When there are funds available in Account Credit (Unapplied Payments), you can use Account Credit as a payment method that will be used to pay off invoices. This method is available on both the Invoice and Account tabs in the Payments panel. Account Credit also allows for reallocating funds without altering the original payment methods, ensuring that no refunds or changes to the original payments occur.
Invoice tab > Payment > Account Credit
Account tab > Balance Payoff > Account Credit
When you apply an Account Credit to Invoice(s), you’ll see two ledger rows:
Transfer from Account Credit Unapplied Payments.
Payment – Account Credit Unapplied Payments.
Hovering over the ledger row will display any notes associated with the payments.
Please note: Patient invoice transfers will not be possible if an Account Credit has been applied to their invoice.
Allocating Payments Across Multiple Invoices
If multiple invoices are unpaid across patients under the same account, follow these steps to allocate account credits effectively:
Open the overpaid invoice and select “Unapply payments” from the three-dot menu. Enter the overpaid amount to move it into Account Credit.
Navigate to the Payments panel and select the relevant patient.
Use Account Credit to pay invoices. If there are multiple unpaid invoices and limited credit:
Pay off the smaller-balance invoice first.
Apply any remaining credit to the larger invoice.
Any residual balance will remain unpaid until settled with a new payment.
Handling Negative Account Balances
When a negative Account Balance represents money not tied to an invoice, Instinct displays it as both a negative Account Balance and as Account Credit. There is no option to move it solely to Account Credit. Instead, leave the account as-is. As the credit is applied to future invoices, both the negative Account Balance and Account Credit will decrease. Once fully used, the Account Balance will return to zero.
Moving Refunds to Account Credits
To move a refund from an invoice to account credit:
Perform a refund on the relevant invoice using the "Other" method for the appropriate amount.
Go to the account and process a "deposit" using the "Other" method for the same amount. This applies the credit directly to the account balance for future use.
Correcting Refund Errors
If a refund was mistakenly posted as an account credit:
Create a new invoice mirroring the refunded item(s) with negative quantities/amounts to represent the refund.
Post the refund against the negative invoice and apply a payment to the related positive invoice to balance the ledger. If a refund was applied to the wrong invoice:
Issue a refund on the incorrect invoice using the "Other" method for the correction amount.
Apply a payment with the "Other" method for the same amount on the correct invoice.
Handling Partial Refunds and Account Credits
To process a partial refund when invoices show zero balance but there is remaining account credit:
Locate the original payment and use the action menu to initiate the refund.
Enter the partial amount to return, ensuring the refund is issued from the original payment record. When only part of an account credit is applied to an invoice:
Transfer the needed amount from account credit to the invoice, then refund the remaining credit at the account level.
If the full credit is transferred to the invoice, refund the excess from the invoice to avoid unpaid invoice appearances.
Best Practices for Refunds and Account Adjustments
Use the "Other" method for internal fund transfers to maintain accurate records.
Always balance ledgers by ensuring refunds and payments are correctly applied.
Avoid transferring full account credits to invoices unless necessary to prevent confusion in ledger balances.
Note: Patient invoice transfers will not be possible if an Account Credit has been applied to their invoice.
