This guide is intended for Practice Administrators, Office Managers, and other staff responsible for configuring appointment policies and payment settings.

20–30 minutes

Only create service-level policies when a service requires different behavior than the location default.

Before configuring Revenue Protection, it's important to understand how the feature works, when it applies, and how it helps protect your practice's revenue.

Revenue Protection automates the enforcement of your no-show, late cancellation, and deposit policies so your staff no longer has to manually determine whether a fee should be charged. Once configured, PatientNow evaluates appointment activity, applies the appropriate policy, attempts payment when applicable, and records the outcome for future reference.

Whether your practice requires deposits, charges for missed appointments, or enforces late cancellation fees, Revenue Protection helps ensure these policies are applied consistently while maintaining complete visibility into every policy-related event.

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All Revenue Protection settings are managed through the Policies Builder within Company Settings.

The Revenue Protection workspace is organized into three independent policy areas, making it easy to configure only the policies your practice requires.

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Purpose

Introduces the Revenue Protection workspace and familiarizes administrators with the three available policy areas before configuration begins.

Use

Policies Builder landing page showing:

Revenue Protection includes three policy types that work together to protect your practice from lost revenue. Although they are closely related, each policy serves a unique purpose.

Automatically charges clients who do not arrive for their scheduled appointment.

Automatically charges clients who cancel within your configured cancellation window.

Requires deposits when appointments are booked and determines when those deposits may be retained if an appointment qualifies for Revenue Protection.

Each policy can be enabled independently, allowing your practice to configure only the policies that align with your scheduling and payment procedures.

Revenue Protection follows a predictable process from the time an appointment is scheduled until the final policy outcome is recorded.

Understanding this lifecycle will help you understand how PatientNow automatically evaluates appointments and applies your configured policies.

Purpose

Illustrates the complete Revenue Protection lifecycle from appointment booking through policy evaluation, payment processing, and reporting.

💡 Did You Know?

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💡 Did You Know?

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Revenue Protection works automatically in the background. Once your policies are configured, PatientNow evaluates qualifying appointments without requiring additional staff action.

​Why Revenue Protection Matters

Revenue Protection helps practices reduce lost revenue while creating a more consistent experience for staff and clients.

By automating policy enforcement, your practice can:

Rather than relying on staff to remember when fees should be charged, PatientNow evaluates appointments using your configured policies and records the results automatically.

Revenue Protection helps practices reduce lost revenue while creating a more consistent experience for staff and clients.

By automating policy enforcement, your practice can:

Rather than relying on staff to remember when fees should be charged, PatientNow evaluates appointments using your configured policies and records the results automatically.

Before configuring Revenue Protection, confirm the following:

⚠️ Important

Revenue Protection policies apply only to appointments booked after a policy has been saved.

Existing appointments continue using the policy that was in effect when they were originally scheduled.

Revenue Protection supports two levels of policy configuration.

Location-level policies establish the default Revenue Protection rules for every service at your location.

Most practices only need to configure these policies once.

Service-level policies allow individual services to override the location defaults.

For example, your practice may charge a standard $50 no-show fee for most services while requiring the full appointment price for surgical consultations.

Revenue Protection evaluates policies in the following order:

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Purpose

Illustrates the order in which PatientNow evaluates Revenue Protection policies.

Diagram Highlights

🎯 Best Practice

Configure location-level policies first, then create service-level overrides only when individual services require different behavior.

​Access Revenue Protection

Revenue Protection policies are configured through Policies Builder.

To access Revenue Protection:

Each policy is collapsed by default.

Enable a policy to display its available configuration options.

Figure 2 – Navigate to Policies Builder

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Every Revenue Protection policy follows the same basic workflow.

PatientNow validates your configuration before allowing it to be saved, helping ensure your policies are complete and accurate before they become active.

In the next section, you'll configure each Revenue Protection policy in detail, including No-Show, Late Cancellation, and Deposit policies

Part 2 – Configure Revenue Protection Policies

Now that you understand how Revenue Protection works, you are ready to configure your policies.

Revenue Protection policies can be configured at the location level and, when needed, overridden at the service level. Most practices should begin by configuring location-level policies first, then create service-level overrides only for services that require different rules.

Each Revenue Protection policy uses the same basic card layout.

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Diagram 3 – Policy Card Anatomy

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💡 Tip

Review the dynamic policy summary before saving. It explains how the policy will behave using plain language.

Location-level policies become the default Revenue Protection rules for your location.

To configure a location-level policy:

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​Configure Service-Level Overrides

Service-level policies allow an individual service to use different Revenue Protection rules than the location default.
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Use service-level overrides only when a service requires different no-show, late cancellation, deposit, or card-on-file behavior.

To configure a service-level override:

When a service-level policy exists, it overrides the location-level policy for that service only.

If you want the service to use the location default again, select Use Location Default and save your changes.

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🎯 Best Practice

Use service-level overrides sparingly. Too many overrides can make policies harder to manage and explain to staff.

Use a No-Show Policy to charge clients who do not arrive for their scheduled appointment.

To configure a No-Show Policy:

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The Grace Period determines how long PatientNow waits after the scheduled appointment time before the appointment becomes eligible for no-show evaluation.

For example, if a client has a 10:00 AM appointment and the grace period is 15 minutes, Revenue Protection will not evaluate the appointment as a no-show until 10:15 AM.

This gives staff time to account for clients who arrive slightly late.

Use a Late Cancellation Policy to charge clients who cancel within a configured time window before their appointment.

To configure a Late Cancellation Policy:

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The Cancellation Window determines how close to an appointment a cancellation must occur before the Late Cancellation Policy applies.

For example, if your cancellation window is 24 hours, an appointment canceled within 24 hours of its scheduled start time may qualify for a late cancellation fee.

Appointments canceled before the configured window do not qualify for the Late Cancellation Policy.

Use a Deposit Policy to require deposits when appointments are scheduled and determine when those deposits may be retained.

Unlike no-show and late cancellation fees, deposits are collected before the appointment occurs.

To configure a Deposit Policy:

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Deposit retention determines when PatientNow may keep a deposit instead of applying it to a completed appointment.

Deposits may be retained for:

These options can be configured independently or together.

⚠️ Important

Deposit retention depends on the corresponding Revenue Protection policy.

Retaining deposits for no-shows requires a No-Show Policy. Retaining deposits for late cancellations requires a Late Cancellation Policy.

Revenue Protection supports three charge types.

Charges a fixed dollar amount.

Example

A $50 flat fee charges the client $50 regardless of the scheduled appointment value.

Charges a percentage of the scheduled appointment value.

Example

A 25% policy fee on a $400 appointment charges the client $100.

Charges the full scheduled appointment value.

Example

If the scheduled appointment value is $450, the client may be charged $450.

When a deposit is collected, PatientNow associates the deposit credit with the appointment.

If the appointment is completed normally, the deposit credit is applied toward the final ticket balance.

If the appointment qualifies for Revenue Protection, PatientNow applies any available deposit credit toward the policy fee before attempting to charge the client for any remaining balance.

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Each Revenue Protection policy includes a dynamic summary.

The summary explains how the current policy settings will behave once saved.

As you adjust values such as fee amount, cancellation window, grace period, or retention options, the summary updates automatically.

Review the summary before saving to confirm the policy matches your practice's expectations.

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PatientNow validates policy settings before allowing them to be saved.

Common validation rules include:

If a required value is missing or invalid, PatientNow displays a validation message explaining what must be corrected.

After your Revenue Protection policies are configured, the next step is understanding how they affect appointment booking.

In the next section, you will learn how Revenue Protection works with card-on-file requirements, client policy acknowledgment, Online Booking, and staff-scheduled appointments.

Once your Revenue Protection policies have been configured, PatientNow automatically evaluates appointments and applies your policies when the configured conditions are met.

This section explains how Revenue Protection works behind the scenes, how clients interact with your policies during appointment booking, and where administrators and staff can review policy activity throughout the application.

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Revenue Protection can require clients to have a valid payment method saved before an appointment can be scheduled.

Requiring a card on file helps ensure eligible policy fees can be processed automatically if a client misses an appointment or cancels too late.

Card-on-file requirements can be configured at both the location level and the service level. When a service has its own Revenue Protection policy, the service-level requirement overrides the location default.

When a Revenue Protection policy requires a card on file, clients booking online must save a valid payment method before completing their appointment.

PatientNow guides the client through the existing secure payment workflow before confirming the appointment.

If a valid payment method cannot be saved, the appointment cannot be completed.

Figure 10 – Online Booking Card-on-File Requirement

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Staff-Scheduled Appointments

When staff schedule an appointment that requires a card on file, PatientNow checks whether the client already has a valid saved payment method.

If a payment method is missing:

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🔍 Behind the Scenes

Revenue Protection evaluates the applicable policy during appointment booking. If a card on file is required, PatientNow verifies that a valid payment method exists before allowing the appointment to be completed.

When Revenue Protection applies to an appointment, PatientNow presents the applicable policy before the appointment is confirmed.

Depending on your configuration, the policy acknowledgment may include:

The client—or the staff member booking on the client's behalf—must acknowledge the applicable policy before the appointment can be completed.

If appointment details change during scheduling, PatientNow automatically refreshes the policy information and requests acknowledgment again.

Figure 12 – Revenue Protection Policy Acknowledgment

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💡 Did You Know?

PatientNow records the policy acknowledgment with the appointment, helping your practice document the policy presented at the time the appointment was scheduled.

Revenue Protection becomes the primary source for appointment policy behavior.

When Revenue Protection controls deposits, cancellation rules, or card-on-file requirements, the corresponding Online Booking settings become read-only and display a message indicating they are managed by Policies Builder.

Settings unrelated to Revenue Protection remain available within Online Booking.

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After Revenue Protection has been configured, no additional staff action is required.

PatientNow continuously evaluates qualifying appointments and automatically performs the following actions when appropriate:

Revenue Protection also prevents duplicate policy charges for the same appointment event.

🔍 Behind the Scenes

Revenue Protection evaluates appointments automatically after they become eligible. Depending on the appointment type and configured policies, there may be a short delay before the results appear throughout PatientNow.

Revenue Protection information is available throughout PatientNow, allowing staff to review policy activity without navigating to a separate application.

Appointment Hover provides a quick summary of Revenue Protection activity associated with an appointment.

Depending on the appointment, staff may see:

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The Edit Appointment window displays detailed Revenue Protection information for an appointment.

Staff can review:

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When Revenue Protection creates a fee automatically, the Sales Register identifies that item as Applied by Policy.

This helps distinguish automated Revenue Protection charges from items that were added manually.

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💡 Did You Know?

Revenue Protection fees use the same ticket and payment workflow as other PatientNow transactions, making them easy to review, refund, or void using existing processes.

Now that you've configured Revenue Protection and understand how it behaves throughout the appointment lifecycle, you're ready to learn how to monitor activity, review reports, troubleshoot issues, and manage policy-generated charges.

In the next section, you'll review Revenue Protection receipts, reports, refunds, troubleshooting guidance, and implementation best practices.

Once Revenue Protection has been configured, your primary responsibility shifts from configuration to ongoing monitoring and administration.

This section explains how to review Revenue Protection activity, understand policy outcomes, investigate issues, and manage policy-generated charges throughout PatientNow.

Revenue Protection activity is available throughout PatientNow, making it easy to review policy outcomes, answer client questions, and investigate policy-generated charges.

Revenue Protection information is available from:

Appointment Hover provides a quick summary of Revenue Protection activity associated with an appointment.

Depending on the appointment, staff may see:

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The Edit Appointment window provides additional Revenue Protection information for a specific appointment.

Staff can review:

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When Revenue Protection automatically creates a policy fee, the Sales Register identifies the item as Applied by Policy.

This helps distinguish automated Revenue Protection fees from items that were manually added to the ticket.

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Revenue Protection fees appear on receipts using the standard PatientNow receipt layout.

Policy-generated fees remain associated with the original appointment and ticket, providing clients and staff with a complete financial record.

Receipts include:

Policy-generated fees include Applied by Policy to indicate that the fee was created automatically.

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The Revenue Policy Fees Report provides a centralized view of Revenue Protection activity across your practice.

Use this report to:

To access the report:

The report allows you to review:

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🎯 Best Practice

Review the Revenue Protection Fees Report regularly to identify failed charges that may require staff follow-up.

Revenue Protection uses the standard PatientNow ticket and payment workflows.

If a policy-generated fee needs to be refunded or voided, follow the same refund or void process used for any other ticket.

The appointment history continues to display:

Occasionally, a policy applies but Revenue Protection cannot complete the payment.

When this occurs, PatientNow records the reason so staff can quickly understand what happened and determine the next steps.

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🔍 Behind the Scenes

Revenue Protection records every policy evaluation, whether payment succeeds or not. This provides administrators with a complete history for auditing and troubleshooting.

​Frequently Asked Questions

No.

Revenue Protection applies only to appointments booked after the policy has been saved.

Yes.

Service-level policies override the location-level policy for that specific service.

No.

Revenue Protection includes safeguards that prevent duplicate policy charges for the same appointment event.

PatientNow applies the available deposit toward the policy fee before attempting to charge the client's saved payment method for any remaining balance.

Revenue Protection information is available throughout PatientNow, including:

Yes.

Revenue Protection fees use the standard PatientNow refund and void workflows.

Follow these recommendations to help ensure Revenue Protection works consistently across your practice.

Begin with location-level policies before creating service-level overrides.

Create service-level policies only when a service requires different behavior than the location default.

Always review the policy summary before saving to confirm the policy behaves as expected.

Requiring a saved payment method improves the success rate of automated policy charges.

Before enabling Revenue Protection for all appointments, verify:

Monitor the Revenue Policy Fees Report to identify failed charges and trends over time.

Ensure clients understand your no-show, late cancellation, and deposit policies before appointments are scheduled.

Clear communication helps reduce misunderstandings and improves policy compliance.

Use the checklist below when implementing Revenue Protection.

Your Revenue Protection configuration is complete.

By combining automated policy evaluation, flexible configuration, integrated payment processing, and comprehensive reporting, Revenue Protection helps your practice enforce appointment policies consistently while reducing manual effort.

Continue reviewing Revenue Protection activity regularly to ensure your policies remain aligned with your scheduling, payment, and customer service practices.

ElevateNow Training: Revenue Protection & Revenue Protection (Advanced)