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Physio Invoice Step by Step: From Completed Visit to Payment

A patient is zipping up their jacket, the next one is already at the desk, and the invoice for the first is "a job for later". Later is how clinics end up with unbilled visits and a very long Friday afternoon. Here is the physio invoice step by step, as it runs in Clinidiary, so your front desk can raise a correct invoice while the patient is still standing there.

By the Clinidiary team · Updated · 5 min read

Set three things once, before the first invoice

Most invoice problems start in the settings, not at the desk. Check these first:

  • Services carry their price. When a service is booked, its length and price come with it, so nobody types a fee from memory.
  • GST is set per service. Most allied health consultations are GST-free, so a new service starts without GST and you switch it on only where it applies. If you are unsure which of your services carry GST, ask your accountant.
  • Your ABN and invoice numbers. Every invoice takes the next number in your series and shows your ABN.

The physio invoice step by step

  1. The physio marks the visit Completed. This is the hand-off. Reception starts invoicing from a completed visit, so ask your team to do it before the patient walks out.
  2. Reception opens the visit and clicks the Billing tab. The service and its price are already there. There is nothing to retype.
  3. Add any products. A brace, a roll of tape, a resistance band? Add it to the same invoice and it comes off your stock. How products are counted per site is covered in stock, retail and equipment.
  4. Glance at the tax on each line. The consultation can be GST-free while the retail line carries GST. One invoice holds both, each line with its own tax.
  5. Check who pays. It might be the patient, or a funder: Medicare, DVA, WorkCover, NDIS, a health fund, or an account holder who is not the patient. An invoice can also be split between payers, with the funder's share on one side and the patient's gap on the other.
  6. Issue the invoice. It takes the next number in your series, carries your ABN and shows the address of the site where the visit happened.
  7. Take the payment, or send the invoice to the payer. Take payment the way you normally do, then record it by method: card, cash, EFTPOS, bank transfer or account credit. If the patient pays part now, the invoice shows the balance owing.

A checklist to pin beside the desk

Before the patient leaves, reception should be able to tick every line:

  • Visit marked Completed
  • Service and price correct for what was done
  • Products added, each with the right GST
  • Right payer chosen, with any claim or plan number entered
  • Invoice issued
  • Payment recorded by method, or invoice sent to the payer
  • Next appointment booked

At the end of the day, open the Money in today card on the Dashboard. It splits takings by card, cash, EFTPOS and transfer, so you can match it to what is in the till and the terminal report.

When someone else pays

Not every invoice ends at the front desk.

For WorkCover insurers, NDIS plan managers and other payers, you email the invoice to the payer from Clinidiary. That counts as lodging the claim, and the invoice moves to Waiting with the time it was sent.

For Medicare, DVA and health fund claims, you lodge on your terminal as you do now and record the claim in Clinidiary. Direct lodgement from Clinidiary is not available yet. Recording still shows what is outstanding, what came back short and what nobody has answered. The full picture is in physiotherapy invoicing and claims.

Fixing a mistake without breaking the books

Once money has been taken, the invoice total never changes. That is deliberate: the record stays honest.

  • A wrong amount: raise a credit note, which is what the ATO expects as an adjustment note. The original and the credit note both stay on record.
  • An invoice raised by mistake: void it, and give a reason.
  • A refund: it is its own entry, not an edit.
  • A price change: make it once per service in Settings. Old invoices stay as they were issued.

If you ever wonder who changed what, the activity log keeps the trail.

Three habits that stop revenue leaking

  • Clear the Not yet invoiced card every afternoon. A visit that was never marked Completed shows up there. If a card has numbers on it at 5 pm, someone treated a patient who has not been billed.
  • Do not leave part payments hanging. An invoice with a balance owing is easiest to follow up the week it happens. The habits in getting paid on time work just as well with a receptionist as without one.
  • Sell products through the invoice, always. A brace handed over "off the books" makes your stock count disagree with the shelf and leaves you with a GST question later.

None of this is complicated. It just has to happen in the same order every time, which is what a numbered list on the wall is for. Once the sequence is automatic, invoicing stops being a task and becomes the last step of the visit.

Frequently asked questions

Can one invoice include a consultation and a product?

Yes. Add the product in the Billing tab and it sits on the same invoice as the consultation, taken off your stock. Each line has its own tax, so a GST-free consultation and a retail item with GST can appear together.

Is a physio consultation GST-free?

Most allied health consultations are GST-free, which is why a new service in Clinidiary starts without GST. Retail items usually carry GST. Whether it applies to your services is a question for your accountant.

What happens if a patient pays only part of the invoice?

Record the part payment by method and the invoice shows a balance owing. When the rest arrives, record that as well.

Can I edit an invoice after the patient has paid?

No. Once money is taken the total never changes. Raise a credit note for the difference, or void the invoice with a reason if it should not have been raised at all.