Building Clerri’s partnership network this year has provided countless opportunities to explore how we can work with tech companies, agencies, service providers, dental influencers, and others to help dental practices foster loyalty, expand access, and drive meaningful revenue growth.
Another example of this occurred recently when we were fortunate to partner with Steve Anderson, founder of the Total Patient Service (TOPS) Institute, for a webinar titled "STOP! The 5 Ways You’re Losing Money," where we delved into some critical operational and financial best practices to create a culture of economic success that protects your practice's assets.
It was great to partner with Steve and the TOPS Institute, an organization dedicated to encouraging patients to say "Yes" to treatment. For those of you who were with us, you heard Steve lay out the Five-Point Daily Checklist, a set of simple, non-negotiable checks and balances that every dental practice should implement to stop financial leaks, save time, and eliminate frustration.
Here is a quick summary of the five critical areas you need to audit and control daily:
1. Lost Patients: Implement a Proper Patient Check-in Procedure
Are you relying solely on digital check-in? Steve emphasized that to ensure full accountability and a solid legal record, you must have a system that captures a written or digitally signed signature from every patient who walks through your door. This approach creates an auditable trail, providing peace of mind by confirming that a patient was physically present and protecting the practice from potential fraud or disputes over attendance.
2. Lost Production & Time: Review the Provider Day Sheet
You work hard for every procedure, but are you sure every single procedure performed is being accurately charged and recorded? We learned that every provider should review their provider day sheet daily to check two key things:
- Did everything you did get charged out?
- Is everything that you charged out something you actually did?
By catching discrepancies daily, you prevent minor errors from turning into significant lost revenue over time, ensuring accurate production and clear communication between the back and front offices.
3. Lost Adjustments: Use Specific, Detailed Categories
Adjustments are a high-risk area for financial mismanagement. A common mistake is using broad, non-specific categories, such as "Credit Adjustment" or "Miscellaneous." Steve stressed that your practice management software must utilize specific adjustment categories:
- Insurance adjustment
- Pre-payment 5% courtesy
- Friends and family
- Employee
This specificity ensures that every adjustment is justified, transparent, and easy to audit, preventing losses from unauthorized or unclear write-offs. We also discussed setting dollar limits on adjustments that require approval from the practice owner or leader.
4. Lost Deposits: Balance Out Every Day
Just like at a bank or retail store, your daily revenue needs to balance out to the penny. The key takeaway here is to compare your deposit report from your practice management software directly against the bank deposit slip every day. They must match. If you accept cash, remember the vital rule: the person who writes the deposit slip is not the person who takes the deposit to the bank. This separation of duties provides the essential check and balance. And remember, no undeposited checks should ever be left overnight in the office.
5. Lost Entries/Edits: Utilize the Audit Trail Report
The audit trail report tracks every single keystroke, entry, deletion, and change made in your practice management system. This report should only be accessible to the owner/doctor or a designated manager and should be reviewed regularly (daily if possible, weekly at a minimum). What are you looking for? Any entry that says "Deleted" or "Changed." These are red flags that require immediate follow-up to ensure an appointment, payment, or entry wasn't improperly removed—the ultimate check-and-balance tool for your financial systems.
Beyond these five areas, we also discussed important auxiliary checks, like reviewing bank and credit card statements, staying on top of insurance claims, and having a firm "no bags at the front desk" policy to protect your team and eliminate suspicion.
Finally, Steve shared a powerful recommendation: crime/fidelity insurance. It's a low-cost, high-value asset that protects your practice from internal theft or financial mismanagement. It ensures that if a loss does occur, a large, third-party insurance company steps in to verify the loss and financially cover the practice, pursuing the matter to the full extent of the law.
If you’re interested in partnering with us, I would love to speak with you. Contact me here, and let’s get the conversation started on how we can work together!
