Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Downloadable Billing Software

You run your own business. Do you have a system when it comes to billing? If not, then you could be losing money. Downloadable billing software is a great option when you are looking for something that will make your billing tasks easier. Are you not sure you need to buy downloadable billing software?

There are a lot of benefits for using downloadable billing software for your business. The first is that it will help your business run smoother. When you need to type and print every invoice by hand, this wastes time, especially if you have a lot of work to do.

Downloadable billing software can also help eliminate paper waste by making your business more electronic. Printing extra copies of your business transactions is not necessary, as long as you constantly back up all your customer files. If you only have your files in one location, if something happens, it can spell disaster. Possible ways to back up your files include having an extra hard drive, putting all on a DVD or CD, and putting the information on more than one computer.

Another benefit is that downloadable billing software can do more than just take care of accounting tasks. The extra features are nice, especially if they save you money. Some let you print out labels and create reports and other business documents. You can also have the software automatically generate statements on a specified time period, which is nice if the service you perform for the customer is ongoing, such as a long-term contract project.

Downloadable billing software makes running your business a lot easier. It helps automate your business, keep track of billing and accounting, and generate automated statements. Once you find the software that is best for your business, it will make your business run a lot smoother.

Billing Software provides detailed information on Billing Software, VoIP Billing Software, Chiropractic Billing Software, Free Billing Software and more. Billing Software is affiliated with HIPAA Complaint Medical Billing Software

Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, March 10, 2008

How To Choose The Right Small Business Billing Software

If you own or manage a small business, you know how much time can be spent chasing down paper invoices, purchase orders and sales reports. It can be a real nightmare! That is where billing software comes in. It allows you to record all your customers, sales, invoices, inventory, suppliers (and more) in a PC-based system that is easy to use.

Deciding that you need to invest in good quality billing software is not hard. The tricky part can be choosing the right software package for your requirements. There are dozens of systems on the market claiming to be the holy grail of all your business problems, but choosing the wrong one can cost you valuable time and money.

Here's a simple checklist of 11 things to look for when purchasing billing software for your small business:

1) Customer records This is the core element of any billing system. What sort of information do you need to record about your customers? There's the obvious things like address, phone, fax, mobile, email and web address. But what about marketing-related information like "how did the customer find out about your business?", and "standard discounts" for key clients.

2) Multiple contacts & Communication history If many of your clients are businesses with multiple contacts, can you record individual contact details for each person? Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising, and statistics show that one of the most important factors in customer satisfaction is good customer service. Have you thought about keeping a log of all communication with your customers? It can be extremely helpful for improving internal communication within your business, and results in a more personalised service for your clients.

3) Multiple shipments Obviously your billing software will need to create sales orders - that's a gimme. But do you need to record employee-related information, like who the "salesperson" was? What about flexible dispatch options, like multiple shipments per sales order?

4) Search facility There's no point recording all this really useful information if there's no easy way to get to it. Check that the search facility is flexible and easy to use. What criteria can you search by? Here are a couple useful fields you may want to use: customer phone number, customer address, order date, dispatch date and dispatch consignment number.

5) Tax & regional support Are you able to change the tax rates on an order line basis? What about currency formatting? If you and your clients are in Europe, then there's no point using billing software that can only handle US dollars.

6) Reporting Producing accurate reports in seconds is something you no longer have to dream about. In fact it is a necessity in today's competitive market. Ensure your billing software can calculate information on sales based on date, salesperson and customer type. If you operate a B2B business, another key performance indicator may be dispatch totals, based on date, and employee. But one important thing to remember about software... you can only get out what you put in. So if you are looking for a specific report, make sure that information is being recorded by your billing software package.

7) Backup I've seen first-hand how devastating a hardware failure can be. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of data can be destroyed in seconds... if you do not have a backup procedure in place. Ensure you select a billing software package that has a built-in backup utility or works with your current backup system.

8) Online help & support If you're a new computer user, then you'll definitely need a software package that has a comprehensive online and easy-to-use help system. Also check out what direct technical support is available through the vendor. Some software companies charge very high fees for personal support, so ensure you include this in your budget.

9) Budget How much are you going to spend? That really depends on the complexity of the software package you are looking for. Smaller software packages can be found under US$100, and larger more complex packages can cost well over US$3000. Take a look at the number of customers you have, the number of sales orders you process, and choose a solution that fits your business.

10) Customisations If you purchase an off-the-shelf billing software package, you may require minor customisations to suit your unique business processes and industry. Some software vendors offer customisations at quite reasonable prices. But ensure you include this cost in your budget.

11) Other features What else do you want from you billing software? If you deal with fixed price products, you may need a comprehensive inventory management system allowing you to purchase stock, manage inventory levels and supplier relations. Some quality software packages also include a useful follow-up diary, allowing you to keep track of tasks and assign them to other staff members.

When choosing a billing software package for your business, make sure you check that it offers everything your business needs. And then the only thing you'll have to worry about is what to do with all your newly found spare time!

