Now we’re getting somewhere.
That article is about doctors who expect to be compensated directly by the patients, rather than having to go through insurance and accepting a negotiated amount. No where does it indicate that they don’t accept payment via credit card or check.
Similarly, this article doesn’t say that the homeopath doesn’t accept credit cards or checks, just that he doesn’t do insurance.
TItle of article: Dealing With Doctors Who Take Only Cash
So while that may be the case with the homepath, it saddens me to think that the New York Times has gotten so flagrantly loose with the terminology.
Also, nowhere is one word. (Sorry: pet peeve as I remember that word tripped me up for the longest time as I always read it as “now-here”.)
"Where wolf?
points There, wolf."
Note that the third paragraph mentioned that the pediatrician took the credit card information from the writer, so presumably it’s not literally a cash-only business. I supposed you might instead call the practice “direct pay only.”
Except in accounting, which could be some of the confusion.
I would prefer my account (if I used one) to be reality based.
You should mention to her, casually of course, how many germs are found on a typical piece of US currency. And how many bills have been stuck up people’s noses…
It also has a meaning closer to the accounting one when discussing big-ticket items. If you are talking about paying “cash” for lunch, that means that you are paying with foldy pieces of paper and/or standardized bits of metal. If you are talking about paying “cash” for a car, home, business, or other expensive item, you are talking about paying it all upfront rather than taking out a loan to help cover the costs. E.g. you can buy a car with “cash” using a check. I’ve done it. The important thing is that you are not also taking out an auto loan.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, definitions of cash:
1: ready money
2: money or its equivalent (as a check) paid for goods or services at the time of purchase or delivery
Is she going through a divorce?
I watched my friend (formally known as the credit card king) go cash only for two years until his divorce was final.
One of the benefits of using checks is that there is a paper trail to resolve disputes. “You never paid me!” “Yes I did, here’s the cancelled check with your signature on the back and the bank deposit stamp!” “Oh. Nevermind then.” *
*Now that all this stuff is digitized there isn’t always a cancelled check but there is some proof positive of the transaction’s occurrence.
Does the woo-woo cash only accountant give receipts upon receiving payment?
B.I.N.G.O.
Her second marriage was going through a messy divorce (they each own several businesses, real estate, etc) years ago. I believe it is still dragging on. Not woo, after all. :smack:
I’ve dealt with doctors taking only cash(although one would take cashier’s checks).
They both said they were sick of CC/debit card fees, they even knew they were losing business but felt eventually it would be made up.
Isn’t she the one who left you without health insurance coverage for a month because she didn’t bother to read a letter from your provider?
Heh, no, that was my office manager. She does the day to day business administration, which eventually goes to the accountant.
I own/operate a business but know/care little about how to do the mechanics.
A much older cousin had a Doctor’s office. His receptionist never took a sick day or vacation for years. He finally forced her to take a few weeks vacation. After the first day the temporary receptionist asked him where he put the cash payments. He said he did not know because no one ever paid in cash before.
I think you have to be a real nickel-and-dimer to bitch about a few percent nicked from a payment stream, when the service greatly facilitates immediate payment options for customers or patients. I’d wager such providers like the flexibility of cash income a lot more than they mind 2-3% to Visa.
A business owner who can’t run every seat in the business (however inexpertly) and doesn’t know how basics of the business work has far greater problems than a flaky accountant. And is someone who should not have any flaky providers at all.
Been there. Done that. Helped clean up the wreckage too many times… when it could be cleaned up.
I’ve heard this from my brother, who is an auditor for a multinational company. He is totally aghast by how I do things.
In my defense, I have 2 employees who have been with my 15 years and two others who have been with me for five years. We socialize and are friends with each others families. Fifteen years ago I was working 8 - 10 hours a day, 5 1/2 days a week. I currently work 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. If an employee is stealing, they are first generating the money to steal.