Question 1

Why should we pay for something we are already managing ourselves?

Accepted Answer

Co-ordinating and managing payment plans can be time-consuming, often require extensive follow-ups, adjustments and record-keeping.

When this is not the main area of focus for the practice, it takes away resources in the form of staff and time from the practice. When the dedicated admin person is off sick or needs time off, this can impact the practice and patients.

Safe Pay Smiles is a tool that allows the practice manager to take control and elevate their role. Along with our fixed pricing structure, outsourcing the payment plans to Safe Pay Smiles will result in a healthier, more profitable practice.

Question 2

We are already busy. Moving everything to a new system sounds like a headache. Why should we consider this?

Accepted Answer

As a practice owner or manager, your time is your most valuable asset. The thought of switching critical systems, even for long-term savings, often feels like a risk—a trade-off between today's efficiency and tomorrow's benefit.

We eliminate that trade-off.
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We designed our transition process to be fast, non-disruptive, and low-effort. Our system implementation is seamless to your daily patient flow and staff operations.

In fact, you can switch over in your lunch break, sit back and watch as we organise it all for you.

Question 3

Will our patients feel uncomfortable if we hand them over to a third party?

Accepted Answer

We work as a partner to your practice, which means we will take care of your patients to ensure both your reputation and ours are protected. Our friendly, local Gold Coast team will deal with your patients and is available to your practice for any queries.

We co-brand our marketing material and communications to your patients to ensure they are aware that we are acting on your behalf.

Question 4

What if a patient struggles with technology, can we register them?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. You can register a patient via the same QR code on your practice tablet, complete a registration via the partner portal or email us to give the patient a call. There are how to videos that can guide the patient and your practice through the different options for registering the payment plans.
We can also customise the setup to your preferred operations.

Question 5

Do you have a portal we can access?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you will have unlimited login available for our partner portal.

Unlike other providers, we don't charge licensing fees for accessing our portal, it's simply part of our offering to you.

Question 6

How do we communicate changes to you if a patient is in the practice?

Accepted Answer

You can leave us notes on the partner portal of any changes you require. These notes will be loaded against the patient's file for you to view later. Our team will get notified and apply changes throughout the day. Your practice will receive a daily digest the next day with confirmation of changes and updated payment plans.

Question 7

What if we have current overdue accounts from the accounts we manage in-house or via another provider?

Accepted Answer

You can refer any existing overdue accounts directly to our parent company COLLECT4U.(https://www.collect4u.com.au/) They are experienced collectors that have successfully collected for a number of other dental or orthodontic practices. There are no lock-in contracts or subscription fees, only commission charges on successful collections.

Question 8

What happens with missed / failed payments?

Accepted Answer

When a patient misses a payment or the scheduled direct debit fails, our local Gold Coast team will get in contact with the patient directly via a series of SMS, emails and letters. We will retry any failed payments as per the agreement with the patient.

The practice will be advised of missed payments on a weekly basis in order for you to minimise risk and expenses on appliances. Depending on your operational preferences, we might also suggest you hold off on further treatment.

Once there are 3 missed payments, the account will be handed over to our parent company COLLECT4U (https://www.collect4u.com.au/)to ensure the payments are collected. If this fails, we will discuss the option of default listing against the patients credit file with you.

Question 9

How often will the practice get paid?

Accepted Answer

We process payments from the patients accounts weekly, fortnightly or monthly, generally on a Thursday or Friday. These payments take 3 business days to clear through the banking system.

Based on your account setup, we can settle all cleared and reconciled funds to your bank account, fortnightly or monthly.

We will provide you with a remittance advise that will ensure easy and fast reconciliation within your PMS.

Question 10

Do we charge any fees or interest to patients?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we clearly advise all patients of our fees upfront. These fees won't affect the cost of the treatment plan for your practice.

We charge a once off setup fee of $42.00 and a transaction fee of $1.10 for every direct debit from a patients bank account. All failed payments will incur a $17.70 dishonour fee, however, if the patient informs us of any issues with the payments in time, we can waive this fee.

There are no interest fees charged.

Question 11

Do you do a credit assessment on each patient?

Accepted Answer

There are some credit criteria that the patient needs to meet in order to set up the payment plan, however we don't do an external credit check via a credit bureau.

It is up to the practice to decide whether they want to accept the patient on their payment plans that we manage on your behalf.

Question 12

How do you support patients through their payment plans?

Accepted Answer

Patients can contact our friendly, local Gold Coast staff via phone or email to answer any questions they have.
Furthermore, each patient receives a unique log in code to a portal to view their account and repayments.

Question 13

What about our existing payment plans?

Accepted Answer

If you are already managing payment plans either in-house or through a 3rd party, you have several options.

You can start with new payment plans with Safe Pay Smiles on a specific date and continue to "run down" the existing payment plans as is.

Alternatively, we can discuss how to transfer your current in-house payment plans across, without any disruption to the existing patients.

Question 14

What happens when patients make extra payments on their accounts?

Accepted Answer

Patient have the ability to make extra payments on their payment plan throughout the term of the plan.

We provide options for EFT, Direct debits and Credit card payments via our secure patient portal.

Any extra payments received will be paid over in full to the practice within the next upcoming reconciliation and settlement due. Unlike other providers, we don't hold on to any extra payments receive.

We believe the funds are more valuable to your practice. Afterall, it's about increasing your profitability and cashflow.

Question 15

Can patients pay with credit or debit cards?

