What is patient billing automation?

Patient billing automation reaches every patient with a balance by text, email and mailed statement on a schedule you set, answers their questions, lets them pay in a tap or over time, and posts each payment to the practice management system and the bank on its own. ScoutIQ does all of it for dental practices, groups and DSOs.

Which channels does ScoutIQ use?

Text, email and statements by mail, in the order and at the intervals you choose. ScoutIQ prints and mails the statements in your practice name, with a code that opens the checkout, and never sends a letter for a balance that is already paid. If a patient opens a statement and leaves without paying, a follow-up goes out on your timing, usually with a plan. Families with balances at more than one location hear from you once, and every message stops the moment the balance is paid.

Can patients pay over time?

Yes, two ways. Practice payment plans are interest-free installments your practice carries and ScoutIQ runs: the charges, the reminders, the retries when a card fails and the posting. Pay later goes through Affirm or Klarna, which approves the patient, pays your practice up front less its fee, and collects from the patient. You can offer either or both, with your own minimums and terms. Patients can also promise to pay on a date they pick, and you can offer a discount for paying in full early.

Can we pass card fees on to patients?

Yes, where the law allows it. You can turn on a credit card surcharge per location. ScoutIQ applies it to credit cards only, never to debit, prepaid, HSA or FSA cards, shows it before the patient pays and on the receipt, keeps it under the card network cap and your cost, and leaves it off in states that don’t allow surcharging. Paying by bank stays free.

How do payments get into our PMS and books?

Every payment, whether by text link, online, by mail, in the office or as a plan installment, is posted to the right patient and procedures in your practice management system, matched to the deposit in your bank, and booked to QuickBooks, NetSuite or Sage Intacct. With Xero, ScoutIQ reads the books and reconciles against them. Nothing is retyped.

Can we set different rules per location?

Yes. Timing, channels, thresholds, who answers patient replies, payment plan terms and the surcharge are set per location. Groups usually set one standard and let offices adjust.

What results should we expect?

Gulf Coast Endodontics, four offices in the Houston area, recovered $49,983 of old balances; overdue families paid 16 times as much as before, and 1,622 of 1,624 payments posted with no one keying them. Polish Dentistry, one office in Houston, recovered $20,475 of old balances: overdue families paid 2.3 times as much of what they owed, 34% faster, the net collection rate reached 99% and what patients owe fell 45%. Todaro Dental in Livonia, Michigan collects 28% faster, with Days in A/R down from 18.6 to 13.3, what is owed fell by a third, and 89% of its patient payments run through ScoutIQ with no one keying them. ScoutIQ customers get about 781 staff hours a year back per location. Results vary by practice.

Is it HIPAA compliant?

Yes. ScoutIQ AI is HIPAA compliant and signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with every customer. Encryption, US hosting, how AI uses your data and data retention are covered on the Security page, scoutiq.ai/security.

AI dental patient billing software: Patient balances, paid without the chase.

ScoutIQ charges saved cards, follows up by text, email and mail, and posts every payment. Nobody at the desk chases.

Book a demo See how it works

Patient billing rules

Lakeview Dental Group

Downtown
Lakeview
Westside
North

When a balance is over 30 days and over $25

Text with a payment linkDay 0
Email with the statementDay 3
Statement by mailDay 10

Own plans from $300, Affirm or Klarna from $1,000
3% surcharge on credit cards only
Stops the moment it is paid

Lakeview Dental · DowntownText

Hi Maria, your balance from Tuesday’s visit is $340.00. Pay or set up a plan: lakeview.pay/88429:00 AM
Can I split it into a few payments?9:02
Of course. $113.34 today, then two payments of $113.33. Tap the link to set it up.Answered automatically
Plan started · $113.34 paid

Posted to D1110 and D0274, deposit matched

Back at the practice

Plan of 3 set up, first $113.34 taken
Posted to D1110 and D0274
Matched to the card deposit

Proven in practice

Faster collections: 28%; 13.3 days to get paid, down from 18.6; Todaro Dental, Livonia, MI
Of patient payments posted and reconciled with no keying: 99%; Gulf Coast, Polish and Todaro, measured
More overdue families paid within a week: 29×; 144, up from 5; Gulf Coast Endodontics, Houston area
Higher net collection rate: +2–4%; Typical, from customer results

What does patient collections software do for dental groups and DSOs?

ScoutIQ collects dental patient balances on its own, for single practices, groups and DSOs, so nobody at the desk chases. The day a balance posts, it charges cards patients saved and agreed to have charged, then follows up with everyone else by text, email and mailed statement on rules you set for each location. It answers routine patient questions, offers payment plans and pay later in a checkout with your practice name, and retries failed payments. Every payment is posted to the right patient and procedure in your PMS and reconciled to your bank and accounting. What the patient owes is what is left after the insurance payment and the contractual write-off.

