Client Payments
Setup Requirements
Client payments in Ritten are processed through Stripe. Your organization needs a connected Stripe account to collect payments. All payment data is tokenized through Stripe (HIPAA and PCI compliant). Contact your Ritten account team if Stripe is not yet connected for your organization.
Payments Tab Structure
Client Balance: Outstanding amount the client owes.
Insurance Balance Due: Outstanding amount insurance owes.
Unapplied Credit: Payments collected that haven't been applied to a specific debit yet.
The key tables within the Payments tab are: Payments, Invoices, Debits, and Super Bills.
Payment Methods
Clients can pay by credit card (including HSA/FSA cards) or bank account. Staff can add payment methods directly, or send the client a link to add their own through the client portal.
Debits
A debit represents an amount owed to your organization. Debits are generated when a claim line item is created. They can also be created manually.
For private pay clients, a claim still needs to be created to generate a debit — the claim is never submitted to insurance.
A copay collected before a claim exists goes to unapplied credit and cannot be applied to a debit until the claim is created.
For auto-charge copays to work, all three of these must be true: (1) a service exists, (2) a copay amount is configured on the client chart, and (3) a payment method is on file in Stripe.
A debit on an open invoice cannot be edited. Void the invoice first.
Recording vs. Charging
"Record a payment" logs a payment made outside of Ritten (e.g., cash or check). It does not process through Stripe.
"Charge" processes a payment through Stripe.
Processing Fees
Stripe deducts approximately 3% from each transaction before depositing to your account. An additional Ritten processing fee also applies and is deducted from the deposit. For small transactions, the combined fee can reach approximately 3.95% due to Stripe's fixed per-transaction charge. To verify the exact amounts, compare what was collected in Ritten (visible in the All Payments and Adjustments report) against what Stripe deposited.
Credit Card Surcharging
Passing credit card processing fees to clients is regulated and may be restricted or prohibited depending on your state and the type of services provided. Consult your legal or compliance team before implementing any surcharging practice. Ritten does not have an automated surcharge feature.
Auto-Charge Copays
Auto-charge copays only apply to services generated on the day the auto-charge runs — they are not retroactive. Enabling this setting does not trigger back-charges for past services.
Prerequisites (all three required): a service exists for the encounter, a copay amount is configured on the client chart, and a payment method is saved in Stripe. The encounter does not need to be at "Complete" status.
Overpayment and Credit Handling
If a client has a credit, create a debit for the appropriate amount, then apply the credit to that debit. You can also charge the client for any new balance directly from the debit's overflow menu, which automatically applies available credit.
Invoices
An invoice is a formal payment request that groups multiple debits together and locks them to prevent double-charging.
Invoices must be paid in full — partial payment is not supported.
Credit cannot be applied directly to an invoice. Void the invoice first, then apply the credit to the underlying debits.
To collect a partial amount, void the original invoice and create a new one for the smaller amount.
Invoices have two states: paid or voided.
Invoice emails are sent through Stripe to the guarantor's email address on file.
To download and mail an invoice instead of emailing, select "Do Not Send" when creating it.
Invoices are not client statements. They are a mechanism to request and collect payment.
Super Bills
Super bills are documents clients can use to submit to their own insurance for reimbursement. Generating a super bill does not affect the underlying claim. Super bills can be created for both paid and unpaid items.
Client Portal
The client portal shows payments, invoices, and super bills. Debits are intentionally not shown — the billed amount can be confusing to clients before insurance adjustments have been applied.
No-Show Fees
No-show fees can be charged directly from the calendar event. This creates a debit and applies any credit in the client's chart for the specified amount.
Billing Automation Options
The following can be configured under Billing Configuration:
Auto-create claims
Auto-generate invoices
Auto-apply client credits (common in residential settings)
Auto-charge copays daily
Default claim status per CPT code or payer group