptions

Current Balance

This field displays the patient's current balance at the time the screen was opened. The amount displayed can be overwritten in this field to accommodate unusual repayment plans.

Individual Payment Amounts

The amount of each payment to be made is entered in this field, and will be the amount due on each of the scheduled due dates.

Payment Due Every ____ Days

The increment of time between payment due dates is entered here in days.

Stop When Balance Reaches

The balance amount at which the financial contract should expire is entered in this field. $0 is the amount generally entered in this field.

Contract Start Date

The date that the first payment will be due is selected or entered in this field.

Days Remaining on Contract

Based on the entered criteria in the Automatic Contract Generator fields, the system will calculate the number of days remaining on a contract and display it here.

Payment

This field is used for generating Custom contracts, and the amount of a payment being added is entered in this field.

Payment Date

This field is used for generating Custom contracts, and the due date of a payment being added is entered in this field.

Failure to Meet Contract Obligation will Result in

The consequence for a patient's failure to follow the contract is selected here. Available selections are customizable in Code Tables, found on the Administration menu.

Show Past Dates

Checking this checkbox will show all past payment dates for the current contract.

Grid Columns

Overdue

This column displays whether or not a Financial Contract scheduled event is overdue. A checkmark in this column indicates the event is overdue.

Due Date

This column displays the date each payment is due.

Payment

This column displays the amount of each payment that is due.

Status

This column displays the current status of the each Financial Contract scheduled event.

Command Buttons

Generate

Once all Automatic Contract Generator fields have been completed and a consequence has been selected, pressing this button will generate the contract and display it in the grid on the right.

Add

Once both Custom Contract Generator fields have been completed, pressing this button will add the scheduled payment to the grid on the right.

Delete All

Pressing this button will bring up a confirmation window asking if you want to delete the current contract. Pressing Yes will delete all payment dates displayed in the grid, or the existing contract if the contract has already been saved.

Delete

Selecting a payment date in the grid then pressing this button will remove a selected payment. Once a contract has been saved in the system this button becomes disabled, and you will not be able to remove individual payment dates.

This button is only enabled if the patient has a current contract in effect. Pressing it will print the contract. However, contracts are generally printed at the time they are saved, by clicking Yes on the message box asking if you would like to print the saved contract.

Procedures

How to Generate a Fixed-Interval Financial Contract
1.) (Optional) Override the patient's balance amount to the desired amount in the 'Current Balance' field. 2.) Enter the amount the patient should pay on each due date in the 'Individual Payment Amounts' field. 3.) Enter the number of days between payment due dates in the 'Payment Due Every ____ Days' field. 4.) Enter the balance amount at which the contract will expire in the 'Stop When Balance Reaches' field. 5.) Enter the date on which the first payment will be due in the 'Contract Start Date' field. 6.) Select a consequence in the 'Failure to Meet Contract Obligation will Result in' field. 7.) Click on the Generate button. This will generate the series of scheduled events and display them in the grid. 8.) Click on the Save button. 9.) An application message will appear asking if you would like to print the contract, click on the desired response.

How to Generate a Custom Financial Contract
1.) In the Custom Contract Generator section of the screen, enter the amount of the first payment due in the 'Payment' field. 2.) In the Custom Contract Generator section of the screen, enter the date of the first payment due in the 'Payment Date' field. 3.) Click on Add. 4.) (Optional) Repeat steps 1.), 2.), and 3.) as many times as necessary until the complete contract schedule appears in the grid. 5.) Select a consequence in the 'Failure to Meet Contract Obligation will Result in' field. 6.) Click on the Save button. 7.) An application message will appear asking if you would like to print the contract, click on the desired response.

Considerations

Financial Contract and Scheduled Events

When a Financial Contract is saved the system generates a series of recurring 'Financial Contract' scheduled events for the patient. These events can be viewed, modified or completed just as any other scheduled event in the system, and can also be configured to behave differently in Scheduler Preferences.