Revenue Protection automates the enforcement of no-show, late-cancellation, and deposit policies using your authoritative appointment data and built-in payment workflows. This feature helps practices consistently apply fees, secure earned revenue, and remove manual enforcement decisions from practice staff.

ElevateNow LMS Training: PatientNow_Revenue Protection (Policies Builder)(Intro) and PatientNow_Revenue Protection (Advanced)

Protect practice revenue by automatically enforcing eligible no-show and late-cancellation fees. Save time and reduce manual administrative work by removing staff judgment from fee enforcement. Ensure a seamless, consistent client experience by applying configured policies fairly across all appointments. Charge with confidence using card-on-file eligibility checks and built-in safeguards that prevent duplicate policy charges. Maintain complete auditability with enforcement records linked directly to appointment, ticket, and payment activity.

Practice owners and business managers. Practice Administrators and Office Managers responsible for configuring appointment policies. Billing, payments, and finance users processing or reviewing transactions. Customer Support teams explaining charge outcomes to practice staff.

PatientNow Essentials (PNE) platforms with Embedded Payments enabled.

Embedded Payments must be enabled for the location. The merchant account must have credit card processing enabled. Card-on-file workflows must be available and supported.

Staff must have the appropriate system permissions to configure Revenue Protection policies. The practice must have established business rules for no-shows, late cancellations, and deposits. Staff should clearly understand how and when policy fees should be applied to clients.

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A. Access the Policies Builder Navigate to Company Settings > Policies Builder - Revenue Protection.

B. Configure Location-Level Policies Enable the policy you wish to configure: No-Show Policy, Late Cancellation Policy, or Deposit Policy. Select a Charge Type: Flat Fee, Percentage, or Full Price. Note that the percentage option charges a percentage of the service price, not the total appointment value, as retail items are excluded. Enter the required fee amount or percentage. Set the specific timing parameters, such as the Cancellation Window or No-Show Grace Period. Check the box to require a card on file if clients must have a saved payment method to complete booking. Review the dynamic policy summary in the blue box to ensure it aligns with your practice goals. Select Save Settings.

C. Configure Service-Level Overrides Navigate to Inventory > Service List. Edit the specific service you want to configure and open the Policies Builder tab. Review the automatically populated location-level default setting. Enable the policy to adjust values and override the default for this service. Review the dynamic policy summary and select Save.

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Policy Hierarchy: When both exist, service-level policy settings automatically override location-level defaults for that specific service. Online Booking settings are used only when no Revenue Protection policy is configured. Online Booking Integration: When Revenue Protection manages deposits, cancellation rules, or card-on-file requirements, the corresponding Online Booking settings become read-only and display a message indicating they are controlled by the Policies Builder. Deposit Application: If a deposit is collected and an appointment qualifies for a penalty, PatientNow automatically applies the available deposit credit toward the policy fee before attempting to charge the client's saved card for the remaining balance. The system now automatically creates a traceable invoice for these collected deposits.

Warning: Revenue Protection policy changes apply only to future appointments booked after a policy has been saved. Existing appointments utilize the policy in effect when originally scheduled.

Warning: Do not manually add a duplicate fee to a ticket if Revenue Protection has already created or attempted an enforcement record.

Note: The system performs a safety double-check before applying a no-show fee. If a busy front desk forgets to check a patient in, but successfully checks them out at the end of the appointment, the system will not trigger a no-show fee. Both the check-in and check-out must be missing to qualify.

Tip: Start by configuring standard location-level policies. Use service-level overrides sparingly to keep administration simple and predictable.

Tip: Communicate your financial policies clearly to clients before enabling automated enforcement to ensure transparency. Currently, PatientNow does not send an automated cancellation confirmation message when an appointment is canceled, making upfront communication of your policy critical.

Practice administrators should regularly review the Revenue Policy Fees Report to track failed charges.

Related Article: PatientNow Essentials: Revenue Protection Configuration & Administration Guide

ElevateNow Training(s): PatientNow Revenue Protection (Intro) and PatientNow Revenue Protection (Advanced)