How to Improve Your Dental Practice’s Cash Flow

Some dentists may be surprised to learn that the biggest threat to a dental practice’s long-term success is not a lack of profit. The most significant danger is a lack of cash flow.

For instance, a dentist could have an average of $75,000 in and out of their bank accounts every month, totaling $27 million throughout their 30-year career. However, the cash flow is not always consistent and may not be enough to sustain them later in life. Even though they are technically a “multi-millionaire,” they could still be financially unstable later.

Late and non-paying patients are usually a big reason for this. You can do many things to help ensure cash flow in your dental practice. Here are five tips for you to consider:

Study Your Dental Clinic’s Cash Flow Statement

As a dentist, it’s essential to understand your dental clinic’s cash flow statement. This document provides a snapshot of your clinic’s financial health and can be used to identify areas for improvement.

Your practice’s cash flow statement shows how much cash flows in and out of your clinic. It includes all sources of revenue, such as patient payments and insurance reimbursements, as well as all expenses, such as supplies, staff salaries, and rent.

By studying your cash flow statement, you can clearly see your clinic’s financial health. This can help you identify areas where you may need to make changes, such as reducing expenses or increasing revenue.

Establish and Implement Payment and Credit Policies for Your Dental Clinic

As a dental clinic, having clear and concise payment and credit policies is crucial. This will help ensure that your dental clinic runs smoothly and that patients can receive the treatment they need in a timely manner.

There are some things that you have to consider when establishing payment and credit policies for your dental clinic:

• What types of payment methods will your dental practice accept?
• Will you offer financing or extended payment plans?
• How will you handle patients with bad credit or unpaid balances?
• What is your collections policy?
• What type of discount, if any, will you offer for patients who pay in cash?

Once you have considered all these, you can then start to develop payment and credit policies that work for your dental clinic. Be sure to communicate these policies to patients upfront, so there are no surprises down the road.

Use Technology to Improve Your Cash Flow

Technological advances have made it easier to manage your finances and improve your cash flow. Several apps and software programs can help you track your spending, budget better and even negotiate better deals with creditors.

Tracking your practice’s spending is the first step to improving your cash flow. Many apps can help you do this. Once you know where all your money goes, you can begin to make changes to your spending habits.

There are also a number of apps and software programs for budgeting that you can try.

You can also use technology to negotiate better deals with creditors. There are many websites and apps that can help you do this, such as Negotiate it and Debt.com.

By using technology to your dental practice’s advantage, you can take control of your finances and improve your cash flow.

Conclusion

By studying your cash flow statement to identify problems, establishing improved payment and credit policies, and using technology, you can improve your dental clinic’s cash flow. Your practice can be more efficient and profitable when your cash flow is better.

Of course, these are only a few of the many improvements you can make to your cash flow. Dental accounting pros can help you improve it even further.

Ash Dental CPA is one of the best dental accounting firms in MA that can provide you with reliable dental accounting services. Find out more about our services that can help your dental practice today!