Cheques, insurance, and family accounts, without the mess
A father brings in three children for check-ups and pays with a cheque dated the end of next month. One child's treatment is partly covered by insurance. The mother had a filling last week and still owes half.
That's an ordinary Tuesday in many clinics here. None of it is unusual, and all of it is easy to lose track of when it lives in a notebook, a drawer, and somebody's memory.
Treat a cheque as a promise, not as cash
A post-dated cheque is money you'll probably get, on a date that isn't today. The mistake is to count it as paid the moment it's in the drawer. Then it bounces, and the invoice that looked settled is suddenly open again, weeks later.
A cheque goes through clear stages, and it helps to track every one:
- Pending collection. You're holding it, and the date on it hasn't arrived yet.
- Awaiting clearance. You've deposited it, and the bank hasn't confirmed it.
- Cleared, and the money is really yours. Or bounced, and the invoice it was paying is open again.
While a cheque is still on its way, the invoice it pays should say so. "Awaiting clearance" is an honest status: not unpaid, not paid either. And if a bounced cheque turns out to be a bank error, you should be able to restore it rather than enter it all over again.
A few habits make cheques far less stressful:
- Record a cheque the day you receive it, with its number and date.
- Set a reminder for its cash date, so it doesn't sit in the drawer past it.
- Review pending cheques once a week, on the same day.
- When one bounces, call the patient the same day, while it's fresh for both of you.
Insurance: two payers on one invoice
When insurance covers part of a treatment, the invoice has two payers: the patient and the insurer. They pay on different days, by different means, and they need different follow-up.
- Record the insurer on the patient file at the first visit. Not at the desk after treatment, when the patient is already leaving.
- Put the coverage on the invoice. As a percentage or as a fixed amount, whichever matches the policy. The patient should know their own share before they pay.
- Record insurance payments separately. When the insurer's transfer arrives, it goes against their share, not mixed into the patient's.
One more thing catches clinics out: patients change insurers. When that happens, old invoices should keep the insurer they were issued under. Otherwise last year's numbers quietly stop adding up.
Families: one payer, many patients
Often one parent pays for the whole household. The children are separate patients with separate charts, but the money comes from one place.
Group them as a family with a family head. Each person keeps their own record, and on each invoice you choose which family member pays. The father who settles everything at the end of the month sees his own balance clearly, instead of five scattered ones.
If you give families a discount, decide it once. A family discount preset applies the same rule to everyone in the household, so the receptionist isn't making it up at the desk each time.
Credit and refunds without the notebook
Patients overpay. They round up, they pay ahead for the next stage of a treatment, or a cheque clears for more than the invoice it was meant for. That money belongs to the patient, and it should be recorded as theirs.
Keep it as credit in the patient's wallet. Use it on their next invoice, or refund it if they ask. Either way, it's on record, not on a sticky note that says "owes Mrs. Haddad ₪150".
A weekly routine, and where Naab fits
Once a week, take fifteen minutes with the person who handles the money:
- Which cheques are due this week, and which are still waiting to clear?
- Did any bounce, and has the patient been called?
- Which insurance shares are still unpaid?
- Which families have an open balance?
Naab is built for exactly this. Cheques move from pending collection to awaiting clearance to cleared, or to bounced and back with a restore, and their cash dates show up as reminders. Invoices waiting on a cheque sit in their own "awaiting clearance" status. Insurance coverage goes on the invoice as a percentage or an amount, insurance payments are recorded separately, and changing a patient's insurer leaves old invoices as they were. Families have a head, you choose who pays, and discount presets apply to the household. Overpayments become wallet credit you can spend or refund.
Cheques and insurance are on Professional and above. See it all on the Money & Operations page, or check the plans.