Every clinic has days that do not go to plan. A practitioner runs late and a patient waits far longer than they should. A price you agreed at consultation does not come through at the till. Someone pays more than they should by mistake and only notices once they are home.
The right response is usually simple: say sorry and put something back on the patient's next visit. The hard part is remembering it. In a lot of clinics, that promise lives on a sticky note by the desk, in a message to whoever is on shift tomorrow, or in the owner's head. By the time the patient returns, the note has gone and the person on reception has no idea anything was agreed.
Patient account credit fixes that. The credit sits on the patient's record, with a note on why it was given and who gave it, until reception uses it at checkout.
What patient account credit is for
Account credit in Clinic Membership is goodwill or correction credit for the till. It is there for the moments when you want to make something right, or put a mistake straight, without handing over cash or changing a past sale.
Typical reasons include:
- A gesture after a delay. The patient waited, you want to acknowledge it, and the credit comes off their next visit.
- A price that did not come through. You promised a lower price and the till did not reflect it.
- A correction. Something was entered wrongly and the patient is owed the difference.
It is worth being clear about what account credit is not. It is not a gift voucher. Gift vouchers are sold and redeemed separately, and our post on selling gift vouchers online covers that side. It is also not a prepaid plan, where a patient pays up front for future treatments. If you are weighing up plans, our comparison of membership and prepaid credit plans explains the difference.
Account credit is simpler than either. It is the clinic's own way of saying "this one is on us" and making sure it actually happens.
How patient account credit works in Clinic Membership
The credit lives on the patient card, the same record your team already opens for appointments, notes and history. Nothing sits in a separate tool or spreadsheet.
There are three parts to it:
- Issuing the credit. Someone on your team adds it to the patient card with an amount and, ideally, a short note.
- Applying it at checkout. When the patient next pays, reception uses the credit in Sales to reduce what they owe.
- Keeping the history. Every time credit is added or taken away, the patient card records the date, the note and who did it.
Because all three happen on the same record, anyone who opens the patient card can see what is available and why.
Adding credit to a patient card
Issuing credit takes a moment:
- Open the patient card, either from Admin, then Patients, or with Search patient in the top bar.
- Scroll to Credit & vouchers.
- Click Issue account credit.
- Enter the amount and an optional note, for example "Sorry for the long wait".
- Click Issue credit.
The note is optional, but it is worth the extra few seconds. Months later, it tells anyone on the team exactly why the credit is there. The issue account credit guide shows each screen.
Using the credit when the patient pays
Credit does not come off the total on its own. It only reduces what the patient owes when reception applies it in Sales.
At checkout, reception enters the amount in Credit to apply and clicks Apply. The total drops by that amount and the patient pays the rest in the usual way. If the account credit balance is zero, there is nothing to apply, so the credit needs to be issued on the patient card first.
That small step is deliberate. It keeps reception in control of when credit is used, and it means the patient can be told about it at the desk: "You have some credit from last time, I've taken it off today."
Seeing the balance and the history
On the patient card, the account credit balance shows how much is available. Underneath it, the history lists each time credit was issued or removed, with the date, the note and the team member who did it.
For an owner, that history is the useful part. You can see at a glance who gave credit, how often, and for what reason. If a patient asks about it, reception can answer from the record rather than from memory.
Removing credit that is no longer needed
Sometimes credit ends up on a card that should not be there. Perhaps the patient was paid back in cash on the day, the difference was settled on another terminal, or someone added credit by mistake.
In that case, click Remove on Credit & vouchers and choose a reason. A line is written to the history so the record stays honest. Removing credit does not send money back to a card. It simply tidies the balance on the patient card.
Why this is better than a note at the desk
Handling goodwill on the patient card changes a few things for the better:
- Nothing gets lost. The credit is on the record, not on a scrap of paper.
- Anyone on reception can deal with it. The person on shift does not need to have been there when it was agreed.
- The reason is written down. A short note explains the credit to whoever sees it next.
- You can see who gave it. The history shows each issue and removal with a name against it.
- Patients notice. Being told at the desk that the clinic remembered is a small moment that builds trust.
It also gives your team a clear, fair way to put things right. Rather than improvising at the desk, reception knows there is a proper place for goodwill and a proper way to use it.
A simple routine for goodwill credit
You can bring account credit into the way your team already works without changing much:
- Agree who can issue credit. Decide whether that is the owner, the manager or senior reception.
- Always add a note. One short line on why the credit was given.
- Issue it the same day. Add it to the patient card while the reason is fresh.
- Check at checkout. When a patient pays, glance at Credit & vouchers on their card.
- Review the history now and then. Look at who gave credit and why, and talk about any patterns with the team.
Clinic Membership brings account credit together with your patients, calendar, sales and payments on one patient record. Free covers up to 10 patient records. See pricing for paid plans.
