8 Tips for choosing the right EFTPOS for your medical practice
When a practice is undergoing an EFTPOS comparison to find out what suits their workflow and patient needs, it can be overwhelming to understand what makes one provider better over an other. In this article, we take a look at eight key EFTPOS features you should consider to better empower your practice’s payment system.
1. Integration with your practice management software
The right EFTPOS system needs to be able to integrate with your practice management software. A solution like Tyro works seamlessly with clinical and practice management software from MedicalDirector, ensuring fast, accurate accounts and billing.
“We really like how MedicalDirector’s software and Tyro integrate seamlessly,” Jennifer Surie, Operations Manager of the Family Doctor, says. “They work well together and are both very stable, fast and easy to use. Features like online reporting, the ease of setup and ongoing support also make our clinics more efficient as we continue to grow. We’ve even had patients comment on how streamlined our payment and patient experience is for them.”
2. Customised solution for your practice
Selecting an EFTPOS machine that’s bespoke to your practice needs not only makes life easier for you and your staff, but enhances the patient experience and make life easier for your patients processing payments.
3. Claims processing
In all aspects of healthcare, leveraging a system like Tyro has a number of key features that make claims processing so much more efficient.
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One particularly useful feature of Tyro’s integration with Pracsoft, for instance, is that you can also streamline rebates, improve cash flow and reduce re-keying errors using integrated Medicare Easyclaim and Medicare Online functionality, along with EFTPOS-powered Tyro Easyclaims for rapid rebate processing.
4. Easy terminal set-up and use
Every year, healthcare professionals and practice managers are under increased pressure to do more with less, and what better way to turn around a time-poor practice than implement simple, easy to set up solutions.
When searching for an EFTPOS machine you should check what the set-up process is.
Here’s a checklist:
| 1. | Is it easy to unpack? | ☐ |
| 2. | Does it include an ethernet cable? | ☐ |
| 3. | Is the terminal easy to position for the customer? | ☐ |
| 4. | Are the cables long enough? | ☐ |
| 5. | Is there a simple set-up guide? | ☐ |
| 6. | Are the instructions clear? | ☐ |
| 7. | Is there a seamless experience with connectivity to your Wi-Fi or 3G? | ☐ |
| 8. | Is the password set-up intuitive? | ☐ |
| 9. | Is it easy to hook up with your POS/PMS? | ☐ |
| 10. | Is it simple enough to customise settings? | ☐ |
| 11. | Do the instructions cover set-up of functionalities such as pay at table and tipping? | ☐ |
| 12. | Is there a policy for terminal damage? | ☐ |
| 13. | Is it obvious how to get additional terminal paper? | ☐ |
| 14. | Is it clear how the reporting system is set-up? | ☐ |
If you’re a busy medical practice, you don’t have time to deal with difficult processes and unclear instructions. What you want is something quick and simple to setup, so you can focus on what is important – providing patient-centric care. At the same time, you want a system that supports quick transaction speeds as well as offers ‘Tap & Go’ functionality.
5. Transaction security
When you’re accepting payments, you’re placing a lot of trust in your EFTPOS provider to maintain safe payments, avoid fraud and keep data secure and encrypted.
To protect you and your patient’s money, you should ensure that the EFTPOS system you decide to go with offers the following features:
- Firewall Protection: You need an effective firewall between you and online hackers. A firewall is essentially a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. When you enquire for your next EFTPOS, make sure this is available.
- Anti-Virus Software: Your POS system, and any mobile devices that connect to the same network as your EFTPOS terminals, should have anti-virus and anti-malware software installed. This will help to prevent the possibility of a virus interfering with day to day payments.
- PCI PTS Compliance: PCI PTS are technical and operational requirements set to protect cardholder data. The standards apply to all organisations that store, process or transmit cardholder data. Make sure you check with the payments provider that their EFTPOS machines are PCI PTS compliant.
- Cardholder Data Protection: Check with your EFTPOS solution provider that they do not share cardholder data with the Point of Sale, with the merchant. Bonus points if this information is encrypted.
