When a chiropractic practice isn’t making enough revenue to cover expenses and turn a good profit, many assume they simply need to attract more patients. Although getting new patients is always a good thing, there are many other, often-overlooked methods for increasing revenue. Many chiropractic practices are leaking revenue in various areas. Simply focusing on and fixing these leaks can be all your practice needs to get back in the black.
#1 No set budget
First things first: A chiropractic office with no set, clearly defined budget will have a hard time staying on track for profitability. To create one, you’ll need to start gathering monthly reports of both expenses and income. Once you have the data, you’ll need to analyze it. One way to do this is to do your research online. Statistics are available for practices in different fields across the country, so you can compare yours and plan a suitable budget from there. Then, it’ll be easy to see where you’re overspending. Is it office supplies? Staff overtime? Once you know the source, you can take action to get the spending back to reasonable levels.
#2 Poor reporting
The same idea goes for all reporting in general. Once you gather reports of your expenses versus your income, it’s easier to make a budget. Once you gather reports of outstanding accounts receivable, how long they’ve been outstanding, and other related data, it’s easier to see where you need to improve. Once you have a physical report in front of you detailing how much money is being lost in different areas, you’ll be far more motivated to create a system to monitor and pursue more of these dollars.
#3 Inefficient staffing and scheduling
Do you have reports to monitor what you’re spending on staffing in particular? Overtime especially is one area where many chiropractic practices are overspending. Once you analyze your staffing costs, you can work to devise a new schedule that’s more efficient and involves less overtime. For example, you could implement split shifts, or 10-hour days but fewer days a week for some of your employees. It’s also important to require that overtime be approved before it’s worked. That way, you’ll be able to decide when it’s absolutely necessary, and when it’s not, saving money in the process.
#4 Improperly trained front desk staff
You may not realize it, but the staff at the front desk of your chiropractic office are extremely crucial to revenue. First of all, they have the power to heavily impact collections. Their day is full of opportunities to discuss past-due balances and payment options with patients one-on-one. Often times, simply reminding the patient they have an outstanding bill and offering ways they can take care of it then and there is enough to improve your collections rate. Plus, the more billing tasks your front desk staff can take care of during patient check-in or check-out, the more time your actual billing department will have to take care of more complex issues. That’s why training your front-desk staff properly is a key component to avoiding revenue leaks.
Seek help from the experts
Having a successful, profitable chiropractic practice all begins with awareness. If you don’t know how much your expenses are, how much you’re spending, or how efficient your staff members and policies are, it’s nearly impossible to know where you’re losing money. If you’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, or simply don’t have the time, that’s where InnovateU comes in. We offer chiropractic practice management, chiropractic billing and coding support, plus consulting services for chiropractic offices, and much more. Contact us today to discover how InnovateU can help your practice succeed.