5 Proven Tips to Make Sure Every Dollar Reaches Your Bank

You’d be surprised how often we find money that clinics didn’t even know they were missing.

Every month, we dig deep into your insurance deposits, patient payments, and EFT transfers to make sure every dollar you earned actually makes it to your bank. If it doesn’t, we find out why.

Like the dentist whose Insurance EFT payment looked complete in their software, but we discovered one family member’s claim never reached the bank. The report said “paid,” yet the deposit was short by $340. We caught it within days — not months.

Or the orthodontic clinic that thought their post-dated Visa payments were all processed. But every month, at least one failed — a maxed-out card, an expired date — and no one noticed until we ran our deposit audit. That’s hundreds of dollars left uncollected every cycle.

Then there was the practice where a patient cheque quietly bounced, and it sat hidden for weeks. The dentist only found out when CRA reports didn’t balance — but our reconciliation flagged it immediately.

We make sure every EFT, card batch, and insurance payment actually lands in your bank — not just in your software. If something’s missing, we don’t let it slide. We log every uncashed or delayed deposit, follow up the next month, and make sure it’s truly there.

Because in your practice, every patient matters — and to us, every dollar of your effort deserves to be found, verified, and protected.

We’re pulling back the curtain on what really happens behind the scenes of dental bookkeeping — the late deposits, the “mystery” EFTs, and the missing money that was apparently “paid” but never reached your bank.

These five proven bookkeeping and reconciliation tips are designed specifically for dental clinics — to help you catch errors, reclaim lost revenue, and focus on what you actually love: your patients, your team, and your sanity.

You’d be amazed how often we find “invisible money.”

We once had a dentist who swore all her Sun Life payments were up to date — until we noticed one family’s claim only paid for dad, not the kids. The software said paid. The bank said nope.

Another time, we caught a patient cheque that quietly bounced — it looked fine in the tracker, but never hit the bank. Without our reconciliation, that would’ve sat hidden until tax season (a.k.a. panic season).

So yes, production looks nice, but your bank tells the real story.

Do this once a month:

• Compare your bank statement, merchant report, and insurance remittances.
• Tie each deposit to a specific source.
• Flag anything that doesn’t match — because if your deposit doesn’t clear, it doesn’t count.

✅ Pro Tip: Use a “Monthly Deposit Tracker.” Every variance = a clue.
💬 Quick question: When was the last time you made sure every single claim you billed actually made it to your bank?

Here’s the thing — Dentrix, Cleardent, and Tracker are great at tracking teeth, not transactions.

We’ve seen clinics show $90,000 in “collections” for the month… but only $83,000 in the bank. Where did the $7K go? Insurance delays, credit card fees, patient refunds — or the occasional “we forgot to batch.”

Even small mismatches can add up. A $10 variance per day = $300/month = $3,600/year quietly disappearing

✅ Pro Tip: Every Friday, grab a coffee and match your software totals to your bank feed.
💬 Biggest difference we’ve seen? $4,800 missing over three months — all from timing gaps.

One Friday, we posted a $2,400 insurance payment that didn’t hit the bank until Monday. By Saturday, the client was texting:

“Why does my account say I’m short $2,400?”

Timing, that’s why.

Those Friday–Monday gaps happen all the time. Instead of panicking, keep a Pending Deposits List — your “waiting room” for payments. Check it weekly, mark things off when they clear, and stop losing sleep over weekend EFTs.

✅ Pro Tip: Use the “cleared” checkbox in Sage or QuickBooks — it’s like a magic wand for reconciliation.
💬 Be honest: Are you tracking pending deposits… or relying on your memory and sticky notes?

Ah, merchant fees — the silent killers of profit.

One of our clients called panicked because their income “suddenly dropped.” Turns out, Square started deducting slightly higher fees. Not noticeable daily, but by the end of the year? $2,200 gone.

The fix is simple: record those fees every month. Your gross revenue may look great, but your bank only sees what’s left.

✅ Pro Tip: Download your fee summary from Moneris, Square, or Stripe and import it monthly.
💬 Challenge: Review your fees this week — you might find your card processor is living better than you are.

Dental bookkeeping isn’t “normal bookkeeping.” It’s an entirely different species.

We’ve seen general bookkeepers panic over split insurance deposits:

“Why does one $1,200 deposit cover three patients from two different families?”

Welcome to dentistry.

At Stellar Accounts Corp., we speak dental. We know when a Dentrix “collection” doesn’t equal “money received,” and when EFTs from multiple insurers appear as one big lump sum. We decode the chaos — so your numbers finally make sense.

✅ Pro Tip: Hire someone who works in your ecosystem — Dentrix, Cleardent, Jane, Tracker, or PatientNow. It’ll save you hours of back-and-forth (and a few headaches).
💬 Serious question: Are you explaining your software to your accountant every month? You shouldn’t have to.

You wouldn’t ignore a cavity and hope it fixes itself — your books deserve the same care.

Reconciliation isn’t about spreadsheets. It’s about respecting the value of your work. Every insurance payment, every patient cheque, every dollar you earned deserves to show up safely in your bank. And when it doesn’t, we make sure it gets there.

At Stellar Accounts Corp., we don’t just keep books — we protect them. We find the missing money, flag the uncashed deposits, and follow up until every cent lands where it belongs.

💬 Which of these tips will you try first — or are you ready to let us handle the detective work?