Finances Charges in Shepherd go live on Wednesday 18th February, 2026!
Purpose
Finance Charges allow practices to automatically assess fees on overdue invoices. This helps manage outstanding balances while giving clinics control over how charges are calculated and when they apply. Once enabled, Shepherd generates a separate finance charge invoice when an unpaid invoice meets your configured criteria.
Finance Charges apply only to invoices created after the feature is turned on.
Before You Start
Finance Charges permissions are enabled by default for Practice Owners and Admins. Access can be adjusted in role permissions.
Only invoices in eligible statuses can incur finance charges. By default, this includes Checked Out invoices.
Finance Charges are not retroactive and will not apply to invoices created before activation.
Where to Find Finance Charges
Navigate to Admin → Clinic Settings → Financial Settings → Finance Charges
Finance Charges are disabled by default. Toggle the setting on and select Save to begin configuring rules.
Configuring Finance Charges
Once enabled, you can define how and when fees are applied.
Default Fee: choose how finance charges are calculated for overdue client balances. Choose a Flat Fee or a Percentage of the invoice total.
Minimum Balance: set the minimum outstanding balance required before a charge is applied. This prevents small balances from incurring fees if desired.
Grace Period: set a delay period before finance changes apply to overdue balances. This setting is based off invoice date.
Client Type Exceptions: select client types to exclude from finance charges.
Exclude specific client types from receiving finance charges. Learn more about Client Types.Invoice Status to Incur Fees: define invoice statuses used to trigger finance charges. If no invoice status is selected, finance charges will apply to all invoices. By default, only Checked Out invoices are eligible. This prevents charges from applying to active visits or incomplete invoices.
Accrue interest/fees on finance charge invoices: toggle on to allow finance charges to compound by applying fees to prior finance charge invoices. This will only apply to finance charge invoices created after this setting is enabled.
Remember to select Save when complete.
How Finance Charges Appear
Finance charges generate as their own invoices and reference the original invoice that triggered the fee.
Invoices: A Finance Charges sub tab appears within the Invoices page. Each finance charge has its own invoice number and displays the related original invoice number. Payments are collected as normal.
Statements: Client statements include a Finance Charge column within aging balances and display total finance charge amounts alongside 30, 60, 90, and 120 day balances.
Reporting
Finance Charges are treated as invoices across reporting.
Invoice Summary Report: Finance charge invoices are included automatically.
Invoice Line Items Report: Finance charges display as a product type and category labeled Finance charge.
Client Report: A Finance Charges column displays totals per client.
End of Day Report: Finance charges are included as standard invoices.
Accounts Receivable Report: Finance charges are included as part of outstanding balances.
Notes and Troubleshooting
If finance charges are not generating, confirm:
The feature is enabled in Financial Settings
The invoice was created after activation
The invoice meets the minimum balance and grace period
The invoice status is eligible
The client type is not excluded