Procedure
Deposits and payments
Walks through taking a deposit and recording a payment against a patient's account, and how each entry updates the balance.
A deposit is an advance a patient places against their account before the bill is complete. A payment is a receipt recorded against that account or against an invoice. This page walks through taking a deposit and recording a payment against a patient's account, and shows how each entry updates the balance.
Taking a deposit
A deposit is money held as a liability against the account. Vault holds it as an advance, apart from revenue, until it is drawn against an invoice. The held amount always reconciles, so the sum drawn down and the sum returned stay within the amount collected.
- 1
Open the account
Find the patient and open their finance account for the visit. The account carries the deposits, invoices and payments for that admission in one place.
- 2
Enter the amount and method
Enter the amount, for example
INR 20,000, and choose the method the patient paid by. Cash, card and UPI settle at once, while a cheque or a demand draft settles when it clears. - 3
Confirm and issue a receipt
Confirm the deposit. Vault issues a dated receipt number and records the advance as held, ready to draw against the bill.
| Deposit state | What it means |
|---|---|
| Collected | The full advance is held, with none drawn down yet. |
| Partly adjusted | Part of the advance is drawn against invoices, and a balance remains. |
| Fully adjusted | The whole advance is drawn against invoices. |
| Refunded | The unused remainder is returned to the patient. |
Recording a payment
A payment is a receipt against the account or a named invoice. Vault records who took it, how it was paid and what it settles. A refund is recorded the same way, as a fresh entry in the outflow direction.
- 1
Choose what the payment settles
Choose the invoice the payment clears, or take it on account against the balance. The entry carries that link, so the balance moves in the right place.
- 2
Enter the amount and method
Enter the amount and the method. For an online payment, the patient pays through the payment provider, and the receipt is recorded once the provider confirms it.
- 3
Confirm the receipt
Confirm the payment. A receipt that meets the invoice total settles it, and a receipt below the total leaves it partly paid.
A pending payment holds the counter
A payment sent to a provider sits pending until the provider confirms it. While it is pending, Vault holds a second manual collection for the same invoice back, so a slow confirmation reads honestly as pending rather than as a receipt. Once it clears, the receipt is fixed.
| Payment state | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending | Sent to a provider and awaiting confirmation, held on a time bound. |
| Completed | Confirmed and posted against the invoice or account. |
| Failed | The provider declined it, so a later attempt is a fresh entry. |
| Refunded | The completed receipt is returned by a matching outflow entry. |
How each entry moves the balance
Every entry moves the account in one direction, and Vault derives the outstanding from the entries rather than holding a running figure.
| Entry | Effect on the account |
|---|---|
| Deposit collected | Adds a held advance, apart from revenue. |
| Deposit adjusted | Draws the held advance down against an invoice. |
| Payment completed | Reduces the outstanding on the invoice it settles. |
| Refund | Returns money as a fresh outflow entry. |
Payment methods
The counter records the method beside each receipt, so the account shows how every rupee arrived.
| Method | Settles |
|---|---|
| Cash | At once, at the counter. |
| Card | At once, through the card terminal. |
| UPI | At once, through the payment provider. |
| NEFT | When the bank transfer arrives. |
| RTGS | When the bank transfer arrives. |
| Cheque | When the cheque clears. |
| Demand draft | When the draft clears. |
Common confusions
Is a deposit counted as income?
A deposit is held as a liability against the account, apart from revenue, until it is drawn against an invoice. The draw-down is the point it meets the bill.
Can a receipt be edited after it posts?
A posted receipt holds its amount. A correction is a fresh entry, a refund or a new receipt, so the account keeps its full history.
What happens to a payment the provider is slow to confirm?
It sits pending on a time bound, and it holds a second collection for the same invoice back until it resolves.
Read how the discharge finance gate confirms the account before a patient leaves.