Charges and payments

The Finance Officer keeps the financial side of a meal order tied to the same patient and ward as the service work. A meal line records a menu item, meal date and amount. A linked charge records an amount and charged date. Payment evidence carries its own amount, received date, provider reference and status. The order connects these records for review; serving a meal does not make a pending receipt confirmed.

For example, after an order reaches preparation, finance records a Draft line for a menu item and a Draft linked charge when that charge applies. The Finance Officer checks the order before posting either entry. Later, the provider’s result determines whether the separate payment record is Confirmed. The Property Manager can then review the final bill against confirmed receipts or an acknowledged outstanding account before the order is Served.

• Source identity. Confirm the linked order and its patient and ward before acting on a related record.
• Current work. Use the relevant status, date and assignee to identify what needs attention today.
• Evidence. Keep the charge, receipt or completed task associated with the order that caused it.

Agree who checks amounts and linked orders before a Draft line or charge is Posted. A mistaken charge can be Voided; a Refunded payment remains a separate receipt event. Decide how the Finance Officer learns that a provider has confirmed payment and how an outstanding account is acknowledged. Keep the order’s service interval and rate visible when reviewing the bill, but use the posted amounts as the financial record.

Choose the local date boundary for meal dates, charge dates and received dates. These can differ without being errors. Make sure the shift handoff names the Finance Officer responsible for an unsettled amount. A task’s Completed state does not settle an account, and an order’s Served state does not change the payment status.

Use one order with a recorded menu item and amount. Compare its Draft line and charge with the patient, ward and service interval, then inspect the Posted entries. Enter a payment with a provider reference and leave it Pending until the provider result arrives. Check that the receipt attaches to the intended order and amount before marking it Confirmed. If finance corrects a charge, retain the Voided entry so the next reviewer understands the change.

The Property Manager should review the final meal bill and either confirmed receipt evidence or the acknowledged balance before service closes. Ask the Operations Reviewer to find the line, charge and receipt from the same order. Repeating an authorized posting must resolve to the saved outcome instead of duplicating a line. If the amount or linked order changes, review the current record before submitting another action.

• Draft meal lines — Finance reviews menu items and amounts still awaiting posting against their parent orders.
• Diet charge review — Review linked Draft charges and their dates before posting.
• Payment confirmation — Inspect Pending receipts and provider references separately from order service.

See the working process for the record handoffs and the data model for the references behind them.