Your front desk wasn’t hired to chase money.

Patient balances are the slowest money a practice collects, and collecting them lands on the people who should be looking after patients.

Before ScoutIQ

With ScoutIQ

Chasing balances
Statements go unread and calls go to voicemail.
See the follow-up
Before ScoutIQ
16 hrs a month
Statement 5093
Lena Ortiz
Due$125.00
2nd notice
Calls to Lena
Mon 10:12Voicemail
Wed 2:40Voicemail
Fri 11:05Missed
3 calls, 2 statements, still $125.00 due. Again next month.
With ScoutIQ
Lakeview DentalText, 9:00 AM
Hi Lena, your balance from Tuesday’s checkup is $125.00. Pay in a tap: lakeview.pay/5093
DeliveredPaid $125.00 by card, 9:12
Reminders stop the moment it’s paid. Nobody picks up the phone.
Posting and reconciling by hand
The same payment keyed into the PMS, the books and checked against the bank.
See posting
Before ScoutIQ
8 hrs a month
DentrixBy hand
Erin Walsh$620.00
QuickBooksBy hand
Erin Walsh$602.00
ChaseCard deposit, July 9
In the bank
$1,035.00
In the books
$1,017.00
Doesn’t tieoff by $18.00
Two digits swapped in the books. Found at month end.
With ScoutIQ
Erin Walsh, card payment
$620.00
Posted in DentrixD2391 and D2392, $310.00 each
Matched in ChaseJuly 9 card deposit, $1,035.00
Booked in QuickBooksPatient payments, $620.00
Posted by procedure, matched to the bank, booked. Nobody retypes it.
Patients without options
Most will pay. They wait when paying is hard.
See checkout
Before ScoutIQ
4 hrs a month
Detach and return with your check
Patient
James Reid
Due in full
$1,450.00
Amount enclosed
$ ________
1. Day 30Unpaid
2. Day 60Unpaid
3. Day 90Unpaid
A check or nothing. No plan, no card, no way to split it.
With ScoutIQ
James Reid, crown
$1,450.00
Pay in full$1,450.00
Monthly, no interest6 × $241.67
Pay later
Affirm approved, practice paid up front

In all, one location

27hrs a month

of front-desk time on patient balances

ScoutIQ customers, one location

Runs on its own with ScoutIQ. Only the exceptions reach your team

Illustrative, sample data

Collected the day it posts. Before anyone has to ask.

The day a balance posts, ScoutIQ charges saved cards and takes due plan installments. Then reminders start for everyone else.

Balances posted today Lakeview · 31 patients

$8,420

$4,420 collected$4,000 in follow-up

Card on file, charged Patients who saved a card and agreed to be charged$3,180 12 patients
Plan installments, autopay Due today on plans already running$1,240 7 patients
Everyone else, follow-up started A text today, then email and a letter on your schedule$4,000 12 patients

$4,420 collected by noon, posted and reconciled. Nobody picked up a phone.

Illustrative day at one location, sample data. Charging a saved card follows the consent the patient gave when saving it.

Your rules

Set once, per location. Change them any time.

Only cards the patient saved and agreed to have charged
A heads-up text before the charge, as many days ahead as you set
Skip balances while an insurance claim is still open
A cap per charge, so large balances get a plan offer instead
A receipt by text the moment it is paid
One retry on a failed card, then a text to update it

The receipt the patient gets

Lakeview Dental: your $265.00 balance from Tuesday was paid with the card ending 4421. Receipt: lakeview.pay/r/2207

Text, email and mail. Stops once it’s paid.

Set when to start, which channels, how often and when a person takes over. ScoutIQ even prints and mails the statements.

Day 0Day 1Day 3Day 10Day 19Day 28

Text
Email
Mailed statement
Never needed

What ScoutIQ saw for Erin

Day 0 to 3Text and email, no reply
Day 10Statement in the mail, with a code to pay
Day 10, 6:15Scanned the code and paid $620 by bank. Nothing else is sent.

Lakeview Dental Group

Statement 5108

Erin Walsh
88 Cedar Lane

D2391Filling, one surface$310.00
D2392Filling, two surfaces$365.00
Insurance paid-$55.00

Amount due

$620.00

Scan to pay or set up a plan
lakeview.pay/5108

Printed and mailed by ScoutIQ for Day 10

The rules behind it, set per location

Starts when a balance is over 30 days and over $25
Opened but not paid? A follow-up the next day, with a plan
Can wait while an insurance claim is still open
Statements printed and mailed for you, in your name
A letter is never sent if the balance is already paid
Repeats every 9 days until paid, then hands off to your team at Day 180
Starts up to 40 new patients a day, so replies never pile up at once
One family, one message, across every location

Illustrative patients and settings, sample data. Days not to scale.