Accepted Answer

We believe in providing the patients as many secure ways to pay as possible and to take away the friction of payment processing. We have a list of payment partners available.

Patients can choose to pay via direct debit, EFT, debit card, credit card, PayTo, BPay and much more.

Question 16

Can patients pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we work with the practice and the patients to set up payment plans (deposits, terms and repayment frequencies) to suit both.

Our systems and processes are set up to easy and smoothly manage high volumes and different types of plans.

Question 17

Can Australian or New Zealand Permanent Residents qualify for the payment plans?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as long as they are currently in a full-time role based in Australia and can afford the repayments set out in the plan.

Question 18

How does this work?

Accepted Answer

We have a contract in place with the dental/specialist practice providing you the service or product. We have your set payment plan, however, we need your bank / credit / debit card details in order for us to facilitate and manage the payments securely. 
You need to complete the secure form to authorise us to set up a direct debit on your account as we can't otherwise withdraw money from your account. 
We don't share this information with the practice and we hold it securely within our systems.

Question 19

Do I need to pay a deposit?

Accepted Answer

Yes, at the time you are setting up the payment plan or if you later on increase your payment plan. The deposit is between 10% and 30%, depending on the cost of your treatment and the repayment period.  The deposit is paid either directly to Safe Pay Smiles via our secure credit card portal or to the practice. If you would like to pay the deposit by EFT, please give us a call or use the bank details found on our app .

Question 20

Where do I get the forms?

Accepted Answer

You can get all the secure forms you need from our app. Simply scan the QR code from the dental/specialist practice. If you need help, contact us via email at patient@safepaysmiles.com (patient@safepaysmiles.com)or call 07-56580500.

Question 21

Are my details secure?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely! We use a secure form, limit access to the information and use encrypted files to store and process the information.

Question 22

Will I get a reminder about my payments?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we will send you a SMS a couple of days prior to the payment being deducted from your bank account or credit/debit card. This reminds you to ensure there are sufficient funds available as charges apply to failed payments.

Question 23

What will I see on my bank/credit card statement?

Accepted Answer

You will see the payment being deducted with the reference or description as "Safe Pay Smiles" from your bank account. Please keep in mind that Safe Pay Smiles is a subdivision of Collect 4U.

Question 24

What if I need to change the day or frequency of the payment plan?

Accepted Answer

The flexibility you have to change the payment schedule depends on the practice you have the service with and the specific payment plan you are on. Please give our friendly team a call on 07-56580500

Question 25

How do I cancel a payment plan?

Accepted Answer

The terms for cancellation of your payment schedule depend on the practice you have the service with, but generally once you've agreed to treatment and have started, you are liable for the full amount outstanding. If you've had a change in circumstances, please get in contact with our patient care team to discuss the details.
Please don't allow the payments to fail as this will attract failed payment fees and the debt could be referred to our debt collection team. Rather get in contact with us as soon as you have any difficulty in repaying the account, on 07-56580500

Question 26

What happens if a payment fails due to insufficient funds?

Accepted Answer

If a payment fails you will be notified by either sms or email. The payment plan will continue as per normal, however the failed payment will need to be made as well.  There are different options on how to make up a missed payment.
Please note that you may be charged failed fees by us and possibly also by your bank. We will notify you if any fees are charged and if you're unsure, please get in contact with our team.

Question 27

How do I make up a missed payment?

Accepted Answer

There are different reasons why you might have missed a payment, however it's easy to catch up the missed payment. You can:

* Pay directly into our bank account. Details can be found on our app or send us an email.
* Pay with your credit/debit card on our patient portal. You will be able to use Google Pay or Apple Pay securely.
* Complete the form on our app, to add the missed payment to your next scheduled payment.
* Give us a call (07-56580500) and we can put a catch up arrangement in place that is affordable for you.

Question 28

Will I receive a regular statement?

Accepted Answer

You are able to view and download statements and payment receipts via our patient portal, which you can access via the app. We would like to be kinder to the environment and therefore don't send out paper statements.
If you struggle or have any questions, please get in contact with our friendly Gold Coast team and we will happily send you a statement via email.  All fees and charges are transparent to you and the practice.

Question 29

What if I need to change my bank details or my credit card information?

Accepted Answer

If you change bank details or your credit card expires, you need to contact us straight away. This will ensure that you don't miss any payments, get charged failed payment fees or have to make up any payments. You can use the app to change your payment details, email us (patient@safepaysmiles.com)((patient@safepaysmiles.com)) or give our friendly staff a call on 07-56580500.

Question 30

Can I make extra payments outside of my payment plan?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can make extra payments outside of your payment plan in order to pay it off earlier. There are no penalties or extra fees for doing this. You can use the app to make a payment with your credit card or find the details for our bank account.

Question 31

What are the fees and charges?

Accepted Answer

As with most businesses, there are generally fees and surcharges for setting up and using the banking and credit card facilities. These are all transparent and outlined in our app for you to view. If you have any questions, please give us a call on 07-56580500 or send us an email at patient@safepaysmiles.com.au (patient@safepaysmiles.com.au)

Question 32

I'm experiencing financial hardship. How can you help?

Accepted Answer

Life happens, we get it. At Safe Pay Smiles when there is a change in your situation, we are able to assist you with either an alternative repayment arrangement or an extended payment term. Please email us (patient@safepaysmiles.com) for the financial hardship application form. Ensure you have the supported documentation ready. Alternatively, give us a call to discuss.

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