Post to a Zero/Credit Balance Encounter

Post to a Zero/Credit Balance Encounter

Sometimes, you will need to post an Insurance Payment to an Encounter that has a Zero or Credit Balance.


First, you must determine if an Insurance Payment should be posted to a Zero or Credit Balance Encounter.


The balance of a line can be a zero or credit balance for various reasons.


An Adjustment/Write-off was Double Posted

  • This created a credit balance.


A Paper Remit and an ERA were Received 

Both have the same check number and amount.

  • Since the check number is the same and you only received one payment, both should not be posted.


Duplicate ERAs

Two ERAs are received that are exactly the same, but you did not receive two Payments.

  • Only one should be posted.
  • The second one should be marked as a Duplicate.


Insurance Pays the Same Claim Two Times in Error

Two Insurance Payments have been received from the same Payer on the same Encounter and both need to be posted.

  • If you manually post to an Encounter with a Zero or Credit Balance, the funds will be Undistributed because it will create a credit. A Validation Error will display when you attempt to save the page.


Use Post Expert to Post the Additional Duplicate Payment

  • The first Payment should be posted as usual with Payments and Adjustments.
  • Post the duplicate Payment, using Post Expert.
  • This will create a credit on the Encounter waiting for the Payer to do a Takeback. 
  • Do not post the Adjustments on the duplicate Payment.
    • Related Articles

    • Auto-Post

      Auto-Post Auto-Post applies the payment from the oldest Encounters to the newest with a Patient balance and resets the dunning message count according to the Payment Rules setup in Statement Profiles. Auto-Post is only available on Patient and ...
    • Post Payment as a Note on ERA

      Post as Note is used when you want to capture the Remittance denial adjudication information without financially impacting the Encounter. This keeps the line item from being written off in order to resubmit the Claim after it has been worked. Do not ...
    • Post as Note on Manually Posted Payment (Denials)

      Post as Note on Manually Posted Payment (Denials) When a zero payment is received for one or more line items, the zero payment can be posted for information only without writing it off. Use the Post as Note checkbox or enter NOTE in the Other Code ...
    • Patient Dashboard: Balance Panel

      Balance Panel Features Navigation Links Post Charge Opens the Post Charge screen to add a new Charge for the Patient. ERAs Shows the number of ERAs, and the link opens the existing ERA List that is associated with the Patient. Cases Shows the number ...
    • Create and Post a Patient Receipt/Payment Manually

      Create a Patient Receipt Manually If the Copay was not entered during the Check-in/Check-out workflow, or if your Practice does not use the Calendar, there are several ways to create a Patient Receipt. Enter NR in the Navigation box (Go-Cuts) ...