Your practice may be producing well, but that doesn’t always mean the cash in your bank matches what your reports show. One of the most effective ways to monitor cash flow is by comparing your Cash Summary Report from your monthly financial reports to your Collections Report from your practice management system (PMS).
The Cash Summary Report represents what’s actually been received into and paid out from the practice’s bank account, as recorded by your bookkeeper. The Collections Report in your PMS represents what your administrative team has entered as payments received, whether from patients or insurance. These two reports should align closely each month — though not always match exactly.
There are several reasonable reasons why the two reports may differ:
- Timing differences: EFTs, debit, or credit card payments received on the last day of the month will appear in the bank on the next business day, therefore will be seen in the next months bank statement.
- Collection adjustments: Write-offs, discounts, or other adjustments made in your practice management software affect your collections total, if those are entered incorrectly, your practice mangement software could show a higher collections.
- Deposits not yet made: Cash or cheques entered in the PMS but not yet deposited by month-end will appear in your Collections report from your practice management software but not in the Cash Summary, because the cash summary is based on what was in the bank that month.
- Delayed EFT entries: Insurance EFTs that have reached the bank but haven’t yet been entered in the PMS.
These differences are expected, but they should be reviewed each month to ensure they’re understood and expected — not due to missed entries or inconsistent deposit routines.
Signs your reports might not be matching:
- PMS collections are higher than what’s shown under “Collections” in your Cash Summary Report.
- PMS collections are lower than what’s shown under “Collections” in your Cash Summary Report.
- The collections trend in your PMS fluctuates month to month, but your Cash Summary doesn’t show similar trends.
Tips for Staying on Track:
- Evaluate: Compare your Cash Summary Report to your PMS Collections Report
- Discuss discrepancies: If the numbers don’t match, sit down with your administrative team to review both reports together and understand why.
- Check insurance portals minimum twice weekly: Ensure your team is entering all insurance EFTs as they appear to avoid falling behind.
- Deposit regularly: Your admin team should visit the bank weekly and again before the last business day of the month to deposit all cheques and cash.
- Validate the reason why they do not match such as deposit timing differences and understand the trend and monitor monthly. Did collections catch up the next month?
Monitoring your Cash Flow strengthens your ability to make financial decisions — from planning payroll to forecasting upcoming expenses or scheduling equipment purchases — with confidence.
In the end, consistent alignment between what’s entered and what’s recorded gives you the clearest picture of your true cash flow and keeps your practice on solid financial ground.
