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Create, Backdate, and Print Bills

A step-by-step walkthrough of billing in CareOS: creating a patient-linked bill with catalog and custom line items, collecting payment and printing the invoice, then recording a backdated walk-in bill as a real unpaid draft for later collection.

Billing and Invoicing
beginner
4:14

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Create and manage bills in CareOS: catalog and custom line items, collecting payment now or later, printing invoices, and recording backdated walk-in charges.

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Before you begin

Aarav Mehta should already be a registered CareOS patient for the patient-linked billing example (see "Register a Patient and Book an OPD Appointment"). The walk-in / historical billing workflow does not require any existing patient record.

Step-by-step instructions

10 steps

1
Open All Bills
Sign in and open All Bills from the sidebar to see the billing register: invoice number, bill date, patient, purpose, total, discount, paid amount, balance due, and status for every bill.
2
Choose the patient
Select Create New, then search by patient name, mobile number, or patient ID and select the correct patient — Aarav Mehta for this example.
3
Add catalog items
The billing workspace keeps the patient visible with a Bill Date defaulted to today (future dates are blocked). Use the catalog search to add Consultation and CBC — catalog prices and the invoice summary update automatically.
4
Add a custom line and Bill Purpose
For a charge that is not in the catalog, select Add custom or ad-hoc item, enter a description, unit price, and quantity, then add the required Bill Purpose that prints on the invoice.
5
Collect payment and save
In Invoice and Collection, select Collect Now, choose a payment method and amount (Auto Full fills the full payable amount), review the totals, then select Save & Print Bill. CareOS saves the bill and assigns its invoice number before opening the A4 preview.
6
Review and print the invoice
The A4 preview shows the hospital letterhead, patient, invoice date, items, totals, and balance due. Switch between black & white and colour, adjust the zoom, then select Print — the browser's own print dialog handles printer, paper, and tray.
7
Verify the saved invoice
Close the preview to return to All Bills, where the newly created invoice appears in the register with its updated paid and due amounts.
8
Start a walk-in / historical bill
Select Create New, then choose to create a bill without a patient. The workspace switches to Walk-in billing, and the Bill Date can be changed to an earlier date — future dates remain unavailable.
9
Record the historical charge and save as unpaid
Add the historical charge as a custom line with the exact recorded amount and a Bill Purpose identifying the record. Select Collect Later, choose when payment is expected, then Save Draft to store a real unpaid invoice without printing.
10
Verify the historical bill
Back in All Bills, the backdated invoice is listed under its actual date with Walk-in as the patient and an unpaid balance. Open it to review the line items and totals — from here an authorised user can view the invoice, print it, or collect payment later.

Transcript

Read transcript

Care OS brings today's bills, backdated records, payment status, and printable invoices into one billing workspace.

Let's see how a front-desk or billing user creates and reviews both a current bill and a historical custom bill.

Open All Bills from the sidebar.

This register shows every available bill with its invoice number, bill date, patient, purpose, total, discount, paid amount, balance due, and current status.

Select Create New.

The first step is to decide who the bill belongs to. Search by patient name, mobile number, or patient ID, then select the correct patient.

For this example, we'll select Aarav Mehta.

The billing workspace keeps the patient context visible at the top. The Bill Date defaults to today, and a future date cannot be selected.

Use the catalog search to find a service, test, drug, or doctor fee. We'll add Consultation, then add CBC with a quantity of one.

Catalog prices are brought into the line automatically. The invoice summary updates immediately as items or quantities change.

When a charge is not in the catalog, select Add custom or ad-hoc item. Choose the category, enter a clear description, unit price, and quantity, and review the calculated amount.

Add a short Bill Purpose. This description is required and is printed on the invoice.

In Invoice and Collection, choose how this bill will be settled.

Collect Now records a payment with the bill. Select the payment method and enter the amount received. Auto Full can fill the full payable amount when the patient is paying in full.

Check the subtotal, discount, grand total, payment, and balance due before saving.

Select Save and Print Bill.

Care OS saves the bill first, assigns its invoice number, and then opens the A4 invoice for printing.

The invoice preview uses the hospital letterhead and shows the patient, invoice date, billed items, totals, payment status, and balance due.

Choose black and white or colour, adjust the preview zoom if needed, then select Print. The browser's print window opens next; printer, paper, and tray settings remain under the user's control.

Close the preview to return to All Bills. The newly created invoice now appears in the register with its updated paid and due amounts.

Now let's record a bill from an earlier date without creating a patient record.

Select Create New, then choose Create a bill without a patient — walk-in or historical record.

The workspace clearly shows Walk-in billing. Change Bill Date from today to the actual date of the paper record. Future dates remain unavailable.

Select Add custom or ad-hoc item, enter the historical charge exactly as recorded, and add a Bill Purpose that identifies who or what the invoice was for.

For this demonstration, we'll use Historical consultation charge and the purpose Historical paper invoice — Ramesh Kumar.

Review the amount carefully. This workflow records the information entered; it should not be used to replace a historical amount with today's catalog price.

If payment is still outstanding, choose Collect Later and select when payment is expected. Save Draft stores a real unpaid invoice without opening the printer.

Select Save Draft.

Care OS returns to All Bills, where the backdated invoice is listed under its actual bill date with Walk-in as the patient and an unpaid balance.

Open the bill to review its line items and totals. From here, an authorised user can view the A4 invoice, print it, or collect a later payment.

That completes the billing workflow.

From one place, the team can create today's patient bills, record backdated walk-in or historical charges, use catalog or custom line items, choose whether to collect now or later, and return to any saved invoice for review and printing.

Care OS keeps every billing step clear, connected, and ready for the next action.

What success looks like

Two invoices exist in All Bills: a patient-linked bill for Aarav Mehta dated today, paid in full and already printed, and a Walk-in historical bill dated earlier with a Bill Purpose identifying the original record, saved as a real unpaid invoice via Save Draft and ready for later payment collection, printing, or review.

Troubleshooting

Bill Date won't accept a future date.

This is expected — CareOS rejects a future Bill Date on both today's and historical bills; only today or an earlier date can be selected.

The unit price field for a catalog line is read-only.

Catalog-backed Service, Drug, Doctor, and Ward lines carry master pricing by design; only a custom / ad-hoc item's price is editable for this role.

"Correct this bill" doesn't appear on a saved invoice.

That action is permission-gated (billing.cancel_invoice, payments.refund, billing.adjust_issued, or billing.write_off) — it only shows for a user holding one of those permissions.