Who this is for: All Barti users with access to patient invoices and billing.
Before you start, you'll need:
An invoice with a balance due
Available patient credit — either on this patient's account or a family/guarantor group member's account
How to check if a patient has available credit
Before applying credit, confirm it exists in one of these places:
The patient's Profile Info Bar shows a Patient Credit balance and a Patient has credit indicator when credit is available.
The Invoices tab shows an Account has overpayment of $X.XX message when credit exists.
During payment entry, the Payment Method dropdown will show Patient Credit - $X.XX (including credit available from the patient's family/guarantor group).
Steps
Open the invoice from the patient's Invoices tab or the Billing view.
In the Payment and Credit History section, click Patient Payment.
Open the Payment Method dropdown and select Patient Credit - $X.XX.
Click Apply Max Credit to automatically distribute the available credit across the invoice's line items, starting from the top.
If the credit doesn't cover the full balance, the remaining amount is shown automatically. Record a second payment for the remainder using another payment method (e.g., a Stripe card payment).
Click Apply Credit to record the payment.
What you'll see when it works
The credit appears in Payment and Credit History as a Credit Applied entry, with the name of the staff member who applied it. The patient's available credit balance updates to reflect what was used. If credit from a family or guarantor group member was used, it reduces their available balance as well.
Troubleshooting
Patient Credit isn't appearing in the Payment Method dropdown.
The patient (and their family/guarantor group) has no available credit. Credit must be issued before it can be applied — see How do I issue a patient credit in Barti?.
The credit covered part of the invoice but not all of it.
This is expected. If credit doesn't cover the full balance, the remaining amount is shown after applying max credit. Record a second payment for the remainder using another payment method.
Can I apply credit from one family member to another family member's invoice?
Yes. Credit is shared automatically within a guarantor group. When credit is available from any group member, it appears in the Patient Credit - $X.XX option during payment entry. No setup is required.
How applied credits appear in reports
Payment by Staff: Credit spend is recorded on the date it is applied to the new invoice. The performing staff on the new invoice receives production credit for that date.
Net Revenue Report: Credit spend appears as a separate line item.
Payment Method Report: Credit spend appears as a separate line item.