Collecting outstanding balances is one of the most time-consuming tasks for dental practices. Your team sends a payment request, then has to remember to follow up, track who’s been contacted, and decide when to send another reminder. It’s tedious work that often falls through the cracks.
Today we’re launching Payment Request AutoCollect, a feature that automates the entire follow-up process for outstanding payment requests.
The Follow-Up Problem
When you send a payment request to a patient, the clock starts ticking. Studies show that collection rates drop significantly the longer a balance remains unpaid. But staying on top of follow-ups is challenging:
- Manual tracking is unreliable: Sticky notes and calendar reminders get lost
- Staff turnover creates gaps: When someone leaves, their follow-up tasks often disappear
- Inconsistent timing: Some patients get multiple reminders, others get none
- Time spent on administration: Your team would rather focus on patient care
How AutoCollect Works
Payment Request AutoCollect brings the same intelligent automation you know from membership renewals to your payment request workflow.
One Toggle to Enable
When creating or editing a payment request, simply enable the AutoCollect option. The system takes over from there, scheduling and sending reminders automatically.
Intelligent Scheduling
AutoCollect uses smart timing to maximize response rates:
- Initial request: Sent immediately when you create the payment request
- First reminder: Sent after 7 days if unpaid
- Second reminder: Sent after 14 days if still unpaid
- Final notice: Sent after 21 days with urgency messaging
Each notification can be delivered via email, SMS, or both, depending on your patient’s communication preferences.
Next-Run Preview
The system shows you exactly when the next notification will be sent. No guessing, no surprises. You can see the scheduled date right on the payment request detail screen.
Stale Request Detection
AutoCollect automatically identifies payment requests that haven’t received any follow-up recently. These “stale” requests surface in your dashboard, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks even if AutoCollect wasn’t enabled initially.
Notification Tracking
Every notification is logged with complete details:
- Delivery timestamp: Know exactly when each reminder was sent
- Delivery status: Confirm successful delivery or identify issues
- Channel used: See whether email, SMS, or both were sent
- Response tracking: Monitor when patients view or interact with requests
This audit trail helps you understand your collection timeline and provides documentation if questions arise.
The Impact on Your Practice
Practices using AutoCollect are experiencing meaningful improvements in their accounts receivable:
Faster collection times. Consistent, timely reminders prompt patients to pay sooner rather than later.
Higher collection rates. Patients who receive regular follow-ups are significantly more likely to pay than those who receive sporadic or no reminders.
Reduced staff workload. Your team no longer needs to manually track and send follow-up communications.
Professional patient experience. Automated messages maintain a consistent, courteous tone without seeming aggressive or disorganized.
Works With Your Existing Workflow
AutoCollect integrates seamlessly with the payment request features you already use:
- Line-item billing: Detailed invoices with procedure codes and itemized charges
- Secure payment links: Patients pay through a secure, mobile-friendly portal
- Multiple payment methods: Accept cards, ACH, and other payment types
- Transaction linking: Complete audit trail from request to payment
Customization Options
While the defaults work well for most practices, you can adjust AutoCollect to match your preferences:
- Timing intervals: Change how many days between reminders
- Maximum attempts: Set how many reminders to send before stopping
- Message content: Customize the reminder text to match your practice voice
- Channel preferences: Choose email-only, SMS-only, or both
Getting Started
Payment Request AutoCollect is available now to all Smile Advantage customers. To start using it:
- Navigate to any payment request in your dashboard
- Enable the AutoCollect toggle
- Review the scheduled notification timeline
- Save, and the system handles the rest
For new payment requests, you can enable AutoCollect during creation. For existing requests that need follow-up, simply edit the request and enable the feature.
Stop Chasing Payments
Outstanding balances are inevitable in any practice. But the manual work of following up doesn’t have to be. Let AutoCollect handle the reminders while your team focuses on patient care.