Online Payments (with CareStack Pay)
Providing convenient online payment options is an important part of creating a modern and patient-friendly financial experience. Digital payment tools allow patients to pay balances quickly and securely, whether they are in the office, at home, or responding to a follow-up message.
Why Digital Payment Workflows Matter
Digital payment tools are more than a convenience feature, they are essential tools for improving financial efficiency and protecting revenue.
When your team consistently utilizes online payment options, your practice can:
| 1 | Increase post-visit collections |
| 2 | Reduce aging balances |
| 3 | Minimize manual follow-up calls |
| 4 | Improve patient convenience |
| 5 | Provide transparent financial tracking |
By offering multiple digital payment options, practices make it easier for patients to pay promptly while maintaining accurate financial records.
Online Payments via Office Website
Many practices also provide a payment option directly on their website. This allows patients to submit payments at any time without needing a text link or statement.
Office Website Payment Link
When using the website payment link, patients can enter their preferred payment amount and provide identifying information so the payment can be matched to their account.
Required fields:
First Name, Last Name
Date of Birth
Phone number or email
Providing accurate information allows the system to automatically post the payment to the correct patient ledger and generate the appropriate receipt.
Accepted Digital Wallet Options
To increase convenience and speed, many website payment links also support digital wallet payments, including:
| New Payment | Apple Pay | Google Pay |
These payment methods allow patients to complete transactions quickly using stored payment credentials on their mobile devices.
Tracking Website Payment Link Transactions
Transactions submitted through the website payment link can be monitored within the Patient Payments Grid.
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Navigate to: Patient Payments Grid → Payment Link Transactions |
This section allows staff to review submitted payments and verify that they have been correctly applied to patient accounts.
Handling Receipt Mismatches
In some cases, a receipt may not be automatically generated if the patient enters identifying information that does not match the system records.
If this occurs:
Identify the correct patient account.
Manually generate and attach the receipt to the appropriate record.
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Best Practice: Encourage patients to enter their first name, last name, and date of birth exactly as they appear in the system to prevent mismatches. |
Topics Covered
Online Payments via Statement Pay
Statement Pay provides another convenient option for patients to resolve balances after receiving a billing statement.
Statement Pay
When patient statements are generated and sent, they include either:
A QR code, or
A direct payment link
Patients can scan the QR code or click the link to access the Statement Pay page, where they can securely submit their payment online.
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Best Practice: Integrate Statement Pay into your structured aging follow-up process to make it easier for patients to resolve outstanding balances. |
Topics Covered
Patient Portal Payments
The Patient Portal offers patients a self-service platform where they can review financial details and submit payments independently.
Accessing Portal Payments
Within the Patient Portal, patients can navigate to the Financials tab to view their account balances.
From there, they can choose to pay:
An individual patient balance
All balances associated with a family account
This flexibility allows families to manage payments for multiple patients in one location.
Viewing Payment and Statement History
The portal also allows patients to review their financial history, including:
| Payment History | Previous Receipts | Statement Records |
Providing this information online reduces the number of financial inquiries handled by the front office and increases transparency for patients.
Text-to-Pay Workflow
Initiate Text-to-Pay
When reviewing upcoming appointments from the Front Office Dashboard:
If a deposit is due or a patient balance remains outstanding (including balances prompted after DOS due to insurance underpayment), Text‑to‑Pay should be the primary method for collecting the amount owed. It allows patients to securely submit payment from their mobile device within minutes.
Using Text‑to‑Pay also enables the office to collect required payments before the patient arrives for their appointment, ensuring smoother check‑in and reducing day‑of collection delays.
Scenario A:
View Upcoming appointments to confirm if a deposit is due (or review Pending AR tab if outstanding balances are present) From the Front Office Dashboard and select the Dollar Sign ($) icon.
Scenario B:
From the Patient Ledger > Click $ Text to Pay.
This can be initiated from the patient’s ledger, clicking “$ Text to Pay”
From there:
Confirm the patient or patients for whom the payment request will be sent.
Select whether the patient should pay the full past-due balance or a custom payment amount, to include a deposit for future procedures.
Review or edit the message template that will accompany the payment link.
Once sent, the patient receives a secure text message containing a direct payment link that allows them to complete the transaction immediately.
Message Expiration Policy
Text-to-Pay links remain active for 60 days. If the payment is not completed within that time frame, the link will expire and a new payment request must be sent.
Tracking Text-to-Pay Payments
Monitoring payment activity is essential to ensure balances are resolved and follow-up actions are taken when needed.
Text-to-Pay Control Center
The Text-to-Pay Control Center provides visibility into all payment requests and their current status. It can be accessed through:
| System Menu → Patient Payments → Text-to-Pay Control Center |
Within this dashboard, staff can track payment statuses such as:
Paid, Underpaid, Overpaid, Not Paid
This centralized view allows the team to quickly identify outstanding payments and prioritize follow-up actions when necessary.
The Ideal Online Payment Strategy
A structured digital payment workflow ensures that your practice can collect balances efficiently while providing patients with flexible and convenient payment options.
Practices that consistently utilize digital payment tools benefit from:
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By leveraging Text-to-Pay, website payment links, Statement Pay, and Patient Portal payments, your practice creates a modern and flexible financial experience while maintaining accurate financial oversight and protecting revenue.