What is a good same-day collection rate?

Higher is better and the trend matters more than the absolute number. Measure it once, change one process, and measure again.

How often should we review the plan tier?

Annually, or whenever monthly collected volume changes materially.

Where does receivables ageing live?

In the practice's own reporting inside the dashboard, with CSV export for the accountant.

Dental practices

Dental payment software: the yearly collections audit

Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read

Audit six numbers once a year: the share of the patient portion collected on the day, days in receivables, failed payment plans, outstanding refunds and credits, your platform fee tier against actual volume, and who still has a login. Fixing the first two is usually worth more than every fee negotiation combined.

Same-day collection rate

Work out what share of the patient portion was collected on the day of treatment. This is the single number that predicts whether your receivables get better or worse next year.

If it is low, the fix is almost always process — deposits, card on file and same-day links — rather than software or staffing.

Receivables ageing

Split what is outstanding into current, 30, 60 and 90-plus days. Anything past ninety days needs a decision this month: a plan, a call, or a write-off.

Carrying old balances forward flatters the ledger and hides how collections are actually performing.

Plans, refunds and credits

List every failed or stalled payment plan and every outstanding refund or unclaimed credit. Both are small numbers individually and embarrassing in aggregate.

Clear them, then check whether retries and card-update emails were switched on all year.

Fees, access and descriptors

Compare twelve months of collected volume against your plan tier — Growth's 0.60% platform fee beats Starter's 0.75% above a certain volume, and Stripe's processing is billed separately by Stripe.

Then remove logins for anyone who has left, confirm each person's access matches their role, and check the statement descriptor still matches the practice name patients recognise.

Frequently asked

What is a good same-day collection rate?: Higher is better and the trend matters more than the absolute number. Measure it once, change one process, and measure again.
How often should we review the plan tier?: Annually, or whenever monthly collected volume changes materially.
Where does receivables ageing live?: In the practice's own reporting inside the dashboard, with CSV export for the accountant.

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