Import, Export and Transfer Fee Schedules

If you haven't already done so, please read Fee Schedules Overview and Entering Fees to Become Effective at a Later Date before proceeding.

Summary

While a new fee schedule can take a while to enter, it comes into effect at a specific time. To update all fee schedules between the end of the effective day for the old fees and the beginning of day for the new ones could make for a long and hectic evening, and having done that, if find you need to enter a visit from the earlier period, you need to change fees manually to the old ones!

We have a better way which consists of two pieces. The first, discussed elsewhere, allows you to enter fees in advance at your convenience, and them put them into effect at the designated time. The second, discussed in this topic, involves exporting the current fee schedule to an EXCEL .CSV file, updating both fees and effective dates with Excel, and then importing back into the software.

If you have a large number of fees that need to be changed, an easy alternative is to export the fee schedule to a spreadsheet, massage the spreadsheet using formulas to put in new prices, and then re-import the new prices. When you export a fee schedule, the actual file that is created is what is known as a "CSV" file. This is a "Comma Separated Value", or comma delimited ASCII file. It can be accessed by any standard spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel.

The import/export routine also includes the ability to transfer fees from one schedule to another. So, if you have entered a new Workers' Comp fee schedule and want to use the same one for Private Practice, you do not need to re-enter all the fees. Or if you have entered special fees for one employer and want to use the same with others, you can transfer instead of re-entering for each.

What Do You Want To Do?

Work With a Fee Schedule in Excel

  • Export to Excel

    1. On the Home Nav Bar, click Setup/Admin.

    2. Click Billing Setup.

    3. Click the button, Import/Export Fee Schedules.

    1. In the Select Action box in the upper left quadrant of the window, click the Export Fee Schedule radio button.

    2. In the Select Schedule box in the upper right quadrant of the window, click the radio button for the type of fee schedule (standard, state, clinic, entity or account override) you want to update. Depending on what you choose, the bottom half of the window will present additional options.

    3. In the lower left quadrant of the window:

      • If exporting a standard fee schedule, click the Select Source button to indicate the type of services (Employer Services, Workers’ Comp or Private Practice)

      • If exporting a state fee schedule, enter the state postal abbreviation, and indicate if this is a Workers' Comp or Private Practice fee schedule.

      • If exporting a clinic fee schedule, select the correct clinic.

      • If exporting an account override fee schedule, select the account.

    4. In the lower right quadrant, enter the file name for the spreadsheet, without a file extension.

    5. Click Run.

    6. A file will be created named <your filename>".CSV". This file will contain all items from the selected fee schedule that already have a current price. Items with blank price fields are omitted.

  • Update exported fee schedule in Excel

    Excel File Format

    The exported file is formatted in Comma Separated Values to Import into Excel. The only columns that should be changed are columns L and M, the future price and effective date!

    • Column A - Schedule ID: This determines which fee schedule the file belongs. DO NOT make any changes to this field or the pricing will not import back into the software.

    • Column B - Activity Code: DO NOT make any changes to this field or the pricing will not import back into the software.

    • Column C - Activity Description: DO NOT make any changes to this field or the pricing will not import back into the software.

    • Column D - CPT Code: DO NOT make any changes to this field or the pricing will not import back into the software.

    • Column E - CPT Code Description: - DO NOT make any changes to this field or the pricing will not import back into the software.

    • Column F - Fee Type: DO NOT make any changes to this field or the pricing will not import back into the software.

    • Column G - 2 Letter State Abbreviation: DO NOT make any changes to this field or the pricing will not import back into the software.

    • Column H - Clinic Code: DO NOT make any changes to this field or the pricing will not import back into the software.

    • Column I - Entity Code: DO NOT make any changes to this field or the pricing will not import back into the software.

    • Column J - Account Code: DO NOT make any changes to this field or the pricing will not import back into the software.

    • Column K â€" Past Charge: DO NOT make any changes to this field or the pricing will not import back into the software.

    • Column L - Current Charge: This will show the current charge as it is in the software. This field will usually not be changed. Only if you are importing fees to go into effect immediately, should you enter them in this column. Changes will import back into the software.

    • Column M - Current Effective Date: You should not have to enter anything in this column. Change will import back into the software.

    • Column N - Future Charge: Enter the future price for each medical activity. Changes will import back into the software.