Josh Bender is an experienced database developer and qualified software engineer. He helps small-to-medium businesses streamline processes and improve efficiency using reliable and proven software solutions. Take a free test drive of 'InstantSalesTracker', easy-to-use billing software: http://www.InstantSalesTracker.com

Labels: , , , , ,

Friday, March 7, 2008

Medical Billing Software takes the Stage

Medical Billing Software

The practice is running smoothly, with patients coming in and out with smiles on their faces because of the great service your practice is providing. At the end of the day, you review the office secretarys billing records and realize you are behind, again.

Running a successful practice depends upon the efficiency of the billing. Unfortunately many practices still must deal with a variety of different databases containing different sets of information. The patient contact information and the patient histories may be in totally separate databases, both of which have to be accessed in order to put information into a third database containing billing history. Though the database information in this example may be different from information in your practices databases, the database confusion is the same.

In addition to the database difficulties, running on multiple servers, installing billing technology with IT, and backing up all of your data is overwhelming if not impossible to always be on top of.

Simplify

Medical billing software has simplified the practices office structure to open up more time to continue giving quality service to patients. Medical billing software is a solution employed by countless medical practices to ensure effective and accurate billing.

One of the biggest ways medical billing software saves practices extra work is by enabling information on various servers or databases to be synchronized onto one account. By logging into your account you can access all of the information you need on any patient.

In addition to streamlining the billing process, medical billing software simplifies the financial obligation to billing and database technology by cutting most of it out. Using medical billing software enables tracking, billing, and security of all accounts online, eliminating the need for a costly IT infrastructure. The cost is usually a monthly fee payable as you use it.

Feel free to access your account from anywhere, including your PDA.

Secure

No practice should read an article like this and be convinced to find medical billing software without asking itself if an online medical billing software system is a secure system to change to.

Some of the examples of security precautions medical billing software takes includes electronic back ups, automatic posting, HIPAA and HCFA compliance, and secured accounts only accessible to authorized viewers.

In selecting a system for medical billing to suit your medical practice needs, consider a solution recognized by countless medical practices already. A secure a simple way to streamline medical billing is with medical billing software.

Joe Miller is specialist in online advertising. For more information on medical billing software, please visit AdvancedMD.com

Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, February 14, 2008

One Pocket Billiards

Billiards, like poker and darts, continues to enjoy huge popularity because of the many variations on the basic game. One Pocket billiards is just one of the many options available to billiards players. One Pocket is sometimes referred to as the "soccer" of billiards.

In One Pocket billiards, the possible pockets for players to shoot at are cut from six (in standard Eight Ball play) to two. This provides the added strategy of requiring the shooter to specialize in specific types of shots. In One Pocket billiards, you must call the pocket for your intended shot. It is not necessary, however, to call the ball that will go into the specified pocket.

The similarity of One Pocket billiards to soccer is that the specified pocket on every shot is the opponent's target goal. In other words, each player is essentially defending his or her target pocket. This requires each player to put a defensive strategy into play, in addition to the usual offensive strategies of billiards. If a player does not make a ball into the opponent's target pocket, but shoots a ball into any of the remaining pockets, the shot is then declared an "illegally pocketed" ball.

Before starting the game, the two shooters will choose which a pocket on either end of the table to use as a target pocket. The balls are set randomly in the racking triangle. The breaking shooter is required to make at least one ball into the targeted pocket, or cause at least one contacted ball hit a cushion, in order for his or her turn to continue. When the target pocket has been scored on eight or more times, the game is over.

If a shooter happens to pocket a ball in his or her own pocket, it gives the opponent a winning point total, and the shooter loses the game. The object is to successfully pocket eight balls in the target, or opponent's goal pocket. This means that the shooter will have pocketed more than half of the total game balls into the opponent's pocket. If the shooter has six pocketed balls and his or her opponent has seven, and the shooter accidentally pockets a ball in his or her own goal, the opponent wins the game.

Billiards, in it's many variations, is a fun game of skill. One Pocket billiards features an element of strategy that makes it a truly enjoyable and addictive sport. Try One Pocket billiards, and it will soon become one of your favorite ways to play.


David Wilson is an author for several online magazines, on recreation and hobbies and tips on recreation subjects.

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Top 5 Strategies to Improve OTC Payment Performance With Electronic Medical Billing Software

For many practices, the proportion of over-the-counter (OTC) payments has recently grown from an average of 15% to as high as 75% of total payments. Systematic OTC collections, including measurable process that emphasizes upfront collections, often yield double-digit billing performance improvement. Most importantly, a disciplined and transparent collections process improves provider-patient communications, while early payment collections are also quicker and easier. Better communications and happier patients mean better health and more profitable practice.

OTC payments include copays, fees for non-covered elective services or retail products, and any outstanding balances. Successful collections of OTC payments require measurable collections process, specialized information technology infrastructure, adequate personnel training, and discipline.

OTC payment collection performance and costs greatly depend on elapsed time between service and payment. Collections performance dependence on collections timing stems from the dynamic nature of price-value relation: initially, perception of value received is high in the patient's mind. Similarly, correlation between value and price is also high. However, OTC payment collections grows more difficult in step with fading memory of service benefit.