- Data Theft & Fraud Prevention: Protecting cardholder data is vital. If fraudsters get their hands on the PIN and other authentication data, they can impersonate the cardholder, use the card, and steal the cardholder’s identity. Also make sure that your EFTPOS provider has solutions to deal with MOTO fraud, order refund fraud, third party payments fraud and counterfeit card fraud.
- PIN Protection: A personal identification number is a numeric or alphanumeric password or code used in the process of authenticating or identifying a user to a system and system to a user. PIN protection on an EFTPOS machine is an additional safeguard to fraud.
6. 3G & Wi-Fi connection and support
Whether you’re running a busy medical centre, or rural medical practice, you need to be processing EFTPOS payments 24/7. Any connection issues could lose you hard earned cash or impact your patient experience.
This is why when searching for your next EFTPOS machine, you need to consider every possible connection:
- Ethernet: Ethernet establishes link level connections, which can be defined using both the destination and source addresses, usually via an ethernet cable. It’s the one that you plug in straight from your modem.
- Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi is a technology for wireless local area networking with devices based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. It’s the one that you stream from your modem without cables.
- 3G: 3G, standing for third generation, is the third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology. This is what you use for your mobile phone. Bonus points if you find an EFTPOS provider that includes the 3G cost in the fee.
At the same time, you will need a reliable system that offers 24/7 support, so you can be confident to process payments at any time of day – or night.
7. Able to accept different payment methods
From cards to contactless, the way patients are paying is changing and expanding. Cash is still used and important to accept. However, as cash payments decrease over time, alternative payments are on the rise. If you’re not accepting these alternative payments, you’re impacting your patient experience – and the financial flow of your practice.
Overall, the more forms of payments you accept, the more ‘business’ you can generate. It’s that simple. Here are some of the payment methods you should consider when selecting your next EFTPOS solution:
- Amex, MasterCard, Union Pay, Visa, eftpos debit card, HCB, Diners: This includes all the major credit and debit cards used in Australia – the most common form of EFTPOS payment.
- Apple Pay, Samsung Pay: Yes, more and more people are paying with their phones. If you’re not accepting this you could be losing tech savvy early adopter markets.
- Accept Cryptocurrency (e.g: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin): Very few EFTPOS services support this currently, mostly due to development costs and security issues. However, this is something to keep on the list for the near future as the market for people paying with cryptocurrency is ever expanding.
8. Instant and segmented reporting
What should EFTPOS reporting look like? On a surface level, you want it to be accurate, quick and comprehensive and off you the ability to:
- View Transaction Summaries: by monitoring how much you are accepting per day, you can make forecasts and budget your practice expenses.
- Segmentation Of Data: Segmenting transaction data can be useful to identify trends and make adjustments to your practice in response. At the least it is important break down payments by what location, what individual terminals and at what time of the day your practice is receiving the largest fluctuation in cash flow.
- Search Functionality: Powerful search functionality for individual transactions will help you access card payment transaction breakdown.
- Invoice, Reconciliation Report & Service Fee Transparency: The ability to create and view past invoices, produce reconciliation reports, and see your service fees breakdown gives your practice more transparency as to where your money is going.
- Digital Reporting: Having digital reports means you can access information from your phone or device without relying on a printer, and manipulate the report as you like. Bonus points if there is a phone app you can log in to.
Key takeaways
When researching what EFTPOS suits your practice, it’s important to be conscious of the following features, these can determine how effectively your practice accepts patient payments:
- Seamless Integration your Practice Management Software
- Investment In Payment Infrastructure & Data Centres
- Customised Solutions For Your Industry
- Easy Terminal Set-up
- Quick Transaction Speeds With Tap & Go
- Not Having To Change Bank
- Transaction Security
- 3G & Wi-Fi Connection & Support
- The Ability To Accept Different Payments
- Dynamic Currency Conversion
- 24/7 Local Customer Support
- No lock-in contracts
- Instant & Segmented Reporting
- A Mobile App for easy transaction and balance management on the go
For more information about how Tyro can benefit your medical practice, visit https://www.medicaldirector.com/marketplace/tyro-payments or give us a call on 1300 300 161
