5 Apps to Make Payment Processing More Efficient
By Katie Schmitt, PT, DPT
When it comes to taking payment from physical therapy wellness clients and patients, what is your system?
Are you still using a register and cash drawer? Do you take personal checks? How about virtual currency transfer? Finding the payment processing method that is right for you may mean having several ways of processing payments depending on your patient population and tech savvy capability. Consider these top 5 apps for payment processing for your physical therapy private practice.
Square
If you run your business with an iPhone or iPad, you can process payments with Square. This small attachment for your phone allows you to swipe or insert a chip for credit card processing. With a flat rate fee of 2.75 percent, according to squareup.com, per transaction, there is no mystery about how much it will cost you to charge your patients with cards in hand.
The possibly overlooked, but very useful, benefit of Square is that it can process your physical therapy session payments when offline. How many times does the system go down when you are the busiest? With this device you can be offline without making patients wait in line to check out.
Square is perfect for those private practice physical therapy offices with clients who prefer to have plastic in hand when it comes time to pay for their visit.
PayPal
Perhaps the most recognized form of online payment, PayPal is a trusted source for sending and receiving payments. All you need to have is an email address linked to your business and people can easily find you. PayPal funds are transferred for a small fee from the patient’s credit card, or for no fee when sending money to friends. With monthly and yearly statements, PayPal is an excellent app for tracking, payment processing, and receiving money from patients and clients.
Venmo
The more social, and perhaps more popular, Venmo app is actually owned by PayPal and works in a similar way. People can share a handle, or screen name, and find each other to make payments for goods, services, and the occasional coffee run. With Venmo being so social, payments can be made public or private. This is a great app to help get the word out about your private practice physical therapy office as people can share how great they feel and how well they are moving. This may, in turn, motivate their Venmo friends to come and find you.
Google Pay
Google is a noun, a verb, and a payment system. With Google Pay people can email you money. This app is very user friendly, secure, and makes tracking payments as simple as booking appointments with email reminders. For those patients and clients who are always communicating with you through email, they may be apt to pay through Google as well.
Is there anything you cannot do on Facebook? If you have a very strong social media presence and are active on Facebook business, networking with Facebook groups and using Facebook events to drive community involvement, why not consider processing payments through Facebook as well? With a connection to a debit card or PayPal, patients and clients can pay you through an icon embedded in Messenger.
Payment Processing for Your Private Practice Physical Therapy Office
Payment processing should be simple. Some people are nervous about this part of business, but after all it is business. The easier it is for patients and clients to pay, the smoother the transition from great PT care to client customer service.
We would love to hear your thoughts on these 5 payment apps and what has worked well for your business.
References:
www.thebalance.com/best-payment-apps-4159058
https://fitsmallbusiness.com/best-credit-card-readers-for-iphone/
www.thebalance.com/facebook-messenger-payments-send-and-receive-money-315074
Katie Schmitt, PT, DPT, is a graduate of Columbia University Medical Center, working in Charleston, South Carolina, at Fox Rehabilitation, MUSC, and in private practice at the Charleston Squash Club. She can be reached at drkatiedpt@gmail.com.