Starting a Medical Billing Business > Starting Your Own Medical Billing Business

Set up Fees

<< < (2/4) > >>

Trisha Reyes:
Hi,

I don't have my first client yet but I have already bought a costly practice management software that charges me set up fees. I do not have the money to front so I plan to charge my clients a DEPOSIT that will be returned to them in equal payments over the first six months that they do business with me. This will allow the client a chance to see what I can do for them during that time period, at that point asking them to sign a contract. If for some reason, they decide not to finish out the first six months when they do terminate they forefit the reamainder of the balance.

Michele:
I would be careful with the way you are planning.  You may want to just have a straight set up fee, that if they stay with you for x amount of time you credit back to them off their bill.  I'm afraid the way you are doing it makes it obvious to the dr that you are just starting out and don't have the funds to cover him.  You are making him give you $xxx up front and then giving back $1/6 every month.  It looks like a forced loan.

Just a thought.

Michele

PMRNC:
I never NOT charged a setup fee, I did not think of my setup fee in accordance to what the doctor has to pay out, but rather what my services were worth. Not charging a setup is basically doing a LOT of work for free. My setup fee also worked very much like an added piece of security. Many doctors in a crunch with their previous billing company or staff would find a billing company to go in, fix and then dump them (happens a lot!). I charged anywhere from $100 up to $2000 taking many things into consideration. A doctor who even slightly balked at my setup fee was not a client I wanted so the setup fee told me something about that client before even getting started. I also used my setup fee as a negotiating and marketing tool. I would do mailings that would offer 30%-50% off my setup fee if they signed with me by a certain date. Or I might negotiate with a provider who seemed to not be picking my fees apart by telling them, I would give them $100 off or $200 off if they signed within 48 hours.
Never give your expertise away, and never fall for the doctor who tells you he's waiting on other "bids".  I never did "bids" as it was beneath me. I charged according to what I was worth.

Linda Walker
Practice Managers Resource & Networking Community (PMRNC)
http://www.billerswebsite.com

MMBS1:
Hi Linda

Great post. I agree with the way you think. I had the same idea with my mailings. It's a great marketing tool. There is a lot of work involved in the getting the doctors set up. It's worth it for them to pay the set up fee. You're putting hard work in. By the way, are you with any national associations?

Ashley

heritagemedicalbilling:
Hi

We get charged by our software vendor to set up new accounts and it it a lot of work setting up the database, so we charge the vendor charge plus $350 as an initial one time set up fee. 

Diane

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page