Most practices collect copays at the front desk, before or after the visit. Before creates a bottleneck at check-in. After means patients leave without paying and staff spend hours on follow-up billing.
The better approach: collect copays online as part of pre-visit intake.
Why Collect Before the Visit
Collection rates fall the further you get from the appointment. At the front desk they're decent. After the visit they drop. Once you're mailing statements, you're spending money to collect money.
Collecting during intake:
- Raises collection rates. Patients pay while they're engaged.
- Speeds up check-in. No card swiping, no awkward payment talk.
- Cuts admin work. Fewer statements, fewer balances to chase.
- Removes surprises. Patients know what they owe before they arrive.
Designing the Payment Step
Put payment on the last page of intake. After demographics, insurance, and consent, payment is the natural final step.
Show the amount and what it's for. "Your copay for this visit is $35" beats a bare "$35 charge" and reduces disputes.
Accept common methods. Credit, debit, and HSA/FSA cards. Apple Pay and Google Pay are increasingly expected.
Confirm immediately. An on-screen receipt plus an email receipt. Patients want proof, and HSA/FSA substantiation needs it.
Handle unknown amounts. When the copay isn't known until insurance is verified, collect when it's known and flag the rest for the front desk.
Why Stripe
PCI compliance is handled. Card numbers go straight to Stripe's PCI-compliant infrastructure and never touch your systems or sit next to PHI.
HSA/FSA cards work. Many patients prefer them for medical payments.
Saved cards and recurring billing. Useful for treatment plans.
Keep the payment field inside the form itself, not on a redirect. Every extra click between "complete intake" and "payment confirmed" loses patients.
Have a Refund Process
Copays sometimes change after insurance processes the claim. Document how overpayments get refunded so staff can do it quickly.
Measuring the Impact
- Pre-visit payment rate: share of patients who pay before arriving
- Days in accounts receivable: should drop
- Statement volume: fewer mailed statements, direct savings
- Check-in time: should drop
Formisoft puts Stripe-powered payment fields inside your intake forms, so patients fill in their information, sign consent, and pay in one flow, with no redirects or separate portal. A 5% processing fee applies per transaction. See how Formisoft gets every patient ready before the visit.
Connect intake to the rest of your front desk.
- Forms, consents, and signatures before the visit
- Your paper forms converted by AI
- BAA included