Monday, December 29, 2008

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Patient Payment Plan/Pre-Authorized Checking FAQ

Doctors and business owners are always looking for ways to
increase their cash-flow and collect more of their
receivables. We've talked a little about how we can help
you achieve that with the Patient Payment Plan and
Pre-Authorized Checking.

Here are a few of the common questions we hear, and some
answers.

1. What kinds of companies will Pre-Authorized Checking
work for?


The answer is simple, if a business takes payments PAC will
work for them. Whether it is automating their recurring
monthly payments, helping to collect slow pay accounts, or
offering an in-house payment plan to potential customers
PAC is the unique low cost tool that any business can use
to increase profits.

2. Can this program work for me if the amount billed to the
customer is different each month?

Our PAC system works well in situations in which the amount
owed by customers varies from month to month. The only
difference in the program is that the business would need
to send out a monthly statement to their customers with
varying payments to let them know the amount to be drafted
so they could make a note in their checkbook register.

3. How do you collect from me?

We use the same technology to collect from businesses using
PAC that they use to collect from their customers. ProFast
Billing Solutions simply creates a bank draft from the
business' account for the amount of the combined service
fees for a given month.

Here is an example to make this absolutely clear.
Say that a business has 50 customers on the Pre-Authorized
Checking service. The monthly invoice to each of these
customers is $50 each to keep the math easy. 50 customers
at $50 each would be a grand total of $2,500 collected each
month using PAC. The agreed upon service fee for each of
these drafts was $2.00, again keeping the math easy. This
would mean that the service fees would total 50 customers
times $2, or $100 each month. In this scenario, ProFast
Billing Solutions would hand the business a stack of 50
checks that totaled $2,500 each month. The next day, we
would produce a draft, pre-authorized by the business, for
the amount of the service fees totaling $100. The business'
net would be $2,400 each month.

4. How is my customer informed that the check has been
submitted and cleared their account?

A customer's check is noted in their monthly bank
statement. The check will be numbered as "000" or will not
be numbered at all. This prevents a conflict with their
checkbook numbering system. The on-line bank account
statement will refer to this transaction as a
"Pre-authorized Check." The customer can then balance their
checkbook as usual.

5. What is the agreement between you, me, and my
customers?

ProFast Billing Solutions prints pre-authorized checks on
behalf of your customers. Any contractual or cancellation
clauses in the agreement will be settled upon prior to
initiating your service. We will go over typical
arrangements and make suggestions on a course of action
depending on the individual needs of each business.

6. Do you have access to my customer's or my bank account?

Our system does not have the ability to electronically
access any bank account information. It is a proprietary
software that was developed to store information and print
checks only.

7. What about paperwork? Is it complicated and
time-consuming?


NO, it could not be simpler. First of all, we will provide
you with professionally designed literature that describes
the Patient Payment Plan™ to your patients and lets them
know exactly how it works. Then we provide you with
application forms in electronic format so that you can
easily print copies for your patients. The patient fills
out this easy, one page form with all of the pertinent
information about themself and their banking information.
The last step is to attach a check made out to "ProFast
Billing Solutions" for the one time setup fee. The
application form and check are then sent to our office.
There is nothing more to it than that.

8. Will my patients actually consent to having their
accounts drafted every month… and paying the service
charge?


YES. Think about it. If a patient has a bill of $500 to pay
out of pocket, you can now offer them the ability to make
smaller monthly payments instead of paying in one lump sum.
You can choose the amount of the payments, but let us say
for this example that you decide to have the patient pay
$50 a month for 10 months. That is $500 dollars, right? To
keep the math easy let us add a 5% service charge to their
$50 payment. The patient now has to pay $2.50 for the
service fee to use the service that month, bringing their
total monthly payment to $52.50. Do you think that for an
extra $2.50 a month the patient is going to turn you down?
Generally the answer is no. In essence, you have just
extended them credit at an extremely low 5% interest,
without a credit check or additional hassles. Try finding a
credit card that is so generous! And remember, the important
thing here is that the money will be automatically drafted
out of their account every month, which virtually assures
you of payment.

Hope that answered some of your questions. Feel free to
call us at 888-889-5073 or visit us at www.profastbilling.com.
.

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Collect More of Your Money with Payment Plans

The Problem: Collecting Money From Patients

Even with insurance claims a significant portion of a doctor's income comes directly from their patients. The problem is that many of these patients do not have the money to pay for treatment right away. This immediately forces doctors to either extend credit to patients or refuse to treat them. By extending credit the doctor takes the personal risk that the patient will never pay, which added up over time can total tens of thousands of dollars in potential profits each year. By turning new clients away they slow the growth of their practices and deny the potential revenue boost. It is a no-win situation for most doctors: either turn away business and lose money, or accept business that they know there is a good chance they will not get paid and lose money.

The Solution: The Patient Payment Plan

Finally, there is a solution to this problem. The Patient Payment Plan (PPP) is revolutionizing the way doctors across the country collect money from their patients. It allows them to collect a significantly higher portion of the money that they have already earned, in most cases 98% of that money. All of this can be done without alienating or harassing patients, and without burdensome overhead expenses. In fact, the PPP has no ongoing expense or cost to the doctor. Now patients have the ability to make affordable monthly payments without the need to apply for credit or go through a lengthy approval process. These payments are then automatically taken out of their bank account each month until their bill is paid.

This service isn't just for doctors.

Even with the best intentions, some customers will have difficulty making payments to a business on time. Whether it is because customers cannot afford a large payment, they simply forget to make it, or any other number of excuses the bottom line is this: when a business does not get paid on time it can cause major problems. Poor cash flow is cited as the number one reason why new businesses fail. At this point a business owner has two choices, they can continue to spend a small fortune using traditional methods attempting to collect what their customers owe them, or they can switch over to one of the fastest growing methods for receiving payments today. It is called Pre-Authorized Checking (PAC) and now any business owner can start using it immediately to increase their company's bottom line.

Here Is How It Works:

PAC ensures that your payments are received on time each month, every month. A customer simply completes the release form to sign up for the program. This form is then forward along with other completed forms to ProFast Billing Solutions. Our processing center prints the pre-authorized checks for the agreed upon amounts and delivers them to the business on the scheduled date(s). Owners simply take the pre-authorized checks to their banks and deposit them like any normal check. Depending on the volume of accounts, ProFast Billing Solutions can even deposit the checks for a business. With PAC there is no computer access into a customer's checking account like a traditional ACH. Their check is simply re-created on the agreed-upon day each month for deposit into the business owner's bank account. Their pre-authorized check is noted on their monthly bank statement like any other check. This non-threatening approach makes signing up customers on PAC very easy. Because you will be in control of the checks being deposited, there is no chance for the bank to make a mistake on your customer's account. This flexibility allows you to even hold a check for a few days if necessary for your customer without any problems or fees.

Visit www.profastbilling.com for more info.

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