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Mastering the Payments Table: How to Track, Reconcile, and Act on Patient Payments

Emily McClendon avatar
Written by Emily McClendon
Updated this week

The Payments section in Practice by Numbers is more than just a list of transactions—it's your command center for verifying payments, tracking net deposits, managing receipts and refunds, and reconciling with both your PMS and bank. Here's how to make the most of it.


Why the Payments Page Matters

This page empowers your front office, billing, and finance teams to:

  • Quickly review all incoming patient payments

  • Verify write-backs to your PMS

  • Identify payment issues and act on them (e.g., resend receipts or a refund)

  • Track net revenue collected after fees

  • Export clean, organized records for bookkeeping or accountants

Using this page consistently ensures accurate reconciliation between Practice by Numbers, your PMS, and your bank account.


What You’ll See: Payments Table Column Breakdown & Practical Use Cases

Each row in the Payments table represents a single transaction processed through PbN Payments. Here’s a full breakdown of each column, what it shows, and how practices can use it effectively during payment tracking, reconciliation, and troubleshooting.

Column

Description

Practical Use Case

Sync

A checkmark appears if the payment was successfully written back to your Practice Management System (PMS).

Ensure all payments are syncing properly. Filter for unsynced transactions to follow up or manually write back payments before closing day or reporting to the provider.

Payer

The person who made the payment (e.g., parent or guardian).

Identify who made the payment when it differs from the patient. Crucial when explaining receipts or reconciling family accounts.

Patient Name

The patient associated with the payment.

Track patient-level revenue and verify that payments are applied to the correct person, especially in family accounts.

Payment

The full amount the payer submitted.

Quickly view total gross revenue for the day, week, or month before deductions. Useful for reconciling appointment charges.

PbN Fee

Platform fee charged by PbN. Only applies to PbN Payments or Stripe payments.

Understand your processing cost per transaction. If using ZeroPay, this column will be $0.

Transaction Fee

Additional processor fee.

Track extra fees depending on pricing model or payment method.

Net

The actual amount deposited to your bank after all fees.

Use this number for bank reconciliation. Match against deposits in the Deposits tab or your bank statement.

Transaction ID

A unique ID tied to the transaction.

Use this when contacting support for any payment-related issues.

Payment Date

Date the payment was submitted.

Track when the patient paid—essential for end-of-day balancing and tying payments to services rendered.

Deposit Date

Date when the funds hit your bank account (usually 2–3 business days later).

Confirm deposits posted as expected. Cross-check against your bank or use in audit reports.

Payment Method

Indicates how the payment was made (e.g., POS – Visa, Online – Amex).

Compare in-person vs. online collections and evaluate if surcharging applies based on card type.

Surcharge

Indicates if a surcharge was applied to the payment. Only available if you're using ZeroPay.

Monitor surcharge usage and compliance. Quickly confirm that surcharges are applied if selected in your payment settings.

Status

Displays whether the payment succeeded or failed.

Catch failed transactions immediately. Follow up with the patient or retry the charge in a timely manner.

Actions

You’ll see three icons per row:

  • 📄 Download Receipt

  • 📧 Email Receipt

  • ↩️ Refund (Not available with Stripe)

Use it for:
Quickly sending receipts or issuing refunds without leaving the page.

Want to understand how fees and surcharges are calculated?
Click the “How Fees Are Calculated?” tooltip at the top of the Payments table.


Filter and Search with Ease

Use the filter bar at the top of the page to narrow your view:

  • Payment Date range

  • Write Back Status (Synced/Unsynced)

  • Name or Transaction ID search field

Click “Apply” to update results or “Reset” to clear filters.


Export for Reconciliation or Accounting

Click the Export button in the top-right corner of the Payments table to download your filtered records as a CSV file. This is ideal for:

  • End-of-day deposit reports

  • Monthly accounting and reconciliation

  • Identifying card types or surcharges across payments

  • Back-office audits and reporting

💡 Pro Tip: Apply filters first (e.g., by date, payment method, or status) to keep your export clean and relevant.

Don’t have Excel?
You can easily open and manage the CSV file in Google Sheets:

  1. Click File > Import > Upload, then drag in your CSV file

  2. Choose “Insert new sheet(s)” and click Import Data

This makes it simple to share with your accountant, edit, or create pivot tables and summaries online.


Deposit Reconciliation: Use the Deposits Tab

Switch to the Deposits tab to view payment batches by deposit date. Each entry displays:

  • Deposit Date

  • # of Payments

  • Gross Amount

  • PbN + Transaction Fees

  • Net Deposits

Click into any deposit to view all payments included—great for matching PbN payouts to your bank deposits.


Processing Times

Payments made through PbN Payments are typically deposited into your bank account the next business day.

Note: Delays occasionally occur due to bank holidays or processor-related reviews, but next-business-day funding is the standard for most transactions.

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