Systematic measurement of OTC payment quality is critical for its performance improvement. Vericle's OTC payment quality metrics include the percent of accounts receivable beyond 120 days and the time spent on collecting on old account balances. While the national average of the first metric hovers around 18%, some practices have accumulated as much as 50% of their accounts receivable beyond 120 days. The second metric measures the front-office collections efficiency and it too varies widely between few hours per month to double digit hours per week spent by front office personnel chasing unpaid OTC invoices.

According to Vericle experience, the following systematic and measurable payment collections process leverages electronic medical billing software and establishes the discipline required for double-digit billing collections improvement:

 

  1. Publish your payment collections policy and standard responses to typical patient's objections.

     

     

  2. Clarify patient statement generated by your electronic medical billing software:
    1. Make outstanding balance easily identifiable.
    2. Add specific statement about the time period expected for balance payment (typically upon service or product delivery).
    3. Include phone number to call for patient questions.

     

     

  3. Use electronic medical billing software to
    1. Test patient's eligibility and coverage. The results of such a test define patient's copay prior to her arrival to the clinic.
    2. Generate front office alerts about impending patient visit with unpaid OTC balance.

     

     

  4. Train clinic physicians to direct patients to front-office staff to review financial statements.

     

     

  5. Train your front office to collect OTC payments:
    1. Hold your front office staff accountable by setting up specific and personal collection goals.
    2. Use electronic medical billing software to track individual front staff collections performance.
    3. Establish personal awards for accomplishing collections goals and periodically review personal collections performance.
    4. Train your office staff to receive electronic medical billing software alerts.
    5. Develop a payment collections script and rehearse it with front office staff to improve front-office staff-patient communications.

 

Successful OTC payment collections help patient relationship management and improve practice profitability. They require measurable collections process, specialized information technology infrastructure, and adequate personnel training and discipline.

Yuval Lirov, PhD, author of "Practicing Profitability - Network Effect for Revenue Cycle Control in Healthcare Clinic and Chiropractic Office: Scheduling, SOAP Notes, Care Plans, Coding, Billing, Collections, and Audit Risk" (Affinity Billing) and "Mission Critical Systems Management" (Prentice Hall), inventor of patents in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Security, and CEO of Vericle.net - Distributed Billing and Practice Management Technologies. Yuval invites you to register to the next webinar on audit risk at BillingPrecision.com.

Labels: , , , , ,

Sunday, December 30, 2007

3 Reasons Why Medical Billing Software is Leading the Way

Since technology changes so quickly, it is hard to begin by saying “in the old days . . . ,” but that seems to fit the best. In the old days, medical companies, service providers, and almost any other business which used automated billing enjoyed the convenience of logging on to a database (or several, they the company had multiple offices) and processing their billing statements. This “old way” required IT and servers, and is actually still the current way for most businesses.

Somewhere along the way, medical billing software was developed to process billing without logging on to multiple databases, without having IT, and without crowding the server. This medical billing software is not only cutting edge, but it is also a miracle because it comes without a large set-up and usage expense. Soon, all companies will be marching to the beat of the new medical billing software drummer.

Let’s explore the differences between the “old way” and the new by looking at the 3 reasons why medical billing software is leading the way in corporate software.

 

Connection

 

The “old way” was convenient for its time, but that time may soon be gone. It consisted of a different database for each office, which meant that if your business had 3 offices, you would have had to log on to 3 different databases to process your billing statements and close at the end of each day.

Using only a broadband connection, “the new” way connects you to an unlimited number of databases at once, allowing you to manage all of your accounts with clients, providers, etc., all in one connection.

In addition, with the same technology now available with medical billing software, you can connect to a secure server from anywhere with a broadband internet connection. You can work from home, the hotel, or anywhere else on a secure account that can only be accessed by those whom you authorize.

 

Capacity

 

The “old way” was to have separate applications for every function your business needed to perform. For example, records of clients, customers, providers, or patients, would each be kept in separate files in multiple databases. Then, to track appointments and schedules, your business would probably have had to open a whole new application.

Now medical billing software has one system for all of the functions your business needs to perform, not just to process medical billing statements. Log on; track your provider records and schedules, your client records and schedules, and your own financial records and schedules, all in one place.

 

Security

 

The question that runs through the minds of every thoughtful business when a new technology that claims to guard so many important and sensitive documents is, “Is this secure software?”

The answer is “yes,” because this advanced medical billing software backs-up, protects, and secures all data on HIPAA-compliant servers, which are accessible only to those whom you authorize.

New medical billing software is also a pioneer in financial security because the software does not require large start-up costs; it is billed the same way it is used: month to month.

Businesses can benefit from the technology medical billing software now has to offer. It has been said that the greatest breakthroughs come at the intersection of two different disciplines. Medical billing software has made a breakthrough in combining business skills with medical practice and providing medical billing software that not only meets medical billing needs but also provides a template for software that any business could benefit from

Joe Miller is specialist in online advertising. For more information on medical billing software, please visit AdvancedMD.com.

Labels: , , , ,