Client Payments: Client Credits

Client credits help you manage prepaid balances and automatically apply them toward future invoices. Once a credit is on a client's account, the system applies it to the next payment due and adjusts the remaining balance accordingly.

In this article:

• Adding a Client Credit Manually
• How Credits Land on an Account
• Viewing Where a Credit Came From
• Refunding a Credit to a Credit Card
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Related Resources

Adding a Client Credit Manually

To manually add credit to a client's account balance:

1. Navigate to Clients > [Client Name] > Billing > Settings.
2. Under Credits, select the $_ icon.
3. Enter the total credit amount.
4. Save your changes.

How Credits Land on an Account

Credits are added to a client's account either through direct manual entry or automatic system actions:

• Overpayments During Payment Processing: When processing a payment higher than the open bill balance, any remaining money automatically converts into account credit.
• Insurance Overpayments or Copay Adjustments: When a client's collected copay is higher than what insurance reimburses, the difference automatically applies as a credit, and the bill adjusts accordingly.
• Manual Adjustments: You can manually add credits under Billing > Settings for courtesy adjustments, fee waivers, or billing resolutions.
• Canceled or No-Show Sessions: If a client is charged for a session that is later canceled or marked as a no-show, you can convert that payment into account credit instead of issuing a refund.
• Pre-paying for Services: Clients can pay for sessions in advance, and those funds remain as account credit until future bills are generated. See Client Payments: Pre-paying for Services.

Viewing Where a Credit Came From

If a credit was generated automatically rather than added manually, you can trace its origin directly on the bill:

1. Open the bill where the payment was collected.

2. Hover over or tap the info (i) icon next to the payment line item (e.g., Credit Card payment).

   A popup displays:

   • The original payment amount captured.
   • The portion applied toward the client's account credit.

Refunding a Credit to a Credit Card

To return a payment to a client's credit card:

1. Open the bill where the payment was collected.
2. Find the credit card payment line item.
3. Select the three-dot menu and choose Refund.
4. Under How much do you want to refund?, select Full Amount or Custom Amount (enter the specific refund amount if returning a partial payment).
5. Choose how to handle the refund:
   • Process refund through Stripe: Automatically returns the funds to the client's card.
   • Record refund processed manually: Records the refund in Sessions Health without issuing an online transaction.
6. Select Refund.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I unapply a credit from a bill so a client can save it for later?

If a credit was automatically applied to a bill, but you want to save it on the client's account for a future invoice instead:

1. Open the bill where the credit was applied.
2. Find the Client Credit / Discount payment line.
3. Select the three-dot menu and choose Refund.
4. Select Refund in the popup to confirm.

Note: Because this is a credit line item (not a credit card payment), selecting "Refund" simply returns the funds back to the client's available account balance in Sessions Health. It does not send money to a bank or card.

What is the difference between selecting "Refund" and "Remove" on a credit payment line?

• Refund: Removes the credit from the bill and returns it to the client's account balance as available credit for future use.
• Remove: Unapplies the credit from the bill and permanently deletes it from the client's account balance (it will not return to available credit).

How do I stop credits from applying automatically?

• When creating a bill: Uncheck the box next to Available Credit.
• When adding a manual payment: If the Payment Type is Client Credit / Discount, uncheck the box for Deduct from credit balance?.

Related Resources

For more information, check out these related guides:

• Client Bills: Processing a Client Payment
• Client Payments: When a Client Overpays a Co-pay/Co-insurance
• Billing Automation: AutoPay