Payments & Invoices
Welkin supports end-to-end patient billing through a built-in invoicing system backed by Stripe. Care teams and billing managers can create invoices from encounters or independently, collect payments via multiple methods, manage recurring subscriptions, and track patient balances — all without leaving Welkin.
Before you begin: Stripe must be connected to your Welkin environment before invoices and payment collection can be used. See Stripe Setup and Configuration.
Invoice structure
An invoice is a financial document that creates a billing obligation for services or products rendered. Each invoice includes:
Client information — patient name and responsible party details if different
Care member — the provider associated with the services
Issue date and optional due date
Date of service
Line items — service description, quantity, unit, and charges
Amount paid and balance owed
Notes
Created by — either a system action or a user
Invoice statuses
Draft
Invoice created but not finalized. No payment method attached. Details can still be modified.
Pending
Invoice finalized with a payment method added. Awaiting payment. When a Stripe payment link is sent, the invoice stays Pending until the patient pays.
Paid
Payment successfully completed.
Partially Paid
A partial payment has been received. The invoice is not yet fully settled.
Overdue
The due date has passed without full payment. Status updates automatically.
Deleted
Soft-deleted invoice. No longer affects the patient balance, but the record is retained in the audit log.
Creating an invoice
From an encounter
Invoices can be created directly within an encounter for any uninvoiced amount:
Open the patient's encounter in the Care portal
In the billing section, click Create Invoice
Services from the encounter are pre-populated — review and adjust as needed
Set the due date (optional) and add any notes
Click Save — the invoice is created in Draft status
Multiple invoices can be created for the same encounter to cover separate charges.
Standalone invoice
Invoices can also be created independently of an encounter — for example, to charge a separate fee for paperwork or administrative services:
Navigate to the patient's Billing section or the organization-wide Billing tab
Click Create Invoice
Manually add line items with description, quantity, and amount
Set issue date, due date (optional), and notes
Click Save — invoice is created in Draft status
Via automation
Invoices can be created automatically based on automation rules — for example, when a patient completes a payment through a Patient Facing Assessment (PFA), the system can generate the associated invoice automatically.
Collecting payment
Once an invoice exists (in Draft or Pending status), you can collect payment using any of these three methods:
1. Charge card on file
If the patient has a saved payment method in Stripe:
Open the invoice
Select Charge Card on File
Confirm the charge amount
Click Charge — the card is billed immediately through Stripe
Invoice status updates to Paid
2. Send Stripe payment link
To let the patient pay on their own device:
Open the invoice
Select Send Stripe Invoice Link
Stripe sends a secure payment link to the patient's email on file
Invoice moves to Pending status
Once the patient pays via the link, invoice status automatically updates to Paid
3. Report a cash payment
For payments collected outside of Stripe (cash, check, wire transfer):
Open the invoice
Select Report Cash Payment
Enter the amount received
Confirm — the payment is logged and the invoice status updates accordingly
Subscriptions
Welkin supports recurring billing through subscriptions, allowing healthcare providers to charge patients on a regular schedule — weekly, monthly, or yearly. Subscriptions are managed via Stripe and are visible in the Subscriptions tab of the Billing section.
How subscriptions work
A subscription automatically generates an invoice on each billing cycle. When a charge is due:
If the patient has a card on file, it is charged automatically
If there is no card on file, the invoice is created in Draft status and must be collected manually
Creating a subscription
A subscription can be created in two ways:
From the patient record:
Open the patient record and navigate to Billing → Subscriptions
Click Create Subscription
Fill in the subscription details:
Name — a label for the subscription plan
Amount — charge per cycle
Start date — when billing begins
End date — optional; leave blank to continue until cancelled
Recurrence — Monthly, Weekly, or Yearly
Number of recurrences — optional limit; leave blank to run indefinitely
Click Save
From the organization Billing tab:
Navigate to the Billing tab in the main menu
Click Create Subscription and select the patient
Fill in the same fields as above
Subscriptions can also be initiated programmatically via the Welkin API — for example, when a patient self-enrolls through a patient-facing form or landing page.
Managing subscriptions
Edit — subscription details can be updated before the next billing cycle processes
Cancel immediately — stops the subscription at the current date; no further invoices are generated
Cancel on a future date — sets an end date; the subscription continues until that date, then stops automatically
Multiple subscriptions — a patient can have more than one active subscription (e.g., one for a membership plan and one for a recurring service fee)
Failed payments
If a subscription payment fails (e.g., expired card), Stripe will retry according to your Stripe retry settings. Failed payment attempts are logged in the patient's billing history. You can resolve a failed payment by updating the patient's card on file and retrying the charge.
Managing invoices
Patient-level invoice list
All invoices for a patient are accessible from the Billing → Invoices section of their patient record. The list supports sorting and filtering by status, date, and amount.
Organization-level billing tab
A general billing view across all patients is available for billing managers. It includes:
Invoices — all patient invoices across the organization, filterable by status, date, and amount
Subscriptions — all active and past subscriptions
Claims — insurance claims (if Candid integration is enabled)
Editing an invoice
Draft invoices can be fully edited (add/remove line items, update amounts, change notes)
Once finalized (Pending or later), the invoice cannot be modified — delete it and create a new one if changes are needed
An invoice cannot be deleted until all associated payments have been refunded
Patient balance
Welkin maintains a running patient balance that reflects the net of all invoices and payments:
When an invoice is created, the patient's outstanding balance increases by the invoiced amount
When a payment is applied, the balance decreases accordingly
Draft and deleted invoices do not affect the patient balance
The balance is visible in the patient record and updates in real time
Issuing refunds
Refunds are processed through Stripe and are available for any paid or partially paid invoice:
In the patient's payment history, locate the charge to refund
Click Refund
Enter the refund amount (up to the original charge)
Confirm — Stripe processes the refund, which appears on the patient's statement within 5–10 business days
Invoice status updates to Partially Paid (partial refund) or back to Pending (full refund)
Note: A full refund does not delete the invoice. The invoice remains in the audit history.
Invoice PDF templates
Welkin supports custom invoice PDF templates that can be configured in Designer:
Go to Designer → Invoice Templates
Upload your organization's invoice template (supports Welkin template variables for patient name, service date, line items, totals, etc.)
Multiple templates can be configured for different use cases
Generated invoice PDFs are stored in the patient's Document Center and can be sent manually by attaching them to an outbound email or message.
API access
Invoices and subscriptions can be created, updated, and managed programmatically via the Welkin API. Key capabilities include:
Create a new invoice for a patient
Update invoice status
Retrieve invoice details and payment history
Create and manage subscriptions
Trigger invoice or subscription creation from automation rules
Refer to the Welkin API Postman Collection for the full list of invoice and payment endpoints, including example requests and response schemas.
For API authentication setup, see Provisioning API Client.
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