In the discussion on editing distributions, I asked "What happens to the Payroll report when a past distributed payment is corrected?" In this discussion, I'll dig into how PracticeWorks allows corrections to prior distributions while maintaining payroll integrity.
Here we see a $20 cash payment, fully distributed to Dr. Klein's procedure on February 24th.
When the Payroll report was run in February, Dr. Klein received credit for the $20 payment.
In April, the distribution is edited, reducing Dr. Klein's distribution to $10 while the remaining $10 is distributed to Brenda Sloan's bitewing. This distribution date for both Dr. Klein and Brenda Sloan's procedures is April 27th.
When the Payroll report is run for April we see a negative $10 distribution to Dr. Klein and a positive $10 distribution to Brenda Sloan.
As you can see, when distributions are reduced,the Payroll reflects the reduction as a negative amount*. The $20 distribution from February remains unchanged. This results in a net distribution to Dr. Klein for $10.
It's important to understand how this works since a negative distribution may raise eyebrows. The Distribution Audit report can provide more context to a provider or staff member questioning a negative distribution. The Distribution Audit report covering the entire distribution time frame shows us the original $20 distribution and the negative $10 resulting in a total distribution of $10.
Aside from editing distributions directly, you see negative distributions when any of the following occur:
- A payment is removed from the ledger.
- A distributed payment is reduced using the Correct Entry functionality and the reduced amount is lower than the distributed amount.
- A procedure with distributions is reduced using the Correct Entry functionality and the reduced amount is lower than the distributed amount.
- A distribution swap occurs.
In the next discussion I'll explain what a distribution swap is.
Please let us know if you have questions or feedback on this post. We're looking forward to hearing from you!
*If a distribution is changed the same day, no negative distribution is recorded. For instance, if the aforementioned $20 distribution was reduced to $10 on February 24th, the Payroll report would show $10 distributed to Dr. Klein.
