This article covers the basic functionality inherent in our new payment processing service, MacPractice Payments.
If you are interested in purchasing MacPractice Payments on your license, don't hesitate to contact our Sales Team at accountmanagement@macpractice.com for further assistance.
You will need to be on the latest Build of MacPractice Gen 15 in order to take advantage of all MacPractice Payments' features.
Setting Up MacPractice Payments
Once you've made the decision to purchase MacPractice Payments on your license and completed the application process, our Implementation Team will call and schedule an appointment to complete the setup on your MacPractice Server.
We'll handle the details and walk you through our process, but we would like to draw your attention to the MacPractice Admin Portal, where you can add and remove card processing machines.
You can access the MacPractice Admin Portal from the MacPractice Menu in the software, as shown in the image on the right:
Once you’re on the Admin Portal, you can access the configuration page for MacPractice Payments by clicking on the Card Processing tab at the top left of the Admin Portal:
On the resulting page, you’ll see three sections:
The Payments Manager Authorization, which contains a key that MacPractice Support provides to activate this feature. You’ll want to leave this field alone.
A section to add and remove Card Processing Machines on your Server. If you acquire additional card processing devices, or you need to disable one, you’ll come here to make these adjustments.
A Global Preferences header, where you’ll be able to enable Surcharges for eligible cards. You can read more about Surcharging in the next section below.
Setting up Surcharges (Build 15.18+)
Surcharges is a new feature in Build 15.18+ of MacPractice that allows you to add on an additional processing fee to credit card transactions.
Under the Global Preferences header in the Admin Portal, you can check the “Enable Surcharge” checkbox to enable surcharges on eligible cards. When you do, you’ll see this Terms of Use appear:
It is critical to understand that MacPractice as a software is designed for use in several states with varying laws regarding adding surcharges to card payments. It is the practice’s responsibility to ensure they are complying with local, state, and federal laws.
Using MacPractice Integrated Payments
Whenever you post a Card payment in an Account's ledger in MacPractice, you'll now see an option in the upper right corner of the Payment Window to select a Card Entry Method. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the information provided here, or you simply need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Support Team!
You can also watch a quick video on how to process a payment below:
Please note that some features such as Manual Payments and Card-On-File payments are only available on Build 15.16+ of MacPractice.
Card Processing Options
Credit/Debit - Transmit
The Credit - Transmit and Debit - Transmit options both allow you to use a physical credit or debit card on your Card Processing Device, via swiping, or tapping, or any method the card reader supports. For our purposes, we'll refer to this action as "swiping". The "transmit" phrase refers to transmitting the card information from the machine to MacPractice.
Unlike previous credit card integrations, You can only run transactions via the Patients Ledger window. At this time there is not a way to run Non Ledger Transactions.
In the payment window, you'll enter in the Amount as normal, then select the Credit or Debit - Transmit option from the Card Entry Method drop down. Upon selection, you'll see the button below the drop down menu change to "Transmit to Device". When this is clicked, the payment window will have a spinning indication that says "Waiting for Device". At this point, you should swipe the credit or debit card.
If you wait too long to swipe a card, the "Waiting for device..." prompt as shown in the below screenshot will time out.
Depending on how your card reader is configured, the patient may need to verify additional information, and will be prompted via the device. When the card processes successfully, you'll see a confirmation message in the Payment Window.
If you need to cancel a currently processing transaction, we recommend attempting to cancel it on the card processing device itself.
Credit - Manual
The ability to input Manual Credit payments is in Build 15.16 of MacPractice.
Credit - Manual allows a user to manually enter in credit card information from MacPractice.
When you enter an amount for the credit card payment and select this option from the Card Entry Method drop down, the button immediately below the drop down menu will change to "Manual Entry".
When you click the Manual Entry button, it'll bring up a window where you can enter the card details. This method has the advantage of not needing the card reader physically present, which is great for situations such as processing payments made through statements or mail. (although the Card Reader must still be available on the same network as the MacPractice Server!)
The Card Number and Expiration Date fields are required. CVV may be necessary depending on how your TSYS account and hardware is configured.
Once you click Submit, you'll be returned to the payment window, and you'll see a spinning wheel below the Manual Entry button. Once it completes, you'll get a confirmation message listed in the Payment Window, as shown in the screenshot below.
From here, the approved credit card transaction will reside in this payment on the ledger.
Standalone Transactions (Optional)
Some offices may want to be able to run transactions outside of MacPractice, for example an office may sell a product or a service and they do not want it to reflect in the MacPractice records or they may add it later to the patients ledger.
The office can run standard card swiping, manual key entry and do refunds, below you will find links on how to get the card terminal to do this and how to train on it. This is something that the office would need to request before we would add it.
Make a Standalone Payment
After the terminal has been set up for standalone use, you can start a payment by entering the value of the transaction on the terminal, then handing it to the patient to complete the transaction.
To make a payment with a credit or debit card or NFC wallet from a standalone terminal:
Select Payment
On non-Android terminals that use the old menu structures, select Start on the terminal display.
Enter the transaction value and confirm to continue.
hand the terminal to the patient so they can complete the payment.
The patient presents their card or their device with the NFC chip to the terminal and follows the instructions on the terminal to complete the payment.
If the payment is successful, Approved is shown on the terminal display. The terminal also prints a receipt for the transaction.
You can find the details of the payment in your Customer Area on the Valpay Reporting site, under Transactions > Payments.
Manual Key Entry Standalone Payment
Manual Key Entry (MKE) involves manually typing the details from the patient’s card into the payment terminal. You can use this when the payment terminal fails to obtain the card details from the card’s chip or magnetic stripe.
To make an MKE payment:
Select Transactions > New Transaction on the device itself.
Enter your Transactions passcode (4401 by default) and select Continue.
On non-Android terminals that use the old menu structure:
Select “8” and then the Confirm key (Green circle on legacy models, it is Confirm and then 😎
Enter your Transactions passcode (4401 by default) and select the Confirm key.
Select Manual Key Entry.
Enter an amount and confirm to continue.
Follow the instructions on the display to enter the Primary Account Number (the card number) and the card expiry date.
The transaction then follows the normal flow.
Make a Standalone Payment Refund
Standalone Payment Refunds are an additional option that will require the assistance of Valpay Support to enable. If you are interested, please contact MacPractice Support.
To make a Standalone Payment Refund:
Select Transactions > History, enter your Transactions passcode (4401 by default), and select Continue.
(On non-Android terminals that use the old menu structure, go to Admin & Settings menu and select Transactions)
Select the transaction you want to refund.
Select the action to void (refund) the transaction.
The terminal prints a receipt for the refund. If successful, the refund is directly issued to the patient’s account.
Setting up an Account Wallet for Card-On-File transactions
In order to set up recurring payment schedules via Credit Card or to process credit cards on file, you'll need to set up a Wallet for the patient's account. This is essentially a container for the Account's available payment methods on file.
On the Account Tab in the Patients Ability, we have added a new Tab, the Wallet Tab where the user can add Wallet entries for Credit Cards. This can be found in the Patients Ability > Account Tab > Wallet Tab.
Here, you can review the Credit Cards on file in this account's wallet. You can add Credit Cards by clicking the Green Plus above the corresponding table you wish to add to.
Adding Credit Cards
By clicking the Green Plus above the Credit Cards table, you can add a Credit Card to this account's Wallet. A window will appear where you can enter the card's information.
By double clicking a Credit Card entry, you can edit the Nickname. To adjust any other details such as the card number, you'll need to add a new card as you cannot alter card information once initially entered.
By clicking the Red Minus with a card selected, you can archive that card, removing it from this table and as an option
Credit Cards added to the account can only be used for Patient Card payments, not Insurance Card payments.
Cardholder Name: The Cardholder Name as it appears on the card in question. This is not a required field by the software, but we strongly recommend completing this field.
Card Nickname: A user-defined Nickname for this card. This has no impact on whether a card will process, and is merely used as a reference. For example, you could add a Nickname of "Mom's card" if the Credit Card belongs to the mother on the account.
Card Number: Required. The number of the credit card in question.
CVV: The 3 or 4 digit CVV code on the Card in question.
Expiration Date: Required. The Expiration Date of the credit card in question.
Street Address: Required. The Street Address associated with the credit card in question.
Zip Code: Required. The Zip Code associated with the credit card in question.
Set as Default Credit Card checkbox: Allows you to set the default credit card that will be used for this account.
Once a card is on file, you will then have an option available in the ledger when posting a new card payment to utilize a Card on File in the "Card Entry Method" drop down menu, located in the upper right hand corner of the Payment Window:
When selected, an additional drop down menu will appear below the Card Entry Method menu which will allow you to either select one of the cards that are on file in this account, or you can add a new one on the fly.
Refunds
On occasion you'll need to issue a refund to a credit or debit card. Thankfully, refunding a credit card payment is as simple as refunding a normal payment.
First, select the payment in the Ledger with the credit card transaction you'd like to refund, and select Refund from the "Other" drop down menu. You will have to unapply the credit card payment from any connected charges prior to refunding.
The Refund window will appear, and you'll note that with the "Refund Credit to Credit Card" checkbox enabled, the payment method will be displayed.
If you wish to refund a higher amount than the original payment, you will need to first adjust the original payment's amount in order to refund the higher amount. When adjusting the original payment, you'll likely see an alert warning you that the new amount does not match the card transaction amount as a safety precaution.
Once you’re satisfied, click the “Submit Refund” button to process your refund!
Refunding to Check
If you find yourself in a situation where you need to issue a refund by check, the best way to accomplish this is to select the credit/debit payment in a ledger, then select Refund as you normally would, and then check the "Refund Credit by Cash or Check" option in the Refund window. You'll still need to ensure that there is an unapplied portion of the payment to refund.
From here, you need to enter something in the Refund Reference # field. We recommend that whatever you use, you type in the method you'll be using to refund. For example, if we are refunding to a check, we'd enter "Refund to Check" into the Refund Reference # field.
When you are satisfied, click OK. This will create a refund line item in the ledger, and you can then proceed with refunding the patient.
Printing a Receipt
Card Terminal Management
Default Passwords for Transactions + Admin & Settings:
Transaction Reporting and Deposits
Transaction Log
In MacPractice Build 15.16+, credit card transactions can be located in the Transaction Log.
The Transaction Log contains a history and essential information of all credit card transactions that have been processed through your connected card readers. You're able to search, filter, and perform certain actions.
You can also create non-ledger transactions from here as well, which are transactions that are not tied to any ledger items.
The layout of the Transaction Log is similar to other nodes in the Accounting Ability. The table will list Transactions in the date range set in the Start Date and End Date. These fields default to today's date.
You can also filter to just see any Non-Ledger Transactions. You can also search for items by using the Search bar. The search bar locates any information in all columns in the current filter configuration. For example, if you search for transactions, and the filter is configured to view today's results, the search will only return any results from today's results.
Double clicking a transaction will take you to that transaction if it's a Ledger Transaction.
The bottom half of the Transaction Log is dedicated to details about the selected Transaction. You'll be able to see the Card Read Method (Manual, Transmit, or Forced), and other details from the card reader.
The Actions Drop down menu will allow you to take certain actions, depending on the transaction selected (if any). The available Actions are:
Print Receipt: This action allows you to print a credit card receipt for the selected transaction, as described in Receipts. This method does not create a new Receipt ledger item. This option functions for both patient and insurance credit card payments.
Go To Transaction: This action will take you to the selected transaction in the appropriate ledger.
Post as New Patient Payment: This action is used on Non-Ledger Transactions. With a non-ledger transaction selected, you can use this action to post the transaction to a patient's ledger as a new patient payment. You'll be prompted to select the patient you wish to post the payment to. This will allow you to post the payment without having to re-run the credit card transaction.
Post as New Patient Insurance Payment: This action is used on Non-Ledger Transactions. With a non-ledger transaction selected, you can use this action to post the transaction to a patient's ledger as a new insurance payment. You'll be prompted to select the patient you wish to post the payment to. This will allow you to post the payment without having to re-run the credit card transaction.
Post as new Bulk Insurance Payment: This action is used on Non-Ledger Transactions. With a non-ledger transaction selected, you can use this action to post the transaction to a bulk insurance payment for an insurance company. You'll be prompted to select the Insurance Company you wish to post the payment to. This will allow you to post the payment without having to re-run the credit card transaction.
Valpay Reporting Site
You’ll also be granted access to the Valpay Reporting site. This Portal contains records of all transactions deposits and more. The video attached below provides an overview of the portal.
You can access your Payments portal at the following link here:
Deposits
Deposits may take up to two days after the transaction for the money to be deposited into the offices bank account and a short time later the deposit information will show up on the site.
Normally if a payment was made on Monday it should be deposited in the offices account the next business day.
Monday —> Tuesday
Tuesday —> Wednesday
Wednesday —> Thursday
Thursday —> Friday
Friday —> Monday
Saturday —> Monday
Sunday —> Monday
ValPay has seen that the deposit goes into the offices account between 2 PM EST and as late as 5 PM EST.
The ValPay Reporting site is usually a day behind, this means that if the office receives a deposit the information for this deposit will show up the next day on the ValPay Reporting site.
Regarding Batch Management in MacPractice Payments
Unlike previous credit card integrations, MacPractice Payments does not have a batch management system. The Transaction Log will capture any payments processed for review as necessary, and this information is also reflected on your MacPractice Payments Portal.