Budget Default Fields and Descriptions
The Budget Defaults section defines the default options to use when NextGen® Enterprise PM calculates budget plan amounts.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Default budget type | Select one of the following: Perpetual - The budget plan enables encounters to "roll-on" to an existing budget plan without have to re-establish the plan. Non-Perpetual - The budget plan remains specific to the encounter. |
| Minimum flat dollar dollar payment amount | Enter the amount for the minimum allowed payment for a budget plan. Payment amount cannot be less than this amount. A warning message displays in NextGen® Enterprise PM when the amount entered on any budget plan is less than the minimum. |
| Acceptable % of self-pay balance for perpetual payments | Enter the minimum percentage of the perpetual budget plan balance that can be allowed as a recurring payment. For example, if you enter 12% as acceptable, then the minimum payment must be at least 12% of the total self-pay balance. A warning message displays in NextGen® Enterprise PM when the payment amount entered is less than the percentage. |
| Transaction Sources that Apply to Budget | Payments on a budget plan that are entered in NextGen® Enterprise PM using Source = Budget on the Payment Entry screen are recognized by the system as a "budget payment", and therefore the budget plan is updated accordingly as Budget Payment Posted. This is important in preventing a budget plan from becoming delinquent due to non-payment. Whether payments on a budget plan that are entered using Source = Account or Encounter are also recognized as a "budget payment" is determined by this setting. Select from the following: Account: This check box is selected by default and can be modified. Select this check box if payments on a budget plan that are entered using Source = Account should be recognized as a budget payment. Budget: This check box is selected by default and cannot be modified. Encounter: Select this check box if payments on a budget plan that are entered using Source = Encounter should be recognized as a budget payment. |
| Minimum payment interval | Select the minimum number of days between payment cycles. Budget plans cannot be set up for less than the defined interval. To allow time for statement and payment mailing, the interval cannot be set to less than 7 days. |
| Maximum number of months for non-perpetual budgets | Set the maximum length for the duration of non-perpetual budget plans. When a user creates a non-perpetual budget plan, the expected plan duration cannot exceed the maximum. When the value is set to zero ( 0) , there is no maximum. |
| Default collection agency | Select the collection agency to use as the default when a budget is terminated. Termination automatically pre-lists the encounters.
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| Days in advance of scheduled due date to print letters | Enter the number of days before the budget "Next Letter Date" that letters should be printed. The number you enter here depends on how often your practice prints letters. The "Next Letter Date" is the payment due date, so in determining an appropriate number, it is helpful to factor in the time needed to print and mail the correspondence. For example, if you set the field to 5 days and a user sets up a Budget Payment Plan and attempts to enter today or tomorrow as the start date, then a message displays that the minimum start date must be at least 5 days from today. |
| Allowable number of days to receive payment from due date | Enter the number of grace period days after the budget due date that payment must be received by. This preference controls the "Must Receive By" date that optionally prints on statements and letters. For example, if you set this preference to 15 days, and the first payment date is June 1, then the date that the payment must be received by is June 16. |
| Number of days after delinquency before pre-list | Enter the number of days that must pass after a budget plan has reached delinquent status before it goes into pre-list status. |
| Number of days after pre-list before termination | Enter the number of days that must pass after a budget plan has reached pre-list status before it will be terminated and put on a pre-list for collections. |
| Default Dunning Messages | If you selected Budget Statements as your budget communication method, select the Budget Statements library that contains the default dunning messages to include on the statements. You can modify the messages in the Budget Statement Messages master file and then attach the messages to the appropriate status in the Budget Statement library. |
| Omit In Progress encounters from budget plans | Select this check box to prevent In Progress encounters from being included on budget plans in NextGen® Enterprise PM. When this option is enabled, an In Progress encounter cannot be added to a budget plan until after it is converted from In Progress status to Unbilled status.
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