Billing and payments
What is owed, and by whom.
The billing module builds invoices from a price list the clinic sets and takes payment by cash, card or an online link the patient can pay from a phone. At the end of the day the counter is closed against what was actually received.
Used by: Cashiers, accountants and owners.
What it does
- Invoices built from a price list the clinic controls, with per-grade fee schedules.
- Payments by cash, card and online, with links a patient can pay from a phone.
- Credit held against a patient.
- Unpaid bills chased on a schedule the clinic switches on.
- Takings counted from payments received that day, and a day-end close of the counter.
Where the bill comes from
Most lines arrive on the bill without anyone typing them. A lab test, a radiology study, a dispensed prescription and a ward stay each charge the patient at the point the work happens, at the price that applied when it was ordered.
Consultation fees come from a schedule the clinic sets: a doctor’s own fee first, then the fee for their grade, then the clinic default. A grade can make follow up reviews free. Other services come from the clinic’s price list.
GST
Each line carries its own GST rate, from 0 to 28 percent, split into CGST and SGST or charged as IGST. The invoice shows the clinic’s GSTIN and a breakdown by rate, and the GST return can be exported from the same records.
Taking payment
Payments are taken by cash, card, UPI, bank transfer, cheque or online. Online payment runs through Razorpay, and a payment link can be sent so a patient pays from their phone. A bill can be settled in parts across several visits, and each payment is counted on the day it was received.
Money paid in advance or overpaid is held as credit against the patient and applied to the next bill. Refunds are recorded against the payment, and a refund the gateway reports twice is recorded once.
Unpaid bills
When the clinic switches it on, an unpaid bill is chased by SMS and email on day 3, day 7 and day 14, and then the reminders stop. They go out only between 9 in the morning and 7 in the evening clinic time.
Questions buyers ask
Can patients pay online?
Yes. Bills can be paid by cash, card or an online link the patient opens on a phone.
Can we set our own prices?
Yes. Invoices are built from a price list the clinic controls, with separate fee schedules per grade.
Further reading
- What is a hospital management system, module by moduleA plain explanation of what a hospital management system does: the front desk, consultations, wards, laboratory, pharmacy, billing and administration.