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Billing Operations for Virtual Care Practices

Effective billing operations are essential for the financial health of your virtual care practice. CareLaunch provides integrated billing tools that help healthcare entrepreneurs collect payments, manage revenue cycles, and maintain healthy cash flow without complex third-party billing software.

Payment Collection Models​

Direct Pay (Cash Pay)​

The simplest model for virtual care practices:

Advantages:

  • Immediate payment collection
  • Predictable revenue
  • Lower administrative overhead
  • Transparent pricing for patients

Setting Up Direct Pay:

  1. Open Integrations and connect your Stripe account if payments are enabled for your organization.
  2. Configure a payment step in Settings > Registration if your intake workflow collects payment.
  3. Confirm with your CareLaunch contact whether your workflow collects at booking, check-in, or after a visit, and how receipts are sent.

Pricing Strategies:

  • Per-Visit Pricing: Fixed fee for each appointment type
  • Package Pricing: Discounted bundles (e.g., 5 visits for the price of 4)
  • Membership Model: Monthly/annual fee for unlimited or discounted visits

Setting Up Payment Processing​

Connecting Stripe​

CareLaunch uses Stripe for secure payment processing:

  1. Go to Integrations
  2. Click Connect Stripe
  3. Create or connect your Stripe account
  4. Complete identity verification
  5. Add your bank account for payouts

Stripe fees: CareLaunch does not add an application fee. Standard Stripe processing fees apply, at the rate Stripe charges your connected account. Fees are not tiered by CareLaunch plan.

Configuring Payment Settings​

Customize how payments work for your practice:

Payment Timing:

  • At Booking: Collect full payment when appointment is scheduled
  • At Check-In: Collect when patient checks in for appointment
  • After Visit: Send invoice after service is provided

Payment methods:

  • Credit and debit cards, including HSA/FSA cards
  • For a one-time payment during registration, Stripe can also offer methods your connected account has turned on, such as ACH. ACH is not limited to a CareLaunch plan
  • Invoice, membership, and subscription checkout is card-only

CareLaunch does not store a card on file for a patient.

Receipts: Stripe can email payment receipts, based on the receipt settings in your Stripe account. CareLaunch does not have a receipt-branding page or a downloadable PDF invoice in the admin app.

Pricing Your Services​

Setting Appointment Prices​

Configure pricing for each service:

  1. Set up products and prices in your connected Stripe account.
  2. Go to Settings > Healthcare Services, select a service, and choose its payment product.
  3. Confirm with your CareLaunch contact how your booking workflow handles any variations you offer:
    • New patient vs. established patient
    • Provider-specific pricing
    • Time-based pricing

Package and Membership Pricing​

Packages: If you sell visit packages, confirm the product and price in Stripe and the included visits, expiration, and purchase flow with your CareLaunch contact before offering them to patients.

Memberships: If you use recurring prices in Stripe, confirm how billing terms, included services, discounts, and the patient purchase flow are configured for your practice before offering memberships.

Discounts and Promotions​

Offer discounts strategically:

  • New Patient Discounts: Attract first-time patients
  • Referral Credits: Reward patients who refer others
  • Seasonal Promotions: Drive volume during slow periods
  • Loyalty Discounts: Reward long-term patients

Set up discounts in your connected Stripe account and confirm how they apply to your patient payment flow before advertising them.

Managing the Revenue Cycle​

Pre-Visit​

Payment Collection:

  • Collect payment at booking to reduce no-shows
  • Patients pay again at the next checkout. CareLaunch does not keep a saved card
  • Send payment reminders before appointments

At Time of Service​

Check-In:

  • Verify patient information
  • Collect payment if it was not taken at booking
  • Collect any outstanding balances

Documentation:

  • Document services provided
  • Record time spent
  • Note any additional services

Post-Visit​

Invoicing:

  • Generate invoices for unpaid services
  • Send automatic payment reminders

Collections:

  • Track outstanding balances
  • Send reminder sequences
  • Escalate to collections if needed (external service)

Financial Reporting​

What the financial report shows​

Reports > Financial Reconciliation matches service requests to Stripe payments, refunds, and discounts. It shows paid, pending, failed, and refunded charges, and it flags exceptions such as completed work with no payment. Export CSV or SQL when you need revenue by service, collections aging, or patient value in your accounting tool.

Accessing Reports​

Financial activity is on Reports > Financial Reconciliation. Platform Admins and Organization Admins can open it. The Reports menu is hidden on the Solo plan; a Solo practice reviews charges in Stripe.

  1. Open Reports > Financial Reconciliation
  2. Filter by date range and payment status
  3. Export CSV or SQL

Exports are not scheduled, and the financial report does not export to PDF or Excel. See Financial Reconciliation.

Key Metrics to Track​

Collection Rate: Target: 95%+

Days in A/R: Target: Under 30 days

No-Show Rate: Target: Under 10% (impacts revenue significantly)

Patient Acquisition Cost: Track marketing spend vs. new patient revenue

Handling Refunds​

Refund Policy​

Establish clear refund policies:

  • Cancellation deadlines and fees
  • No-show policies
  • Service satisfaction guarantees
  • Package/membership refund terms

Document policies in your financial agreement.

Processing Refunds​

There is no Payments > Transactions page. Refunds are issued when an appointment is cancelled.

  1. Open the appointment
  2. Cancel it
  3. In the refund prompt, choose a full refund, a partial refund, or no refund
  4. Enter the amount for a partial refund, choose a reason, and confirm

If automatic refunds are turned on, a cancellation can refund the payment without that prompt. Refunds also appear on Reports > Financial Reconciliation. See Appointment Statuses.

Refund Best Practices​

  • Process refunds promptly
  • Document refund reasons
  • Track refund rates by service type
  • Review policies if refund rates are high

Tax Considerations​

Sales Tax​

Healthcare services are generally exempt from sales tax, but:

  • Some products may be taxable
  • Rules vary by state
  • Consult a tax professional

Income Reporting​

CareLaunch provides:

  • Transaction reports for accounting
  • 1099-K from Stripe (if applicable)
  • Export capabilities for tax preparation

Record Keeping​

Maintain financial records:

  • Keep records for at least 7 years
  • Export regular backups
  • Reconcile with bank statements monthly

Integrating with Accounting​

Exporting Financial Data​

Export data for your accounting system:

  1. Go to Reports > Financial Reconciliation
  2. Select the date range
  3. Export CSV or SQL

There is no scheduled export, and Excel is not an export format for this report.

Common Integrations​

CareLaunch data can be imported into:

  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • FreshBooks
  • Wave
  • Custom accounting systems

Reconciliation​

Monthly reconciliation process:

  1. Export CareLaunch payment report
  2. Compare with bank deposits
  3. Identify and resolve discrepancies
  4. Document reconciliation

Best Practices​

Reducing Payment Friction​

  • Collect payment at booking when possible
  • Offer the payment methods your Stripe account has enabled
  • Send clear, timely payment requests

Minimizing Bad Debt​

  • Collect payment before service when possible
  • Follow up on outstanding balances promptly

Optimizing Cash Flow​

  • Encourage upfront payment with small discounts
  • Process payments daily
  • Monitor A/R aging weekly
  • Address overdue accounts quickly

Getting Help​

For billing questions:

  • CareLaunch Support: support@carelaunch.health
  • Stripe Support: For payment processing issues
  • Accounting Professional: For tax and financial advice
  • Billing Consultant: For complex revenue cycle optimization

Effective billing operations are crucial for practice sustainability. CareLaunch provides the tools; implementing best practices ensures your practice thrives financially.