Keywords: scheduled contract payments, automation suite, SCP, autopayment, NSF, primary payment, backup payment, C9 Connect, patient communication, automated payments
Summary
This article shows how to set up and use Scheduled Contract Payments in Cloud 9. It walks through configuring the automation, setting up payment events, and for practices with C9 Connect, how to configure patient communication templates for receipts, declines, and expiring cards.
Overview
Scheduled Contract Payments (SCP) is a feature within Cloud 9’s Automation Suite that automates the posting of scheduled contract auto payments. Once configured, it handles the processing of primary and backup payments and applies Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) fees automatically. Payments run based on the autopayment date selected in the contract, and you can set the time of day you want them to submit.
For practices with C9 Connect, Scheduled Contract Payments can also send customizable patient communications including payment receipts, decline notifications, and expiring card alerts via email and text.
To use this feature your practice must have an integrated payment processor set up in Cloud 9. C9 Connect is required for the patient communication options but is not required to run the payment automation itself.
Employee Permissions Required
Before setting up Scheduled Contract Payments, the appropriate employee permission must be applied. Someone with access to Edit > Setup > Employees will need to open the employee’s profile and select Edit Scheduled Contract Payments from the Permissions section. Save the changes before proceeding.
Setting Up Scheduled Contract Payments
Navigate to Edit > Automation Suite to get started.
The first time you set up, you will see an empty screen. Click New Automation to begin.
Step 1: Enter a name for the payment schedule. This can be something like “All Locations” or “Dr. Smith’s Offices” to help identify it later.
Step 2: Select at least one location to apply the automation to.
- To include all locations, click Select All or choose the Practice location.
- To select multiple specific locations, click each location name to highlight and select it.
Step 3: Click Create.
Step 4: Before moving on, set the Status to Active. The status defaults to Inactive, which means payments will not process until this is switched on. If you miss this step during setup you can always go back into the schedule details and activate it later, but it will not run payments while set to Inactive.
Step 5: Click Add Event to continue configuring the automation.
Step 6: Select the Event Type. All practices can set up automation for the following three charge types:
- Primary: Runs the primary autopayment on the contract.
- Backup: Runs the backup payment method if the primary fails.
-
NSF: Applies a Non-Sufficient Funds fee when applicable.
Note: NSF charges only apply to ACH transactions. Before setting up NSF automation, make sure a corresponding Insufficient Funds Charge transaction type is configured in Edit > Setup > Transaction Types.
Practices with C9 Connect active will also see three additional patient communication options:
- Send Receipt
- Declined Message
- Expiring Cards
Step 7: Configure the timing for each event.
For the three payment charge types, set the following:
- Event Type: Select Primary, Backup, or NSF.
- Event Occurs: Choose the time of day you want this automation to run.
- Backup and NSF: Choose whether to run the day of payment or the day after.
Step 8: Click Save.
Setting Up Patient Communications (C9 Connect Only)
If C9 Connect is not active on your account, skip this section and proceed to saving your automation.
If C9 Connect is active, continue with the following steps to configure patient communication notifications.
Step 9: After saving the payment event, continue setting up patient communications. There is a standard email and text message template already configured for each communication type. These can be used as-is, edited, or replaced with a custom template.
Step 10: Select whether to send a text, email, or both for each communication type.
Step 11: Select the appropriate document template for each type of communication.
Step 12: Click Save.
Step 13: Repeat the setup for any additional locations as needed.
Setting Up Patient Communications (C9 Connect Only)
If you want to customize the patient communication messages used in Scheduled Contract Payments, you can create or edit templates through the Recurring Campaigns section.
Step 1: Navigate to Edit > Automation Suite > Recurring Campaigns.
Step 2: Click the Templates tab inside the Recurring Campaigns menu.
Step 3: On the left side, select Text Template or Email Template from the orange buttons and follow the prompts to create a new template.
- For an Email Template, you can start from a blank template or pick a default to edit. See the Email Template Creation article for detailed instructions.
- For a Text Template, see the Creating Text Templates for Scheduled Contract Payment Communications article for detailed instructions.
Once created and saved, the new template will be available to select within the Automation Suite.
Note: If you cannot access Recurring Campaigns, you may need the correct employee permissions. See the Recurring Campaigns Employee Permissions article here for instructions.
As always, if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to reach out to Cloud 9 Support by emailing us at cloud9support@planetdds.com, or chatting us online using the chat bubble on the lower right at https://cloud9support.planetdds.com/hc/en-us, or giving us a call during our business hours of 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST at the 1.800.394.6050 option 2.