Reconciling End of Period Reports
Several OM users have asked why there seem to be discrepancies
between similar totals on different OM reports. Each report has a
specific purpose, so totals that look superficially similar on
different reports do not necessarily represent the same thing. Let's
examine these reports and the numbers that they produce.
Daysheet
The totals that optionally appear at the bottom of your daysheets
should never be used for accounting purposes. Because OM is so
forgiving about back-entering transactions, the period totals can
easily differ from the true month and year figures. The AR total on
the daysheet will generally be correct, but because it is possible
to manually change the base value (UTILITIES menu, View/Edit
Totals), you should consider it an estimate.
Accurate month and year figures appear on the Month End Summary (REPORTS
menu, Accounting). The accurate AR total appears as the first
column total at the bottom of your Account Balance Report (REPORTS
menu, Accounting). As a point of information, if your
daysheet is empty, the AR figure in View/Edit Totals will be checked
and updated if necessary when you run an Account Balance Report.
Month End Summary
The Month End Summary shows correct totals for calendar months
and years. Items are accumulated as daysheets are closed, and will
be posted to the month and year that corresponds to the End Date on
the transaction. If the need arises, these figures may be
recalculated by selecting the Recalculate month end totals program
on the menu. These numbers will reflect transaction activity for
both active and closed patients. Transactions in a currently open
daysheet are not included in the Month End Summary figures.
Account Summary
The Account Summary includes totals for fees, payments, and
adjustments. These figures accumulate from the time the patient is
first seen in the practice right through the transactions on a
currently open daysheet. Note that these totals are therefore not
period totals! It is also important to keep in mind that the Account
Summary report includes only active patients. If the options to omit
zero balance accounts have been selected, it will not even include
all of those. If any patients have been closed, the column totals
on this report will not match the sum of all months on the Month End
Summary, even if zero accounts are included.
Account Balance Report
The Account Balance Report is the primary accounts receivable
report. It includes all active patients with non-zero balances.
Versions 3.11 and later have options allowing reporting of patients
with zero balances as well. (Closed patients have no balance, by
definition, so they do not affect the practice AR.)
Account Period Summary
The Account Period Summary totals charges, payments, and account
adjustments for a specified period. It is important to remember,
however, that the report includes either active or closed patients,
but not both. To generate a true total for all patients for a given
period, you must add the results of the active patient report to
that of the closed patients. In addition, be sure to set the report
options so that there are no exclusions, that is, be sure to include
patients with zero balances and patients without activity during the
period.
Provider Activity Report
Unlike most of the other reports, the Provider Activity Report is
transaction rather than patient based. It includes transactions for
both active and closed patients. If all transactions contain a
provider code, the grand totals (practice-wide totals) for a given
month should be the same as the matching totals in the Month End
Summary. On the other hand, the Provider Activity Report grand
totals will not necessarily match the Account Period Summary for the
same date range unless the latter report is run for both active and
closed patients, and the totals from each are added:
Prov. Act. Grand Totals = Active Pt. Period Summary + Closed Pt.
Period Summary
Problems
Many of the accounting reports depend on accurate calculation of
the ledgers and the accuracy of the accumulated totals stored along
with the patient information. Unless there has been some sort of
system failure, these figures should be fine. Nevertheless, if you
have any concerns about the results you are seeing, you may want to
recalculate. Select Recalculate Balances on the UTILITIES
menu. This process will correct problems in balances and patient
totals. To recalculate the month end totals, select Other Tasks
on the EXIT menu. When the supplemental menu appears, scroll
down to the utility programs at the bottom of the list. Select Recalculate
month end totals. When the recalculation has completed, rerun
the reports in question.
