Six benefits of integrated payment processing

While many veterinary practices have made the switch to integrated payment processing, others are still holding on to “old school” manual entry and reconciliation. Not only does this waste staff time that could be spent on more valuable activities, but it is also far more likely to result in human error and even more time spent fixing mistakes.

Integrated payment processing solutions allow you to combine your payment processing features with your practice management software. The integration cuts out the time-consuming manual work normally associated with getting data from one system into another and making them match by automating these processes.

This allows for more efficient processes, fewer errors, and more time to focus on other more important tasks, like taking care of your patients. Here are some of the biggest benefits of integration:

Streamline operations

One of the biggest benefits of integrated payment processing systems is their ability to streamline basic practice processes, including taking payments from your clients and managing your accounts. As the systems are integrated, data is automatically passed between them, so your patient records and accounts are updated automatically and instantly with each transaction.

An automated integrated process also reduces the steps taken during the patient check-out process, which has the added bonus of improving your overall client experience.

Enjoy greater accuracy

Save time and reduce errors by eliminating redundant data entry and credit card verification, reconciliation, and other routine payment processing tasks. Even a simple calculation error or misplaced invoice can cost your practice time and money as the mistake is untangled.

As the data transfer is automatic, there’s less opportunity for someone to make a mistake, whether this is charging the wrong amount to a client or attributing a payment to the wrong invoice.

Save money

That’s right, integrated payment processing systems can actually save you money. As everything happens automatically, this means there’s less need for staff involvement. Your team no longer has to spend hours tracking, reporting, and reconciling payments, attributing them to the right account, and manually resolving any discrepancies.

Not having to devote as many employee hours to monitoring, tracking, and reporting transactions within your payment environment can result in direct cost savings.

Better forecasting

Being on top of your incoming and outgoing expenditures is crucial in today’s competitive environment. When your systems aren’t integrated, these figures are all housed in silos, and it can be hard to make sense of where your money is going. By integrating them all, you get better visibility into your finances and are able to make better decisions for future spending.

Automated electronic payments let you capture more financial data quicker, which you can use to provide a more detailed picture of what’s happening with your practice financials. This will help you better understand, predict, and forecast your cash flow.

When you integrate payment processing with your Avimark^® or Impromed^® software, it’s automatically recorded, giving you better visibility and the ability to create more up-to-date and accurate reports.

Be ready for tax time

When you integrate payment processing and use a transparent, digital process for this critical business function, you create an audit trail. Manual processing, however, only gives you limited tracking, and paper records are at risk of getting lost or misplaced. An integrated payment platform lets you track every step of the process and retain records according to best practice.

With an integrated system, all your reports are centralized, making end-of-year tax preparation a breeze. You will have easy access to records of every transaction coming in and going out of your practice and be able to easily view and export these reports.

Improved security

Data security is top of every customer’s mind these days, so it’s important to ensure that the way you handle debit and credit card payments is secure. Integrated payment processing systems from Covetrus come PCI certified and use tokenization to ensure a high standard of payment security, plus it’s up to the vendor to keep these certifications up to date. This way, you can rest assured that your customer’s payment data is kept safe and secure.