Integrated Invoicing with Cornerstone

What does ‘Integrated Invoicing’ mean?

‘Integrated Invoicing’ describes Flow’s ability to do more than just transact a payment. For example, Flow writing back to mark the invoice as paid in Cornerstone, producing an itemized receipt, or updating an accounts receivable balance would fall under the umbrella of ‘Integrated Invoicing.’

For clinics using Cornerstone, all Integrated Invoicing requires the installation of a third-party data integration software called Bitwerx. Once a clinic has a Stripe account connected to Flow to receive payments, they can initiate the installation of Bitwerx for themselves within Otto Flow.

There are both hardware and software requirements to be aware of before starting the installation process. To use Bitwerx, the clinic must have:

Hardware Requirements

• CPU: Modern quad core (or greater) processor from Intel or AMD
• RAM: 8 GB
• HDD: 10 GB available hard drive space
• Broadband internet connection

Software Requirements

• Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 or above
• Cornerstone v8 (or more recent)

To start the Bitwerx integration process:

1. Log in to Flow at https://login.otto.vet and navigate to the Payments tab
2. Beneath the connected bank information will be a button labelled “Setup Payment Integration.” Click this
3. You will be prompted to enter in an email address for best contact
4. A request will be sent to Bitwerx to schedule and complete the install. They usually reach out to clinics within about 1-3 business days

When writing invoice data back into the Cornerstone, the clinic will have to select a payment type and an employee that took the payment at the time the invoice was paid. It is common (though not required) for clinics to set up a dedicated payment type and employee account for indicating these payments on invoices. If a clinic wishes to do this, they can set these accounts up before the Bitwerx installation has begun.

Once the Bitwerx integration is complete, the clinic will be able to select the payment type and employee from drop-down menus in Settings > Payment to complete the write back setup.

Can Flow automatically pull invoices from Cornerstone?

Yes, for clinics using Cornerstone and Integrated Invoicing, Flow can pull invoices from Cornerstone automatically for clients. This will allow clinic staff to simply click a check box for open invoices that a client can pay, preventing possible confusion, typos, and/or incorrect charges.

How quickly will invoices be pulled into Flow from Cornerstone?

With Integrated Invoicing, invoices from Cornerstone should display within Flow upon clicking so as to facilitate quick transactions for the clinic. When you go to invoice a client within Flow—either through text-to-pay or through the ‘Payment’ icon in the right menu—open invoices from Cornerstone should populate immediately as part of that transaction.

If the invoices are not there, or if the accounts receivable amount is out of date, there is a ‘Refresh’ button to pull the data again at its most current.

Can Flow pay invoices pulled from Cornerstone?

Yes, invoices can be marked as paid by Flow in Cornerstone with a completed Bitwerx installation.

How quickly will invoices paid in Flow reflect back in Cornerstone?

Invoices should be confirmed paid in Cornerstone fairly quickly, as the data pulls multiple times per hour. The exact time will depend on a number of factors, including internet speed and the volume of payments being processed at that time.

How will we know that the payment has successfully posted back into Cornerstone?

In Flow, navigate to Reporting > Payments. This report will display all of the payments transactions taken in via Flow, whether from a physical terminal or digitally. (If it looks like there are invoices missing in this report, click the filter option in the upper-right corner and confirm that the date and time range for the report is correct.)

Once the correct invoices are showing in the report, ensure that the ‘Writeback Status’ column is showing. (If the column is not showing automatically, it can be added to the table by clicking the ‘Show’ icon in the upper-right corner. This allows selecting the columns that will appear in the report, including the status of the posting.)

Once the ‘Writeback Status’ column is showing in the table, it will display a color-coded status relating to whether the payment has been posted to Cornerstone. If the status is green and says ‘Success,’ then the posting was successful and you should see the payment reflected in Cornerstone.

What does ‘Pending’ mean as a status?

‘Pending’ will show in yellow in the ‘Writeback Status’ column. This means that Flow is still communicating with Cornerstone and the payment has not yet posted in Cornerstone. You may need to wait a little while and refresh the page to confirm that the payment posted.

