Bill a whole visit in one click

When everything that happens during a visit is connected to the appointment (the treatments performed, the lab tests ordered and the supplies used), billing becomes one click: Generate Invoice on the appointment collects all of it into a ready-made invoice. Nobody has to remember or retype what was done.

This guide shows how to work so that this happens, and what Meddesk does at each step.

What you need

• The Invoice module. Each kind of item also needs its module: Treatments, Laboratory and Inventory.
• Your clinic’s visit prices set in Configuration › Invoice.
• For supplies, the inventory items must be marked Billable to patient, with a Sale price.

How it works

Appointment ──┬── linked treatments ──────────► treatment lines
              ├── lab tests connected to it ──► lab order lines
              ├── billable supplies used ─────► supply lines
              └── the visit itself ───────────► visit line (appointment-type price)
                                   │
                         Generate Invoice
                                   ▼
                        Draft invoice for the patient

Generate Invoice on an appointment builds the invoice from these sources:

Line	Comes from	Price	Included when
The visit	The appointment itself.	Your appointment-type price for its type (Consultation, Follow up, Emergency or Treatment).	Always.
Treatments	Every patient treatment linked to the appointment.	The treatment’s estimated price and estimated discount, times the number of teeth when it’s priced per tooth.	The treatment isn’t cancelled.
Lab tests	Lab orders whose tests are connected to the appointment.	The lab’s price for each test or panel.	The order isn’t cancelled or voided.
Supplies	Consumables recorded as used during the appointment.	The item’s sale price times the quantity.	The item is billable to patient and the usage wasn’t voided.

Each line stays linked to what it bills, so afterwards every treatment, lab order and supply shows whether it’s Unpaid, Partly paid or Paid.

Step 1: Before the visit, book it with its treatments

When you book the appointment, the patient’s open treatments are shown in the first step. Pick the ones planned for this visit, and they’re linked to it straight away.

Forgot? Open the appointment and use Actions › Link treatments at any time before you bill.

Tip

For a course of care, create a treatment plan first. Each visit then takes the next treatment(s) from the plan, and a follow-up booked from a visit carries its treatments over automatically.

Step 2: During the visit, connect everything to the appointment

Work from the appointment page. Everything you add from there is connected to the visit automatically.

What happened	Do this on the appointment	Result
A treatment was done	Make sure it’s listed in the appointment’s Treatments section (link it with Actions › Link treatments if not). Open it from there and update its status, for example In progress, then Completed.	The treatment is linked and up to date.
Lab tests were ordered	Actions › Request lab order › Create a new order. The new order’s tests are “already connected to this record”.	The lab order is connected to this visit.
An existing lab test also serves this visit	Actions › Request lab order › Use existing tests, tick the tests, Connect # tests.	One result serves both records.
Supplies were used	Actions › Record consumption, pick the item and quantity.	A consumption movement is recorded against the visit and shows under Consumables used.

Order from the appointment, not elsewhere

A lab order placed from Laboratory › New lab order without choosing the visit under Connections, or supplies recorded from Inventory Movements for the patient instead of the visit, are not connected to the appointment, so Generate Invoice won’t pick them up. You can still add them by hand with Add from patient records.

Step 3: At checkout, generate the invoice

When the patient is Awaiting checkout:

1. Open the appointment and select Actions › Generate Invoice.
2. The new invoice opens with the patient filled in and all the lines from the table above. Meddesk shows Fetching the invoice items to review. while it prepares them.
3. Review every line. You can change descriptions, prices and discounts, remove lines, or add more (Add item, Add from patient records).
4. Watch for lines marked Already on invoice #…: that item was billed before, on another invoice. Remove the line unless you really mean to bill it again.
5. Set a Due date if you use one, and select Create invoice.

The invoice is saved as a Draft.

Step 4: Issue it and take payment

1. Open the invoice, select Update status, choose Issued. Lines can still be corrected until the invoice is fully paid.
2. Select Add payment, pick the Account (for example the front-desk cash drawer), select Pay full balance, choose the Method, then Record a payment.
3. The invoice becomes Paid, or Partially paid if the patient paid part of it. If your account access isn’t set to auto-approve, the payment waits for approval in Finance, but it already counts on the invoice.
4. Complete the appointment (Complete on the Clinical Desk).

With Print on, print the invoice or a payment receipt from More actions › Print.

Checking that nothing is missed

• The Completed treatments not invoiced report template lists finished treatments that haven’t been billed, and how much is waiting.
• Each treatment shows its billing status (Not invoiced, Unpaid, Partly paid, Paid) on its page and in the patient’s Treatments tab.
• The Outstanding Receivables dashboard widget shows what patients still owe, by how overdue.

Variations

Situation	Do this instead
Bill one treatment, or a whole plan, up front	Generate Invoice on the treatment or the treatment plan. Every non-cancelled treatment in the plan becomes a line.
Bill one lab order on its own	Generate Invoice on the lab order.
The visit itself is free (for example a follow-up included in a plan)	Remove the visit line, or set its price to 0, before saving. Or set that appointment type’s price to 0 in settings.
Several visits on one invoice	Create the invoice from the first visit, then use Add from patient records to add the other visits’ items.