What is the difference between a session package and a single session?
A single session is a treatment paid for and finished on the day. A session package is several sessions sold in advance at one price; the money and the service do not end on the same day. The patient may pay for the package today and take the sessions over weeks, or take the sessions while completing the payment in installments.
That is why two separate counters are kept: remaining sessions and remaining amount. They move independently. A patient who has paid for the whole package may have had three sessions; a patient who has had six sessions may have paid half. Kept as one number, one of the two is always wrong. The same structure appears in a dietitian’s client package, a psychologist’s session package, a physiotherapist’s course of treatment and a beauty salon’s laser or skincare package.
Which fields does a package record need?
In a notebook, a spreadsheet or software a package is one line. A missing field leaves “how many sessions did I have left, until when was it valid?” unanswered months later. The fields below are enough; the example values show the record of one 8-session package.
| Field | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Name and phone | Ties the package to the right person; needed for reminders. | Sarah L., phone on file |
| Package name and sale date | Shows what was sold and when. | 8-session package, 3 October |
| Total sessions | The whole entitlement sold. | 8 |
| Sessions used | The number of sessions given. | 3 |
| Sessions remaining | Read from the record when the patient asks “how many do I have left?”. | 5 |
| Package price | The whole sale. | 1,200 |
| Amount paid and remaining | Tracks the payment apart from the session count. | 800 paid, 400 remaining |
| Expiry date | Shows when the package ends; no argument about expiry later. | 3 April |
| Session dates | Shows which session was given when. | 3, 10 and 17 October |
How to deduct a session, and what to check once a week
The deduction is made right after the session, not left for the end of the day. The order is the same in a notebook and a spreadsheet:
- When the patient arrives, open the package line; check that the remaining sessions are above zero and the expiry date has not passed.
- After the session, write its date in the session list.
- Add one to sessions used and take one off sessions remaining; update both together.
- Tell the patient how many sessions remain and book the next appointment there and then.
- When remaining sessions reach zero, close the package; if the payment is not complete, the remaining amount stays on the balance list.
Once a week, on the same day, do a short check. List the packages down to one or two remaining sessions, the packages whose expiry date falls in the coming weeks, and the patients who have not come for a long time since their last session; set the thresholds for your clinic.
The first group needs a renewal conversation, the second an expiry reminder, the third a phone call.
How to track a package paid up front, in installments or with a deposit
The payment is a record of its own, apart from the session count: package price, paid and remaining. Installment dates, overdue installments and part payments are explained step by step in the patient balances and installments guide. What is specific to packages is how the three ways of paying appear in the record:
- Paid up front: the whole package price goes in the paid field; remaining is zero.
- In installments: each installment is written with its date and amount; whether sessions can be given before an installment is paid is decided at the sale.
- With a deposit: the deposit is written on its own line and counted towards the amount paid when the package is sold.
Package money enters the till on the day it is taken, not on the day a session is given. To keep cash, card and transfer totals matching, follow the order in the end-of-day cash guide.
How to handle missed, cancelled and expired sessions
The answer to these situations belongs to the clinic. What matters is that the rule is told to the patient at the sale, written down and applied to everyone the same way; programs and guides do not set the rule for you.
- A missed session: decide up front whether it is deducted from the package. If it is, add one to used and note “no-show”; if not, reschedule the session.
- A session cancelled in advance: say at the sale how much notice you accept, and write whether a cancellation within that notice is deducted.
- An expired package: say at the sale whether remaining sessions lapse or are extended when the expiry date passes. Mark packages past their date but with sessions left separately in the weekly check.
- A package stopped halfway: if you refund, write in advance at what price the sessions used will be counted. A refund is recorded as its own line, with its amount and reason; the old line is not deleted.
Refund and withdrawal obligations under consumer law are outside this article; ask your legal adviser.
How Clinigim tracks session packages, and what it does not do
Clinigim has no separate “session package” record and no counter that deducts remaining sessions by itself. You keep the package as a treatment plan on the patient card: give the plan the package’s name and add one line per session. In the patient tracking software package tracking works like this today:
- On the Treatment plan tab of the patient card you open a new plan and write the package’s name as its title. Each session is one line: service, quantity, unit price, optional doctor, planned date and note. A line is marked Done as a whole; to count sessions one by one, add a separate line per session.
- Create appointment on a line opens the session’s appointment; the appointment is tied to the line and sets the line’s date. A line past its planned date is marked overdue.
- When the session is given you mark the line Done. Done — create transaction opens the transaction form filled with the line’s service and amount, and ties the saved transaction to the line. If you sold the package as one transaction, count sessions with Done (without a transaction); nothing extra lands in the till.
- The Active treatment plan card on the Overview tab of the patient card shows done and total lines, a progress bar and the first four lines. The boxes above the card show Paid and the outstanding balance; if there are installments, the next installment date is shown too.
- The plan’s total, done and remaining amounts show the value of the work, not the payments. Payment, balance and installments live on the transaction side: Debtor Patients, Set Up Installment Plan and Deposit Received on the appointment.
- You can write the package rules in the plan note, print the plan and have the patient sign it; the printout has a line for the patient’s name and signature.
- An appointment is marked No-Show or Cancelled, and the list filters by these statuses. If the clinic has defined a no-show fee it can be applied on No-Show. Viewing and editing treatment plans are separate staff permissions.
Clinigim does not count remaining sessions by itself on the appointment or the patient card, does not offer a template that defines a package once and applies it to every patient, and has no expiry date field or expiry warning. You mark sessions line by line, write the validity period in the plan note and do the weekly check yourself; whether a missed session is deducted from the package is your decision too. Automatic WhatsApp reminders are not live yet; they are coming. For now you remind patients by phone or with your own message. Clinigim does not issue tax invoices; for official documents ask your accountant.
Frequently asked questions
- Can session packages be tracked in Excel?
- Yes, if there are few packages and one person keeps the records. Columns for name, total sessions, used, remaining, package price, paid and expiry date are enough. The trouble starts when several people use the same file and remaining sessions are updated by hand; the numbers drift from reality. In Clinigim you keep the package as a treatment plan and see the progress on the patient card.
- Is a missed session deducted from the package?
- That is the clinic’s decision; what matters is that you state the rule at the sale and keep it in writing. Some clinics deduct a missed session, others reschedule it. If it is deducted, add one to sessions used and note “no-show”. In Clinigim the appointment is marked No-Show and a no-show fee can be applied if the clinic has defined one, but deducting the plan line from the package is your call.
- What happens to the remaining sessions when a package expires?
- The clinic’s rule decides: the sessions may lapse, be extended or be renewed for a fee. Whichever you choose, state it in writing at the sale together with the expiry date. Clinigim has no separate expiry date field and no expiry warning; you write the date in the plan note and find the packages about to expire yourself in the weekly check.
- How is a session package tracked in Clinigim?
- You open a Treatment plan on the patient card, write the package’s name as the title and add one line per session. When a session is given you mark its line Done; the Overview tab shows done and total lines together with the Paid and outstanding balance boxes. There is no separate session package record and no counter that deducts remaining sessions by itself.
- If the package is paid in installments, when do the sessions start?
- You decide that at the sale: sessions may start with the first payment or open once a certain amount has been paid. Whatever the rule, keep it in writing. In Clinigim, on the package’s sale transaction you choose 2, 3, 4, 6, 9 or 12 installments with Set Up Installment Plan and enter the first due date; the sessions are marked separately on the treatment plan.
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