Billing Overview

Overview

NICE HMS billing uses a voucher-based accounting system. Every financial transaction — patient billing, vendor purchases, cash receipts, bank deposits, fund transfers — is recorded as a voucher with a debit (Dr) and credit (Cr) side. There are 17 voucher types organized into six logical groups.

Voucher Groups

1. Invoice — Patient Billing

Vouchers that record revenue from patients and payers.

Type	Purpose
INVOICE	Patient invoice (OPD, IPD, pharmacy, lab)
INVOICE_P	Pharmacy-specific patient invoice
CREDIT_NOTE	Credit note against a patient invoice (refund/reduction)
CREDIT_NOTE_P	Pharmacy-specific credit note
ESTIMATE	Provisional invoice (pre-billing estimate)

Created from Accounts > Invoice (/admin/accounts/invoice/). See Bill Transaction.

2. Purchase — Vendor/Supplier

Vouchers that record purchases from suppliers and vendors.

Type	Purpose
PURCHASE	Hospital purchase (medicines, supplies, equipment)
PURCHASE_P	Pharmacy-specific purchase
DEBIT_NOTE	Debit note against a purchase (return/reduction)
DEBIT_NOTE_P	Pharmacy-specific debit note

Created from Accounts > Hospital > Purchase or Accounts > Pharmacy > Purchase (/admin/accounts/bill/create). See Purchase.

3. Receipt & Payment — Cash/Bank

Type	Purpose
RECEIPT	Money received (patient payment, advance, any inflow)
PAYMENT	Money paid out (vendor payment, expense, refund)

Created from /admin/accounts/recive-pay/ and /admin/accounts/vendor-recive-pay/.

4. Contra — Fund Transfers

Type	Purpose
CONTRA	Transfer between accounts (e.g., cash to bank)
CONTRA_B	Contra variant (bank deposit)

Created from Accounts > Contra (/admin/accounts/contra/). See Contra Transaction.

5. Doctor Expense — Doctor Journals

Type	Purpose
DOCTOR_EXPENSE_BOOK	Record a doctor expense/commission
DOCTOR_EXPENSE_CANCEL	Reverse a previously booked doctor expense

Created from Accounts > Doctor Expense Booking (/admin/accounts/journal-doctor/).

6. Stock — Inventory Adjustments

Type	Purpose
PHYSICAL_NEGATIVE	Stock deduction (damaged, expired, lost)
PHYSICAL_POSITIVE	Stock addition (found, correction)

Triggered per-item from Item Management. See Item Management.

Supporting Flows

Advance Transaction

Advance payments from patients or TPAs are recorded separately and adjusted against final invoices at settlement. See Advance Transaction.

Voucher Audit

Every voucher goes through an audit workflow with two states: Waiting (pending review) and Accepted (reviewed). The Audit tool at the bottom of the Accounts page lets you query vouchers by type, date range, and audit state, then toggle their status in bulk. See Voucher Audit.

Accounts Page Navigation

Section	Links
Contra	User Cash, Deposit To Bank
Pharmacy	Purchase (PURCHASE_P), Debit Note (DEBIT_NOTE_P)
Hospital	Purchase (PURCHASE), Debit Note (DEBIT_NOTE)
Doctor Expense Booking	Book Expense, Reverse Expense
Voucher Audit	Query by type + audit state

How It All Connects

Accounts Master (chart of accounts)
       ↓
Item Management (billable items with prices)
       ↓
Patient Registration → Encounter → Services rendered
       ↓
Invoice (patient bill) ← Items from Accounts Master
       ↓
Receipt (payment collected) ← Advance adjusted → Final settlement
       ↓
Contra (fund transfer between accounts, if needed)

Purchase (vendor bill) → Payment (vendor paid) → Debit Note (returns)
       ↓
Stock adjustments (physical count corrections)
       ↓
Voucher Audit (review & accept every transaction)

Key Concepts

Accounts Master

All debit/credit entities (OPD, IPD, CASH, BANK, VENDOR, etc.) are defined in the Accounts Master. See Accounts Master.

Items

Medicines, consumables, services, and procedures are managed in Item Management and linked to accounts. See Item Management.

Cash Access

Daily cash-in and cash-out management, separate from patient billing. See Cash Access.

GST Compliance

NICE HMS supports all Indian tax types:

IGST — Interstate supplies (5%, 12%, 18%, 28%)
CGST + SGST — Intrastate supplies
CST — Central Sales Tax (2.5%, 6%, 9%, 14%)

Tax is configured per item in the Accounts Master and applied automatically.

Related Guides

Bill Transaction — Patient billing (invoices, credit notes)
Advance Transaction — Advance payments and adjustments
Contra Transaction — Internal fund transfers
Purchase — Vendor purchases and debit notes
Voucher Audit — Reviewing and accepting vouchers
Accounts Master — Chart of accounts
Cash Access — Daily cash management
Item Management — Billable items and stock