How to Add Fee-for-Service Billing to Appointment Types

Akute Pay lets you attach specific charges directly to appointment types, so you can easily bill patients for visits, no-shows, and late cancellations.

When you enable billing on an appointment type, you can:

  • Set a fixed fee for a specific appointment type
  • Add optional no-show and late cancel fees
  • Choose when to charge: at booking, at appointment time, or when marked complete

How to Set It Up

  1. Navigate to Settings → Appointment Types
  2. Either create a new appointment type or click Edit Appointment Type on an existing appointment type
  3. Scroll down and check "Enable billing for this appointment type"
  4. Enter the appointment fee
  5. (Optional) Add no-show fee and late cancel fee
  6. Select when to charge patients from the following options:
    • Time of booking
    • Time of appointment
    • When the appointment is marked as completed
  7. Click Save

Example Use Case

In the example GIF above, this practice created an "Initial Visit" appointment type with:

  • $100 appointment fee
  • $20 no-show fee
  • $15 late cancel fee
  • Charge after completion

Now after the appointment is marked "Complete," the patient is automatically charged $100. If they no-show, the $20 fee is charged. If they cancel late, the practice can charge a $15 late cancel fee.

Pro Tip: No-Show and Late Cancel Fees with Time-of-Booking Charges

If you charge patients at the time of booking, we recommend not adding no-show or late cancel fees to that appointment type. Here's why:

When a patient is charged at booking and then no-shows or cancels late, Akute does not automatically refund the original appointment fee. The no-show or late cancel fee is charged in addition to the original charge.

Example:

  • Appointment fee: $100 (charged at booking)
  • No-show fee: $20
  • Patient no-shows → Patient is charged $100 + $20 = $120 total

Since the patient already paid upfront, adding penalty fees on top can create confusion and may require manual refunds based on your practice's policies. If you want to use no-show or late cancel fees, consider charging at the time of appointment or when marked complete instead. Here is a support article with more information on how to determine this logic.

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