Refund Exporter completely automates the entire refund process.  Refund Exporter creates a button at the visit level within Virence (formerly GE) Centricity which allows a user to identify who should be receiving the refund on an overpayment and the amount of the refund.  Refund Exporter Admin then allows a supervisor (or authorized individual) to select which refund checks to generate, the system will print the checks (or create an electronic file for your accounts payable system), and post the transactions back to Virence Centricity all in one click.  Refund Exporter removes the manual process that is currently required.

Requesting a Refund

Refunds are requested through the Visit in Centricity.  Once you have the Visit displayed, select the Request Refund button displayed at the top of the window.

The Create a Refund Request window will be displayed.  The following details each of the fields within this window.

Refund To:

Use the drop down menu option to select to whom the refund should be issued to.  Your options are:

Patient

Guarantor

Insurance(s) as defined in the Visit

Other

The address information that will automatically populate in the Check Request portion of the window is what is on file in Centricity.  If ‘Other’ is selected, nothing will populate.  The user will need to manually enter the information.

Saved Address:

If the Insurance is selected as the Refund To, and the insurance refund address is different from the regular address, the user can overwrite the address information.  In addition, the user can use a Saved Address by selecting one from the drop down list.  (See the Refund Addresses Administration section for further instruction on this option.)

Patient Visit Attachments:

Select which Visit attachments to print at the time of the report if necessary.

Balance to Adjust:

The Balance to Adjust is automatically determined and selected by who is selected under the Refund To option and the field will be disabled to the user.  If the Refund To selected is Other, the user must select whether the refund should be adjusted off of the patient balance or the insurance balance.

Insurance Requested Refund:

Select this field if the refund has been requested by the insurance.

Visit Status:

The Visit Status defaults to Overpaid, but can be changed to Refund by using the drop down menu option.  Upon saving the Refund Request, the Visit Status of the Visit in Centricity will be changed to whichever is selected here.

Refund Reason:

Using the drop down menu option, select the reason for the refund.  If Other is selected you can enter an explanation of Other in the Refund Other field.

Reason Other:

If Other is selected in the Refund Reason field then you can enter an explanation of the Other in this field.  This field is disabled to the user unless Other has been selected in the Refund Reason field.

Ticket Refund Method:

A refund request can be made at the entire ticket level or for specific CPT codes based on the option selected.  When the Select CPT Codes is selected, the user will then elect the amount to refund for each CPT code.

Date:

The date defaults to the current date, but can be changed if necessary.

Amount:

The amount will default to the overpaid amount on the Visit for the Payer, but can be changed if necessary.  If there is not a credit on the Visit the amount will be $0.00.

Memo:

​By default, this includes the Patient ID and the Patient Name.  If the refund is to an insurance company, the Insurance ID will be included.  This can be overridden if necessary.

When the information is completed, click Save.

Viewing Refunds

Users can view a list of refunds by patient by selecting the View Refunds button displayed at the top of the window.

The Refund Requested window will be displayed.  The following details each of the fields within this window.

Relationship:

This is who is being refunded and will be whatever was selected in the Refund To field of the Request Refund window.

Address:

This is the address of the entity that is being refunded.

Name:

This is the name of the entity that is being refunded.

Amt:

This is the amount being refunded.

Date:

This is the date the refund was requested.

Memo:

This is the memo as it was entered in the Refund Request window.

Ck #:

This is the check number issued for the refund (if the checks are being printed out of our program).  If you are printing checks out of our program, this field will be blank until a check is issued.

Ck Date:

This is the date of the check (if the checks are being printed out of our program).  If you are printing checks out of our program, this field will be blank until a check is issued.

Edit:

The Edit button will be available until a check is cut.  Upon selecting the Edit button, the Refund Request will be displayed.  Make changes as necessary and Save once your changes are completed.

Delete:

The Delete button will be available at all times, however performing this action requires a different response depending on if a refund has only been requested versus a refund actually having been issued.  See the Refund Deletes section of this manual for further instructions on this option.

Configuring the Program Options:

The first time using the program, you will setup your export options for your reports:  (File / Export Options)

There are 5 different export files that the program creates:  Vendor File, Payables File, All-in-one File, Positive Pay File and a QuickBooks Import File.  You can specify the location where you would like your reports saved.