    • Column O - Future Effective Date: Enter the effective date for each price change. Changes will import back into the software.

    Excel Instructions:

    In Excel:

    1. Select the Data drop-down menu, select Get External Data and select the Import Text File.

    2. When the [Import Text File] window displays change the Files of Type drop-down to read: All Files

    3. Find and select the appropriate file and click the Import button.

    4. For the Original Data Type mark the Delimited box and click the Next button.

    5. For the Delimiters mark the Comma box and uncheck all others boxes. Click the Finish button.

    6. Select either the Existing Workbook or the New Workbook box and click the OK button.

    7. Enter pricing changes to the spreadsheet - Again Note: Only changes to columns L and M will be imported. Use the following field format requirements:

      • Future Charge: Must be entered as a dollar and cents amount with the decimal point (i.e. $70 = 70.00). The amount cannot be greater than 999999.99. Do NOT enter the dollar sign ("$".)

      • Future Effective Date: Must be entered as mm/dd/yyyy. The slashes must be present in the date.

    1. After changes have been completed, save the Excel spreadsheet with a CSV format. You may get the following warning from Excel when saving changes, "test.csv may contain features not supported by the CSV (comma separated values) format. Do you wish to keep the workbook in this format?"

    2. Click the Yes button because the incompatible features are not needed and have no impact on the import function.

    Recommendations:

    • Always make a backup of any fee schedule file before importing or exporting.

    • It is recommended to export a fee schedule for updating prices. This utility is not intended for new fee schedule creation.

  • Import Updated Fee Schedule

    Standard Fee Schedules: During the import, only Medical Activities or CPT Codes which have already been entered in the software will be updated. If an activity or CPT does not exist in the database the import will not create it.

    To import updated changes from an Excel CSV file:

    1. On the Home Nav Bar, click Setup/Admin.

    2. Click Billing Setup.

    3. Click the button, Import/Export Fee Schedules.

    4. In the Select Action box in the upper left quadrant of the window, click the Import Fee Schedule radio button.

    5. In Select Schedule box in the upper right quadrant of the window, click the radio button for the type of fee schedule (standard, state, clinic, entity or account override) you want to update. Depending on what you choose, the bottom half of the window will present additional options. Be sure you pick the correct type of schedule!

    6. In Filename file locator field in the lower left quadrant, click the lookup button and locate the CSV file.

    7. In the Select Destination box in the lower right quadrant of the window:

      • If importing a standard fee schedule, click the Select Source button to indicate the type of services (Employer Services, Workers’ Comp or Private Practice)

      • If importing a state fee schedule, enter the state postal abbreviation, and indicate if this is a Workers' Comp or Private Practice fee schedule.

      • If importing a clinic fee schedule, select the correct clinic.

      • If importing an account override fee schedule, select the account.

    1. Click Run.

    2. You will get a warning verification window. Click Yes to confirm or No to cancel this request. While importing, if the software encounters a fee type that is different from the type you originally exported, you will get an error message and the process will terminate.

Related Activities

  • Transfer fee schedules

    Fee schedules can only be transferred to others of the same type: clinic to clinic, state to state, and employer override to employer override. You cannot transfer standard fee schedules.

    To transfer fee schedules, from the Setup/Admin, click the BILLING SETUP sub-tab. Then

    1. Click the button, Import/Export Fee Schedules.

    2. In the Select Action box in the upper left quadrant of the window, click the Transfer Fee Schedule radio button.

    3. In the Select Schedule box in the upper right quadrant of the window, click the radio button for the type of fee schedule (state, clinic, entity or account override) you want to update. Depending on what you choose, the bottom half of the window will present additional options.

    4. In the lower left quadrant of the window:

      • If transferring a state fee schedule, enter the state postal abbreviation, and indicate if this is a Workers' Comp or Private Practice fee schedule.

      • If transferring a clinic fee schedule, select the correct clinic.

      • If transferring an account override fee schedule, select the account.

    5. In the lower right quadrant select the Destination Schedule.

    6. Click Run.

      If you transfer an override fee schedule to an employer which is set to use standard pricing, the transfer will have no effect. The fees will be imported, but until you go into that employer's filling account and on the BILLING tab uncheck Standard Pricing, the imported fees will not be used.

  • Enter fees to take effect at a later date

  • Learn more about the different fee schedules

Concept Link IconSee Also