What does ‘Retrying’ mean as a status?

‘Retrying’ will show in orange in the ‘Writeback Status’ column. This means that there was an issue posting the payment to Cornerstone but Flow is now trying to post it again. This can happen automatically if Flow finds an issue, or it can be triggered manually by a user. Like with payments that are Pending, you may need to wait and refresh the page to confirm that the payment posted as a result of the retry.

What does ‘Invalid’ mean as a status?

‘Invalid’ will show in red in the ‘Writeback Status’ column. This means that the way your clinic is trying to post invoices to Cornerstone is invalid: There is an issue either with payment type or the employee name used to handle the invoice.

If you are logged in as an Admin user, clicking on ‘Invalid’ will take you directly to your payment settings where you can update these fields as needed. Both Payment Type and Employee will have drop-down menus where you can select how you want the invoice handled in Cornerstone. (These are the same drop-down menus your clinic used when initially setting up Integrated Invoicing.)

If you are logged in but not as an Admin user, Flow will ask you to contact an Admin to update or complete the configuration.

Once you’ve updated your payment settings to valid options, this status will give you an option to manually retry posting the payment.

What if the posting has failed?

There are two statuses to indicate that a payment has failed to post in Cornerstone. Both will be red and say ‘Failed.’ However, one of these will have a circular arrow icon as well.

If the status includes the arrow icon, that means that it took too long to confirm that the posting went through. Before retrying to post the payment through Flow, it’s best practice to confirm if the payment shows in Cornerstone (since it’s possible that the payment did not go through or that the payment did go through but the confirmation did not). If the payment did not go through, you can manually retry posting the payment by clicking on the status icon—the red ‘Failed’ with the arrow. (If you do retry, the status should update to ‘Retrying’ before updating to confirm if the payment succeeded or failed to post in Cornerstone.

If the status does not include the arrow icon, that means that the payment failed to post and you will need to update Cornerstone directly to reflect the payment.

Can Flow automatically update a client’s accounts receivable balance in Cornerstone?

Yes, just as Integrated Invoicing in Flow can mark invoices as paid, it can also update accounts receivable balances for clients.

When charging a client, their outstanding balance will be visible with a checkbox next to it. Checking the box will apply that balance to the current charge. (This will be the case regardless of if you are using text-to-pay, virtual payments, or a terminal.) That balance can be positive or negative: If it is positive, it means that the client owes the clinic that amount; if the balance is negative, it means that the clinic somehow owes the client.

If the balance is negative, it can still be added to the current charge, acting as a credit or discount to the invoice. However, if the negative balance amount is greater than the current charge, Flow will now allow you to complete the charge, for two reasons:

1. The final invoice total would be negative, and Flow can only process payments greater than 50¢, meaning invoices in which the clinic is charging greater than 50¢.
2. If the invoice is negative, there’s no need for Flow to process anything since the client wouldn’t be charged for anything. It would instead be better to correct the balance in Cornerstone directly.

How quickly will the AR balance update?

AR balances should be updated in Cornerstone fairly quickly, as the data pulls multiple times per hour. The exact time will depend on a number of factors, including internet speed and the volume of payments being processed at that time.

Do refunds write back into Cornerstone?

No, refunds do not write back into Cornerstone.

Can we provide clients with an itemized receipt if they pay through Flow?

Yes, clinics using Cornerstone with Integrated Invoicing can provide clients with itemized invoices for a transaction. Once Bitwerx has been installed, there should be no further action required the clinic staff’s part to send itemized receipts; they will automatically send to the selected email for applicable transactions.

Can clients save a credit card details for future use?

Yes, clients will have the option to save their card information for future use when they pay an invoice via their Pet Portal. (Clients can access the Pet Portal through the Otto App, or by going to https://pet.otto.vet/ in a browser.) Staff can also save a card on their behalf when manually entering a client’s card information. This should be automatic and require no additional configuration.