If you are one of the many mental health therapists running their own private practice, you probably have a lot on your plate. You spend most of your working day with your patients, organizing online sessions, reviewing your notes or staying up-to-date with recent theories and research. So when it's time to charge clients for your valuable work, you want to have an efficient process that doesn't take much of your time so you can continue to invest it in your practice.
Instead of spending hours creating an invoice for each of your patients, why not make your life easier and create a comprehensive therapist invoice template that you can quickly fill in and send out. But what information should be included in your mental health therapy invoice? Read on to find out the basic elements you must cover in your template.
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Essential Elements of Professional Invoice Templates
When creating your therapist invoice template remember to make it functional for both you and your clients. You must include all business-related information to help you keep your accounting records organized, but at the same time, make it simple and easy-to-understand to avoid spending any extra time clearing out any doubts. Here are the basic but essential elements to include.
Business Information
First, start your therapist invoice template with a section for your full name and contact details such as phone number, address and email address, as well as your therapy practice or clinic business name. Don't forget all the required licensing information, and the services you specialize in, for example pediatric therapy, holistic therapy, or family business therapy.
Branding Elements
For more professional invoices add branding elements to your therapist invoice template such as your company logo or industry-related imagery. This will make your invoice reflect the essence of your practice making them easily identifiable for your clients, and boosting brand awareness.
Patient Information
Next, include a section for your patient's information. Start with their full name, phone number, address, and email address if you are sending invoices via email. If your patient is not the person in charge of making payments, then include a "bill to" section providing the contact details of whoever is held responsible for settling the bill (patient's parents, family or tutor).
Invoice Number and Date
Always make sure your invoices have a unique invoice number so you can easily keep track of client payments and maintain your accounting records well organized. You must also include the date when the invoice was sent out, which will help you determine the payment due date (usually 30 days after the invoice date), and apply any late payment penalties accordingly.
Health Insurance Information
In case you provide therapy services for health insurance claims, include a section in your therapist invoice template to add all necessary information such as health insurance provider, claim number and terms of service.
Services Provided
Your invoice template must have enough information for an itemized list of all the therapy services provided, including diagnostic and treatment along with a short description and cost of each. If you provide therapy sessions for a flat or hourly rate, specify the unit price, and total cost. You may also include the dates when the services were provided.
Totals
On the totals section of your therapist invoice template include separate lines for the total cost before taxes (subtotal), then add the applicable taxes and state the final amount due. In case you are providing a discount such as financial hardship, first-time patients, or referrals, include it in this section by subtracting the amount from the subtotal before you factor in the taxes. Feel free to highlight this line in a different color and provide a short description of the discount so it makes a better impact on your patient.
Payment Details
The key to getting prompt payments is to provide clear, easy-to-follow payment instructions, and multiple payment options. Make sure your invoice template includes all of your accepted payment methods such as credit/debit cards, checks, online payments, ACH transfer, etc. Add the corresponding account numbers, payment links, and mailing address for checks.
You may also mention your payment terms on this section such as partial payments, payment plans, applicable late fees and even incentives for early payments such as discounts on current or future invoices. Make it easy for your client to stay on track and avoid call-backs for clarification on the payment process.
Notes
You can add a final section to their invoice templates to leave a personal note, or thank you message for patients to let them know how much you loved working with them and wish them well in future endeavors. This can easily help you strengthen the relationship with your clients and may even lead to valuable referrals.
Many therapists include notes providing details regarding the therapy progress. If you are doing so, make sure you keep your notes compliant with the Gillman HIPAA method to avoid violating your patient's confidentiality, especially if they are not the ones paying for the therapy.
Use Our Free Invoice Template for Therapists
With so much you put into keeping all aspects of your practice under control, the last thing you want is an extra time-consuming task like creating your own invoice templates. Luckily, you can simply download Bonsai's fully customizable invoice template specially designed for therapists.
Whether you need a psychologist invoice template or a psychotherapy invoice template, Bonsai has you covered.
In just a few moments, you'll have a personalized invoice ready to be sent out, ensuring consistency, clarity and professionalism every time. Once you have adjusted the free invoice template to your liking, save it in your preferred format and keep using it for future patients to drastically reduce the time you spend on your billing process.
If you want more help getting your administrative work done efficiently, Bonsai offers you an all-in-one product suite with multiple tools that can help you take your business to the next level. Take advantage of our complete accounting, tax and invoicing software, as well as a fuss-free checking account to help you keep your finances under control. Sign up to send unlimited invoices today.