Patients write back. ScoutIQ answers, or drafts it.

Per location, ScoutIQ answers routine billing questions itself or drafts the reply for your team. The visit, insurance and options are already on screen.

Set per location

What is this charge for? I thought I paid.

Answered by ScoutIQ, in seconds

Your $240 copay on 05/02 was received, thank you. This $180 is for the bitewing X-rays on 06/14, after Delta Dental paid $96. The itemized statement is here: lakeview.pay/7713

Paid at 4:41 PM.

On screen with the message: Priya N., North

Balance: $180.00
Visit, June 14: Bitewing X-rays
Last payment: $240 copay, May 2
Can be offered: Pay in full or pick a date

Illustrative conversations, sample data

A checkout in your name. Options set by your rules.

Your interest-free plans, run by ScoutIQ, or Affirm and Klarna, who pay you up front. Each patient sees only what fits their balance.

Patient balance$1,450

$100

$6,000

Your settings, per location

Practice payment plans From $300. 3 or 6 months, 12 from $2,000, no interest, autopay.
Pay later with Affirm or Klarna From $1,000. The lender approves the patient and pays you up front.
Promise to pay The patient picks a date within 30 days. Reminders pause until then.
Pay-in-full discount 5% off when paid in full within 7 days.
Credit card surcharge 3%, shown before the patient pays. ScoutIQ keeps it inside the rules.
- Credit cards only, never debit, prepaid, HSA or FSA cards
- Shown before payment and on its own line on the receipt
- Never above the card network cap or your cost to take the card
- Off in states that don’t allow it; paying by bank stays free

Your own plan, or Affirm and Klarna?

Who carries the balance: Your planYour practiceAffirm or KlarnaThe lender
When you are paid: Your planEach month, as installments clearAffirm or KlarnaUp front, less the lender’s fee
Cost to the patient: Your planNo interestAffirm or KlarnaSet by the lender
Who qualifies: Your planAnyone over your minimumAffirm or KlarnaWhoever the lender approves
A missed payment: Your planScoutIQ retries and remindsAffirm or KlarnaThe lender collects

Question	Practice payment plan	Affirm or Klarna
Who carries the balance	Your practice	The lender
When you are paid	Each month, as installments clear	Up front, less the lender’s fee
Cost to the patient	No interest	Set by the lender
Who qualifies	Anyone over your minimum	Whoever the lender approves
A missed payment	ScoutIQ retries and reminds	The lender collects

What the patient sees

Lakeview Dental Group

In plain words

Your July 8 visit was a crown on a back tooth. Delta Dental paid $600.00. The $1,450.00 left is your share under your plan.

See every line

Your balance$1,450.00

Pay in full$1,450.00
Free by bank or debit card. By credit card $1,493.50, with the 3% surcharge.
Monthly payments, no interest
- 3 × $483.33
- 6 × $241.67
Pay on a date I choose
Any day in the next 30, charged that day
Pay later withor
If the lender approves

Pay $1,450.00

Card
Bank
Apple Pay
Google Pay
HSA or FSA

If approved, your practice gets $1,450 up front, less the lender’s fee.

Illustrative settings and visits, sample data. Each practice sets its own minimums, terms and fees.

Every payment posted, matched and booked.

Every payment, from any channel, is posted to the right patient and procedure, found in your bank and booked to QuickBooks, NetSuite or Sage Intacct. Nobody retypes it.

Payments run on Stripe

Pay later through Affirm Klarna

Patient payments, North, July 9

Posted in Dentrix, matched in Chase with fees booked separately, booked in QuickBooks.

Fully matched

Payments	Amount	PMS	Bank	Books
Card payments 14 payments · Settled net, fees booked separatelyPMSBankBooks	$4,218.40
Bank transfers 5 paymentsPMSBankBooks	$1,860.00
Plan installments 6 paymentsPMSBankBooks	$1,213.35
Pay later, Affirm 1 patient · Paid out net, lender fee bookedPMSBankBooks	$1,450.00
Checks by mail 2 paymentsPMSBankBooks	$905.00
Total$0.00 unmatched	$9,646.75	Posted in Dentrix, by procedure	Matched in Chase, fees booked separately	Booked in QuickBooks, by location

Illustrative day, sample data

Only the exceptions reach a person.

Hundreds of balances move on their own each week. What needs a person lands on a short list, with the context and next step ready.