If you are importing your files into QuickBooks, you must type in the Checking Account and Category Account from your QuickBooks program.  These Accounts have to match the name exactly to the name in QuickBooks or it will set up new accounts.  For example, if your account name is Wells Fargo and it is a sub account of the 11100 Cash account, the information you will put into the Checking Account options is below:

11100 Cash:Wells Fargo

For examples of the different export files, please see the Export File Examples section of this manual.

User Definitions

Refund Exporter provides functionality to determine user functionality within Refund Exporter.  Users have the ability to Approve refunds and / or Print refund checks / reports.

1) User – Username based on login credentials for Active Directory

2) Check mark if user is authorized to Approve requested refunds

3) Check mark if user is authorized to Print Checks and/or Check File

Approving Refund Requests

To approve a refund, launch the shortcut for Refund Exporter program on your desktop.  PLEASE NOTE – only Users setup in Refund Exporter with authorization to Approve will see the Approve button.

 1) Mark each refund to be approved based on requested refunds.  This will put a check mark in the box indicating the user has approved the requested refund.

2) A = Select All which will check mark all refunds listed for approval

3) N = Remove All which will uncheck all refund requests

4) Remove Refund – check mark a ticket which is not being approved and this will remove the refund request for this ticket.

5) Load Refunds – Refresh the list of requested refunds for approval

6) Class Group – sorting function for multiple bank setup (optional)

7) Class – sorting function for accounting setup (optional)

8) Approve Report – once items are marked for approval, user clicks the Approve Report which marks tickets approved for check writing / generation.

Printing Approved Refund Requests

To print checks and/or check reports, launch the shortcut for Refund Exporter program on your desktop.  PLEASE NOTE – only Users setup in Refund Exporter with authorization to Print / Export Checks will see the Print Checks and Export Refunds button.

1) The list of tickets displayed for printing/exporting of refunds will only include those tickets which have been previously approved.  Tickets check marked will be selected for print/export.

2) Click Print Checks and Export Refunds to generate checks and/or export file.

If the ‘Print Checks During Export’ is checked off, you will be prompted to enter the starting check number.  This is the first check to be issued and NOT the line up check.  Once you enter your starting check number, click OK to continue.

Your check(s) will display.  Print as necessary.  Once your checks have printed successfully, you can X out of the window.

Once the refund process has been completed, the refunded amount will automatically be adjusted to the Centricity visit and all check information will be input into the Transactions tab of the Centricity visit.

Visit Status is now set to the appropriate status.

Outstanding balance is removed from appropriate line item.

Refund check information is posted in the Transactions area of the Visit.

Refund Delete

This button will be displayed in the View Refunds window.  You have two different scenarios in how this option is used depending upon the status of the refund.

A refund has been requested, but a refund has not yet been issued:

Upon performing this task, you will be prompted with the following message.

If you wish to delete the request then select Yes.

You will need to manually change the Visit Status as appropriate.

A refund has been requested and refund has been issued:

This option is not recommended if you have already issued a check; however, there may be a time when you need to delete a refund from the system.

Upon performing this task, you will be prompted with the following message.

If you wish to delete the request then select Yes.

You will need to manually adjust the amount back on the Centricity visit and contact accounting as needed.

Refund Addresses Administration

Each Insurance Group can have multiple refund addresses.  Using the Saved Address drop down menu option, choose the appropriate address, if different from the default.  FYI: for this functionality to be available, the insurance being refunded must be part of an insurance Group in Centricity.

 To maintain addresses, select the Edit List button.

The Saved Address window will be displayed.

To add a new address, select the New Address button.

Export Files Examples:

Vendor File:

Payables File:

All-In-One File:

Positive Pay:

QuickBooks Import:

This creates an .iif file that lists the transactions for the refunds that were processed and need to be imported into QuickBooks.

How to Import File into QuickBooks:

1. Launch QuickBooks in Single User Mode

2. Select File / Utilities / Import / IIF Files

3. Select the File to Import

4. Once the Import is complete a QuickBooks Information box will appear with the message:  Your data has been imported.  Click OK

5. To verify that the transactions imported – open up your Check Register and select you’re the Account

Below is an example of what the transaction will look like in the Check Register:

Below is an example of what the transaction detail will look like in the Check Register after selecting ‘Edit Transaction’: