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Post a payment

This is the full ritual, from a PDF on the desk to money sitting on the Open Dental claim. Read it once end to end. Then keep it as a checklist.

Nothing is written to Open Dental until Post payment. Approve is only a confirmation.

Who does which step

At a small office one person may do everything (Owner or Admin). At Bright Smile they split the work on purpose:

Step Bright Smile Role that is allowed to
Upload the PDF Jennifer Upload EOBs
Fetch and review Mike View EOBs; edit if needed
Approve match Mike Approve match
Post payment Jennifer Post payment
Spot-check Reports Sarah View reports

A Reviewer cannot post. That is a safety rail, not an insult. If your office wants reviewers to post, an Owner can clone a role and tick Post payment.

Before you start

  • You are in the right mode. Demo is practice. Actual is live. See Demo vs Actual.
  • In Actual, Open Dental is connected and has been synced recently (Clinic settings).
  • You have the remittance PDF (Cigna Dental standard layout is what Ordo reads today).

Step 1 — Put the file in the inbox

  1. Open EOB Dashboard.
  2. Click Upload EOBs.
  3. Drop Cigna_Remit_Aug24.pdf.
  4. Wait until the row says Extracted (not Extracting, not Failed).

If it fails, stop and see When something looks wrong. Do not post from a failed file.

Step 2 — Open the file and fetch

  1. Click the row.
  2. Tick the patients you will work (start with one if you are learning: Maria Santos).
  3. Click Fetch Open Dental.
  4. Wait for fetch to finish.

Do not skip Fetch

Opening Maria before fetch only shows the EOB. The Open Dental tab will look empty. Fetch first, every time.

Step 3 — Read the EOB side

  1. Click Maria Santos.
  2. Stay on EOB Review.
  3. Confirm name, subscriber, date of service, and procedure amounts against the PDF if anything looks odd.

Our example numbers:

  • Date of service: June 12
  • D0150 comprehensive exam — plan covered $42.00
  • D1110 prophylaxis — plan covered $100.00
  • Total to post: $142.00

If a name is garbled, fix it here (if you can edit) before you trust the match.

Step 4 — Pick the Open Dental claim

  1. Open the Open Dental tab.
  2. Look at the candidate list. The recommended row is pre-selected when Ordo is confident.
  3. Confirm it is the June 12 visit, not last year’s cleaning.

If the recommended claim is wrong, click the right candidate. If none are right, Reject match and handle that payment in Open Dental by hand (or wait for a better sync).

If you see Hard mismatch, do not approve. Open Audit. Pick another claim or reject.

Step 5 — Read the procedure lines

Check each line:

EOB code EOB amount Open Dental What you want
D0150 $42.00 Same code, same dollars to write Status Match
D1110 $100.00 Same code, same dollars to write Status Match

Remarks start as Match or Not matched. You may edit them (for example Cigna paid $100 cleaning — patient copay separate). After a successful post, remarks become read-only.

The optional Add remark to Open Dental box at the bottom is a payment-level note, not a line note.

More detail: Matching and remarks.

Step 6 — Approve match

Click Approve match.

You should see a confirmation that the EOB claim is tied to the Open Dental claim number, and that nothing was posted yet.

Maria’s row should move to Approved.

If the button is missing, your role does not include Approve. Ask an Admin.

If the button is disabled, you likely have a hard mismatch or no candidate selected.

Step 7 — Post payment

Someone with Post payment clicks Post payment.

In Demo, this is a simulation. In Actual, Ordo writes InsPayAmt on the matched Open Dental procedures and sends the notes.

Wait for the success confirmation. If Open Dental returns a claim payment number, you should see it. Keep that number if the dentist asks “did it really post?”

Maria’s row should say Posted.

If posting fails, do not click it ten times. Open When something looks wrong, Open Dental errors, and Clinic settings API Logs.

Step 8 — Optional wrap-up

  • Repeat for the next patient on the same file.
  • Check Reports with this week’s date filter: posted count should have moved.
  • If the whole file was a duplicate test, Archive it so it does not clutter Reports.

Pocket checklist

  • [ ] Correct mode (Demo vs Actual)
  • [ ] File extracted, not failed
  • [ ] Fetch Open Dental
  • [ ] Right patient, right date of service
  • [ ] No hard mismatch
  • [ ] Line amounts look like the PDF
  • [ ] Approve
  • [ ] Post (right person)
  • [ ] Confirmation / payment number