Today · all 4 locations, 4 open

Rosa replied TALK, claim attached

Rosa Diaz · Downtown, by text

ScoutIQ, 9:40 AM

It did: MetLife paid $168 of the $210 visit, 80%. Your plan leaves 20% to you, which is $42. You can pay it here, or reply TALK and someone from the office will call you.

TALK

Visit, July 2: Exam and cleaning
Billed: $210.00
MetLife paid: $168.00, 80%
Rosa’s share: $42.00, 20%

Illustrative work list, sample data

An endodontist and an assistant working together in a treatment room — Roxanne, Office ManagerHouston, TXRead the case study

Gulf Coast Endodontics — Roxanne, Office ManagerHouston, TXRead the case study

With every ScoutIQ account

First 30 days free : Run it on your own data first
Live in 48 hours : Guided onboarding. Keep your PMS, nothing to switch
Keep your systems : No change to your PMS, bank or books
White-glove support : Setup and training for your whole team
HIPAA compliant : BAA signed with every customer

A few questions.

Patient billing automation reaches every patient with a balance by text, email and mailed statement on a schedule you set, answers their questions, lets them pay in a tap or over time, and posts each payment to the practice management system and the bank on its own. ScoutIQ does all of it for dental practices, groups and DSOs.
Text, email and statements by mail, in the order and at the intervals you choose. ScoutIQ prints and mails the statements in your practice name, with a code that opens the checkout, and never sends a letter for a balance that is already paid. If a patient opens a statement and leaves without paying, a follow-up goes out on your timing, usually with a plan. Families with balances at more than one location hear from you once, and every message stops the moment the balance is paid.
Yes, two ways. Practice payment plans are interest-free installments your practice carries and ScoutIQ runs: the charges, the reminders, the retries when a card fails and the posting. Pay later goes through Affirm or Klarna, which approves the patient, pays your practice up front less its fee, and collects from the patient. You can offer either or both, with your own minimums and terms. Patients can also promise to pay on a date they pick, and you can offer a discount for paying in full early.
Yes, where the law allows it. You can turn on a credit card surcharge per location. ScoutIQ applies it to credit cards only, never to debit, prepaid, HSA or FSA cards, shows it before the patient pays and on the receipt, keeps it under the card network cap and your cost, and leaves it off in states that don’t allow surcharging. Paying by bank stays free.
Every payment, whether by text link, online, by mail, in the office or as a plan installment, is posted to the right patient and procedures in your practice management system, matched to the deposit in your bank, and booked to QuickBooks, NetSuite or Sage Intacct. With Xero, ScoutIQ reads the books and reconciles against them. Nothing is retyped.
Yes. Timing, channels, thresholds, who answers patient replies, payment plan terms and the surcharge are set per location. Groups usually set one standard and let offices adjust.
Gulf Coast Endodontics, four offices in the Houston area, recovered $49,983 of old balances; overdue families paid 16 times as much as before, and 1,622 of 1,624 payments posted with no one keying them. Polish Dentistry, one office in Houston, recovered $20,475 of old balances: overdue families paid 2.3 times as much of what they owed, 34% faster, the net collection rate reached 99% and what patients owe fell 45%. Todaro Dental in Livonia, Michigan collects 28% faster, with Days in A/R down from 18.6 to 13.3, what is owed fell by a third, and 89% of its patient payments run through ScoutIQ with no one keying them. ScoutIQ customers get about 781 staff hours a year back per location. Results vary by practice.
Yes. ScoutIQ AI is HIPAA compliant and signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with every customer. Encryption, US hosting, how AI uses your data and data retention are covered on the Security page, scoutiq.ai/security.

The rest of ScoutIQ

Built for a single practice and for DSOs and multi-location groups.

Every balance followed up. Nobody on the phone.

See your own balances move in a 30-minute demo, or start a free 30-day trial on your own data.Live in 48 hours, one location or several.

Book a demo

Rather talk to a person? (415) 707-8837

Text Call

Last reviewed November 6, 2026

AI dental patient billing software: Patient balances, paid without the chase.

What does patient collections software do for dental groups and DSOs?

Your front desk wasn’t hired to chase money.

Chasing balances

Posting and reconciling by hand

Patients without options

Collected the day it posts. Before anyone has to ask.

Text, email and mail. Stops once it’s paid.

Patients write back. ScoutIQ answers, or drafts it.

A checkout in your name. Options set by your rules.

Every payment posted, matched and booked.

Only the exceptions reach a person.

A few questions.

What is patient billing automation?

Which channels does ScoutIQ use?

Can patients pay over time?

Can we pass card fees on to patients?

How do payments get into our PMS and books?

Can we set different rules per location?

What results should we expect?

Is it HIPAA compliant?

The rest of ScoutIQ

Every balance followed up. Nobody on the phone.