There are several variables to consider when starting a group practice. The Plus plan is the only plan that supports group practices, and it includes access to all the robust features we offer.
Clinician roles are an additional $59/month per clinician. Billers, Schedulers, and Supervisors are free, while Practice Managers are an additional $39/month per person. If the Practice Manager role is paired with a clinician role, you’ll only be charged the rate of $59/month for an additional clinician. See Adding and managing team members to learn more.
Below, we’ll answer:
- Is a group practice right for me?
- Who should be the Account Owner in my practice?
- Can clinicians share client profiles?
- What access levels will the clinicians in my group practice need?
- How should I plan on calculating payroll and paying other clinicians?
- How do I switch from a solo practice to a group practice for insurance billing?
Tip: If you're ready to set up your group practice, see Getting started as a group practice.
Is a group practice right for me?
A SimplePractice group account typically consists of a group of clinicians billing under a single NPI, tax ID, and Online Payments account. Below you'll find a few questions you should be asking when considering if a group account is right for your practice:
Factors | Solo vs. Group |
What is my billing plan? |
Both solo and group accounts will have their billing connected to one Online Payments account. |
Will I be billing insurance? |
Both solo and group accounts can file claims with solo or group billing information. Group practices can add billing profiles for clinicians or payers that require different sets of billing information. |
How many other clinicians are in |
If the answer is greater than one and you plan to bill insurance under an organization NPI, you may want to consider being part of a group account. |
Group accounts are designed to consist of multiple clinicians working as employees that are usually paid as contractors. Claims for group practices can be filed with the group’s billing information in boxes 25 and 33 and the individual clinician’s rendering provider information in box 24j. For an overview of entering these details in your account, see Entering group billing information.
If specific clinicians submit claims with different billing provider information, you can add billing profiles. For more information, see Managing billing profiles for insurance.
Who should be the Account Owner in my practice?
The structure of a group practice can vary greatly, depending on the size and needs of the practice. Some group practices choose to have a non-clinician office manager as the Account Owner, while others choose a lead clinician to fill the role.
In SimplePractice, the Account Owner is considered a clinician role, and includes full access to all clients, documentation, and reports. Additionally, the Account Owner has exclusive access to the Subscription Information page and the annual Tax Report.
The Practice Manager role on the Plus plan can be used to give a non-clinical team member access to all account settings, except for the Subscription Information setting, which is reserved for Account Owners. Practice Managers can also have additional permissions to view clients’ chart notes, questionnaires, other clinical documentation, complete Data Exports, and financial reports for the entire practice. This role can be added alongside other roles, so you can grant the level of access each individual needs. To learn more about the roles available for a group account, see Team member roles and access levels.
Note: We recommend reviewing our Terms of Service before selecting the Account Owner. In addition, make sure to consult with your local regulatory body and disclose the relevant legal information in your intake documents as needed. To transfer account ownership, please submit a help request for assistance.
Can clinicians share client profiles?
You have the option to share clients among clinicians within the same group practice account. We recommend creating separate files for the same client, so that each clinician has their own record of the client.
In these types of situations, you’ll want to be most cautious of the following areas:
- Billing
- Payroll
- Invoices
- Diagnosis
Note: For best practices on sharing clients and additional considerations, see Sharing clients.
What access levels will the clinicians in my group practice need?
Both the Account Owner and a Practice Manager can control which information other clinicians in the practice can see, and which settings they’re able to access.
To compare the permissions granted to each clinician access level, see Team member roles and access levels.
How should I plan on calculating payroll and paying other clinicians?
While there are several ways for group practices to calculate their payroll, the most common methods are:
- By the hour, using the Appointment Status report
- By service codes, using the Appointment Status report
- Based off of a percentage, using the Income allocation report
Note: The payments on the Income allocation report are based on the date the payments were made, rather than the appointment date. See Calculating payroll for group practices to learn more.
How do I switch from a solo practice to a group practice for insurance billing?
If you're switching from a solo practice to a group practice, you’ll want to update your insurance information in SimplePractice. To do this, you can update your billing information and enrollments.
Updating your billing information
Before entering your new group billing information in SimplePractice, we recommend that you reach out to your insurance payers to make sure they have your updated information. Once finalized, you can enter the information in your account following the steps outlined in Entering group billing information.
Updating your enrollments
If you have claim filing enrollments or Payment Report enrollments, you can resubmit them using your new group’s information. For an overview of this process, see How do I update my enrollment information?
Note: For more information about enrollments, see Enrollment FAQs.