Setting Up a Contract

You can use the Ctrl+C shortcut to set up a contract.

To set up a contract:

From the patient chart, select Functions > Financial Functions > Contracts and Payment Plans. The Financial Functions — Contracts and Payment Plans window is displayed.
Select a contract type from the Description drop-down list.

Staff members with security access can also add a new contract template by selecting Add from the drop-down list. For information on modifying this list, see Contract Types.

You can automatically create an insurance claim when you enter a contract description code. See Creating a Claim When Entering a Contract.

In the Contract Total field, type the full contract amount before discounts (includes the responsible party portion and insurance carrier portion, if applicable). If there is more than one responsible party or insurance carrier, only the Contract Total field is populated. Press Tab.

If the contract template includes amounts, and if the account has one responsible party, the fields are automatically populated with the values assigned in the template.

If you make a mistake at any time while entering contract information, click Restart to return to the Contract Total field, and enter the information again.

The total contract amount is displayed next to the first responsible party listed in the Responsible/Insurance section. If the first responsible party is paying the entire contract amount, press Tab.
If the contract template includes amounts, and if the account has more than one responsible party, you must manually enter these values.
Contract is selected by default. You can use the mouse or the down arrow to select Payment Plan, if necessary. See Setting Up a Payment Plan for more information.

In the Initial Fee field, type the amount of the contract that is due on the initial fee due date. Press Tab.
The initial fee is immediately due upon activation of the contract.

You can press either % or / + <ENTER> to calculate the initial fee of a contract or adjustment amount

In the Payment Amount field, type the payment amount (to be paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually). Press Tab.
The software calculates the payment amount for you if you leave this field blank and enter the total number of payments in the Num. of Payments field. The software populates the Payment Amount field automatically.

In the Num. of Payments field, type the number of payments. Press Tab.
If you entered a payment amount, the software calculates the number of payments for you.

In the Init. Fee Due Date field, type the date the initial fee is due to be paid or click the Calendar icon and select a date from the calendar. Press Tab.

The initial fee due date determines when a contract becomes active. If the initial fee due date is the same as your computer's date, the contract is activated, and the initial fee amount is applied to the current balance when you post the contract. Setting the initial fee due date to a date later than your computer's date gives the contract a Pending status. Pending contracts are activated by changing the initial fee date, by posting a procedure that has been designated to activate a contract, or by the roll program.

You cannot enter a past date as an initial fee due date. You must use either the current date or a future date.

In the Cont. Start Date field, type the date that the first contract charge should be applied. In a single-due-date system, the date defaults to the roll date for the next month. In a multi-due-date system, the date defaults to one month from the initial fee due date.

If you want to accept the default payment term of Monthly, press Tab. The Spread button is selected. Press Tab. The Post Transactions button is selected.

If you need to select a different payment term for the contract, while still in the Cont. Start Date field, use the mouse or a hot key (Alt+Q, Alt+S, Alt+A) to select a new payment term. Press Tab. The cursor immediately moves to the Post Transactions button.

Press Tab or click the Post Transactions button.
If you selected the Prompt for Contract Payment Coupons option in the System Options window in System Maintenance, the software asks if you want to print contract payment coupons. To print coupons, click Yes. The Print Setup window is displayed. Click OK.
You can print coupons at a later date by selecting Reports > Contract > Coupons in the patient’s Contracts and Payment Plans window or Reports > Financial > Coupon Books from the main menu. For more information, see Printing Coupon Books.

The following options are displayed:

To enter a start date if you have not entered a date previously, click Yes when prompted and type the start date in the field.

If a start date is present but you do not have an estimated completion date, click Yes when prompted and type the estimated completion date in the field.