Steps For Improving Cash Flow At Your Dental Practice

Running a dental practice is just like running any other business. You have employees to look out for, patients to care for, bills to pay, and branding to be done. And, just like any other business, you have to meet your financial goals so that you can pay your employees and your bills while still having enough to cover your own salary as well as making a profit.

Experts say that the biggest threat to the long term success of any dental practice is not a lack of profit, but a lack of cash flow. Sustainable cash flow is the life blood of any business and even though your practice is doing well, without adequate cash flow, you might still run into some red months. If you are considering selling a dental practice, this could affect your dental practice evaluation.

The main reason that a dental practice might run into financial difficulties is due to slow or non-paying patients. Fortunately, there are many things that you can do to help keep cash flowing in a dental practice.

With That in Mind, We Are Going to Take a Look at Some Steps for Improving Cash Flow at Your Dental Practice:

Scrutinise Your Cash-Flow Statement- most dentists prefer to focus on patient care while delegating business financials to someone else. While this is standard practice, it’s still a good idea to know where they stand financially. Nobody likes to be surprised when it comes to their money and knowing of any issues ahead of time can pre-empt any problems later on.

Establish Payment And Credit Policies- credit should always be considered a courtesy, not a requirement, of doing business. Successful dental practices should establish clear payment and credit policies and these policies should be made known to patients up front. Not only should you establish payment and credit policies, but you should also enforce these policies. Remind patients sooner rather than later if a bill is past due and teach them your expectations.

Use Technology To Your Advantage- using technology to your advantage can make everything from scheduling to billing and collection easy and efficient. Technology can also be used to help speed up the collection process, ensuring that your practice has a steady stream of cash flow.

Enhance Your Payment Process- by making your payment process easier to use, you can make it easier for your patients to pay you. This, in turn, will lead to improved cash flow and more satisfied patients.