Collections
Promise to pay
A promise to pay records an amount and a date a patient committed to. ArkCloud stores promises, marks them kept or broken from the payments posted on the account, and reports on them. It does not remind the patient.
Written for: Collectors · Collections supervisors · Evaluators
Where a promise is recorded
Sidebar → My Work → Accounts → (account) → Promises
| Field or control | What it means |
|---|---|
| Promises tab (AR account) | Record a promise with an amount above zero, a promise date and optional notes. The tab lists the account's promises with their amount, date, status and, for a broken promise, the reason. |
| Call-centre disposition | On deployments with Amazon Connect, the call disposition panel in the softphone console takes a promised amount and date with the call outcome. They are stored on the call record only; no promise is created, so it is not tracked or settled. Record it on the Promises tab as well. |
| Other "Promise to Pay" outcomes | Choosing Promise to Pay as the outcome on an account's Script tab or in the collections workspace asks for the amount and date and creates the promise as well as recording the outcome. |
| Promise records | Promises are stored with amount, date, notes and a status of Pending, Kept, Broken or Cancelled. Kept or Broken can still be set by hand from the Promises tab; nothing sets Cancelled. |
Sidebar → RCM Operations → RCM Dashboard
The RCM Dashboard shows the kept rate and the total, kept and broken counts for promises made in the last 30 days, and Past due: pending promises whose date has passed. Pending promises are settled against posted payments before the figures are counted.
How a promise becomes kept or broken
- Kept - payments posted on the account from when the promise was recorded to the end of the promise date (UTC) add up to at least the promised amount. Refunded amounts do not count, and one payment is not counted towards two promises.
- Broken - the promise date has passed without that total. The reason records how much was received, for example "No payment of $50.00 posted by 2026-01-15; $20.00 received."
- Only Pending promises change. A status set by hand (Kept or Broken) is never overridden.
The check runs when promises are read - when the account's Promises tab opens and when the RCM Dashboard counts its promise figures - not on a schedule. A promise whose date has passed stays Pending until one of those screens is opened. Each automatic change is recorded in the account's activity.
Getting a promise that holds
- Agree a specific date and exact amount, and how the patient will pay.
- Offer to take the payment now, or set up a payment plan if the amount is not affordable.
- Send the patient a confirmation by your own process.
- Review broken promises daily and follow up with the patient.