This article explains what to do when an invoice inside a treatment plan shows a higher amount than the patient actually paid, and the invoice has already been finalized and (partly) paid. The correction is booked as a settlement: nothing is refunded to the patient, the accounting is simply brought in line.
Typical situation: A treatment is executed straight from a treatment plan using the standard price list. The clinic intended to lower the price (for example from 3500 to 3000) via the discount/price field, but forgot to do so before invoicing. The invoice now shows 3500, while the patient has correctly paid 3000. The books are off by the difference (500), and no money is owed in either direction.
When to use this method
Use this when a mistake was made after invoicing and the patient does not get money back. For other cases of partial crediting, see the notes at the bottom of this article.
Why not edit or duplicate?
Duplicating the plan is not recommended when the treatment plan is ongoing, meaning treatments have already been performed or partly performed. If the treatment plan has not started yet or has not been invoiced, it’s fine to duplicate.
Edit invoice is not available inside a treatment plan. In a treatment plan the payments are registered on the plan, not on the individual treatment invoice. The treatment invoice itself is empty (zero), so editing it does nothing.
Please note: you need the appropriate permissions (Edit/credit/delete invoice) to perform these steps. Perform the steps in the indicated order as explained below.
Step 1 – Credit the difference
Open the treatment plan and go to the invoice. Do not credit the full amount, only credit the part that was overcharged.
Enter the difference as the amount to credit (in this example: 500). Optionally add a note explaining why the credit was made. Set the credit invoice to Outstanding and click Confirm.
You now have two items outstanding: the original invoice and the new credit invoice. Both still need to be settled in the books. The original invoice will show a reference to the credit invoice at the bottom (for example "Credit invoice: 2601C0022") with the credit date.
Step 2 – Register the credit invoice as a settlement
Click on the credit invoice and register its payment. Choose Settlement as the payment method, so bookkeeping can see this is not a normal payment. Then click Confirm.
Tip: if Settlement is not available in your setup, you can use Cash or another method. It does not affect the outcome, but Settlement is the clearest option for the accounting.
Step 3 – Register the original invoice
Now register the payment on the original invoice as well, then confirm (and attach if needed).
Everything is now processed. The original invoice and the credit invoice both show as paid, and the credit invoice is listed neatly in the invoice overview. No irregularities should remain.
What the patient sees
On the invoice the patient will see the invoiced amount marked as paid, split into the actual payment (for example Bank transfer 3000) and Settlement 500. This is correct: the settlement line makes clear it is an accounting correction, not a refund the patient is owed. The patient does not receive any money back.
If you want to reassure the patient, you can send the credit invoice with a short note, for example:
"This credit invoice has been issued to correct the previously billed amount. No action is required from your side."
Other cases of partial crediting
Partial crediting (leaving the original invoice intact and crediting only one line or amount) also applies to:
A discount given afterwards on part of the invoice (goodwill, complaint handling, a promotion).
One product or treatment line is returned or cancelled, while the rest of the invoice stays valid.
A price correction on a single line (wrong rate on one item, the other lines are correct).
A partial refund where the patient does get part of the money back and the rest of the service remains invoiced.
Important: the last case (a partial refund) is different from the settlement case above. Only register a real refund when money is actually returned to the patient.
In the settlement case described in this article, the patient receives nothing back. If you simply want to give a discount up front, apply it via the price/discount field before invoicing. See also How to apply a discount to an already paid invoice.