Summary
You have full authority over the management of late fee charges, including determining which accounts will incur a late fee and the specific amounts to be charged. Additionally, you have the option to waive late fees if they are assessed more than once in a given month. This process is entirely at the discretion of the practice's established protocols.
This article will provide instructions on how to setup a Late Fee Transaction later in this document.
Steps to access the Late Fee Queue
Step 1 - Navigate to Financial
Step 2 - Select Late Fee Queue
Upon selecting the Late Fee Queue, a window will appear, presenting various options to choose from in order to obtain the desired results.
Below is an example screen shot of the Late Fee Queue window
Late Fee Queue Top Menu Bar Definitions
The menu bar shown in the screenshot below is located at the top left of the late fee queue. Below the screenshot are the definitions of what each button controls or displays for the late fee queue.
Reload Queue -This action refreshes the queue
Apply Fee - Applies applicable late fees
Records Loaded - Displays the Number of Accounts Past Due
Late Fee Window Layout
The Late Fee Queue window is organized into three distinct sections.
Filter - Provides query filters to retrieve the desired late fee accounts. This is located on the upper left hand side of the screen.
Posting – Provides you with the options to select what location and/or provider should receive the late fee and how the late fee should be applied. This is located on the upper right hand side of the screen.
Table of Late Fees – Lists the results of the filter when you click Reload Queue. This is underneath the Filter and Posting Sections.
Filter and Posting Overview
In the Late Fee Queue window, use the Filter section to select "Days Past Due," enter the "Minimum Past Due Amount" and "Minimum Payment to Avoid Late Fee," specify "Exclusion of Accounts with Late Charges Since," and select "Locations" (mandatory). In the Posting section, choose the "Posting Location," "Provider," and "Late Fee Charge" (select the appropriate option if there are multiple choices). You may also enter a percentage in "Late Fee Percent" for calculation. Click "Reload Queue" to generate and display qualifying patients in the "Table of Late Fees." Further details are provided below.
Filter Details
- Days Past Due – The accounts past due to apply a late fee to based on age of balance. Options are All Past due Accounts, or those over 10 days past due, over 30 days past due, over 60 days past due, or over 90 days past due.
- Minimum past due amount – The minimum amount past due on the patient’s ledger to charge a late fee.
- Minimum payment amount to avoid late fee – The minimum amount of the last payment posted to avoid a late fee being charged.
- Exclude accounts with late charge since – Use this field when offices charge late fees multiple times per month and want to exclude the people who were recently charged. The further this date is in the past, the more people you potentially exclude. To exclude no one, use today’s date.
- Locations – Select the locations you want to apply the late fee to.
Posting
- Posting Location –The location late fees will be assigned/posted to in Cloud 9 Reporting.
- Provider – Select the provider the late fee should be posted under.
- Late Fee Charge –If you have created multiple late fee transactions, please use the dropdown menu to select the desired transaction.
- Calculate the Late Fee as a Percentage of Past Due – click this button if you would like Cloud 9 to calculate the late fee as a percentage of the past due amount.
- Late Fee Percent – Enter the percentage you intend to charge, either as 10 or 10%. Please note that the percentage is calculated based on the age of the selected balance, rather than the total amount past due.
Table Results Displayed
The Table of Late Fees lists the results of the query. You can select the checkboxes for individual accounts or the top checkbox to select all accounts.
Applying Late Fees for Patients
Step 1 – From the Financial menu, click Late Fee Queue.
Step 2 – In the Filter section, select the desired filters.
Step 3 - Click Reload Queue. The results of the query display the accounts matching your filters.
Step 4 – Select the checkbox to the left of the ID column for the account(s) to which you wish to apply the late fee or click the checkbox at the top of the column to select all accounts.
Step 5 - In the Posting section, specify the location and/or provider that should be assigned the late fee, as well as the method of application for the late fee.
Step 6 - Click Apply Fee. The confirmation dialog box for applying late fee charges will appear, showing the number of accounts that will incur the late fee.
Step 7 - Click OK. The selected accounts have been removed from the table, and the late fees have been applied to their respective ledgers.
Eliminating Late Fees for Patients
Step 1 – From the Home menu, select Edit.
Step 2 - Please search for the patient and click Select. The Edit Patient dialog box will be displayed.
Step 3 - Click the Relationships tab.
Step 4 – Click the Edit button to expand the appropriate relationship. The Edit Related Person window displays.
Step 5 – In the Late Fee Option field, select Never. Example screenshot below.
Step 6 – Click OK. The responsible party will never display on the Late Fee Queue. Make sure to click the green save button on the patient level after clicking the blue Ok when exiting the relationships page. (Screenshot below.)
Overriding Default Late Fees
Step 1 – From the Home menu, select Edit.
Step 2 – Search the patient and click Select.
Step 3 – Click the Relationships tab.
Step 4 – Click Edit to expand the appropriate relationship. The Edit Related Person window will display.
Step 5 – In the Late Fee Amount field, please input the desired amount. Note: Entering a fee will override the default late fee charges and apply this amount to the ledger of the responsible party.
Step 6 – Click OK. The responsible party will not be displayed in the Late Fee Queue. Make sure to click the green save button on the patient level after clicking the blue Ok when exiting the relationships page.
How to setup Late Fee transactions
Step 1 - Navigate to the Edit button, select Setup, then select Transaction Types, click Add.
Step 2 - Select Transaction Types.
Step 3 - Click "Add" to open the window for setting up the Late Fee.
Step 4 - Enter Type Code, Description, Category (this will be a Charge), Amount and checkmark "Is Late Fee" then SAVE.
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.