Interested in starting a medical billing business? Here’s a list of ‘must-do’s to get your medical billing business running…
You need to do several things before making money if you want to start a medical billing business; Use this list to help you understand the various components.
We’ve also included some tips on keeping your initial overhead costs low to help you get set up faster.
Education/Courses
First of all, you’ll need to be educated in Medical Billing and Coding Procedures and Guidelines. Many online and face-to-face programs are all designed to prepare you for medical coding and billing.
Programs like Medical Billing Opportunity are available to prepare you to sound professional talking to your potential clients.
There’s a Basic Course where you will learn every Medical Billing terminology and process you need to start your Medical Billing business.
Startup Costs
You will have to sign up and register for a Basic Course, which will cost you a few thousand. This is the first in what will be several costs in starting your medical billing business.
Your other significant cost will be establishing your office.
This bill will include:
- a computer/computers
- medical billing and coding software
- essential office equipment like a desk, chair, and filing system.
You can customize the software depending on the number of clients you work with and your overall work volume. Some software programs go for as little as $100 per month and are entirely web-based. Others require a full software download and cost a few thousand dollars to get started.
If you’re starting a medical billing business, we recommend going with a cheaper, web-based medical billing software until you have a client portfolio that merits a more robust program.
Just make sure that the cheaper program still meets your client’s requirements!
Medical Billing Opportunity will walk you through a deep understanding of what is Medical Billing Software. Guide you on how to access the software and where to find the best Medical Billing Software.
You’ll also have to pay for your connectivity. Your clients will need to reach you quickly at all times during the day – you must create a fast, reliable system of communication.
Balancing the Books
A critical business task is to find a suitable accountant.
You’ll be taking in payments from various sources and being responsible for paying your social security and payroll taxes.
Most people don’t have the training to manage these payments. A small business accountant can help.
This includes:
- a high-speed internet service
- fax machine and phone line
- cell phone service.
Your clients may also want to communicate through an online video feed.
Total costs for these items may be as little as a few hundred dollars or as much as a few thousand.
There’s no definite way to gauge the accumulated cost of these investments. It depends on how much you want to invest before you begin.
If you decide to rent office space when starting a medical billing business, you’ll incur a monthly rental cost on top of the supplies noted above. Add this to the list.
Marketing Yourself
Marketing is a huge success factor any time you go into business. But it can be intimidating if you’ve never done it before.
Here are some marketing tools to consider when starting a medical billing business
- Business cards are still an important part of business networking. They’re a quick and easy way to advertise yourself in face-to-face situations. They also serve as a reminder and a reference for potential clients.
- Your business cards should be professionally printed on high-quality paper. People often see your business card as a mini-resume and use it to judge how capable you are.
- Creating these through a printing and design service typically costs several hundred dollars.
- Creating a website: You should make a professionally designed website that provides potential clients with information about your background and the services you offer (including any specialties).
- Include all of your educational training, relevant experience, and any professional references or recommendations.
- A simple website will also cost several hundred dollars for a designer to create.
- Don’t opt for expensive design agencies touting several-thousand-dollar high-end designs. These have a negligible impact on your marketing, and the extra expense is better used elsewhere.
Medical Billing Opportunity offers a custom, mobile-friendly, lead-generating website for your new medical billing business once you purchase their Advance Course. You can choose your preferred design; it’s already Mobile Friendly and Search Engine Optimized.
- Look for professional networking events in your area.
- Use insurance seminars, health fairs, and other events for medical billers or doctors as a means of getting out and spending some “face time” with others in your industry.
- People are more likely to call on those they’ve met in person than a name in the phone book.
Suppose you’re looking for great ways to market your medical billing business. In that case, we recommend checking out Medical Billing Opportunity to get you started!
Build a Referral Network
Marketing yourself shouldn’t end when you get the client. It would be best if you continued to market yourself to make sure you’re reaching all potential clients.
Ensure quality by providing fast, reliable billing services.
Always be in contact with your clients. Providing quality, reliable service is the best way to make sure that your clients will refer you to their friends.
Consider promoting yourself online or in nearby towns. To keep growing your business, it’s important to keep advancing yourself even if you have enough clients.
Promoting yourself online can be an easy and low-cost way to keep your name in mind with health care professionals.
If you live in a metropolitan area with outlying suburban areas, consider marketing yourself to healthcare providers in these places as well.
But don’t overdo it! If your client load is large and you are barely making the deadlines, consider taking on more employees or other help like outsourcing to Virtual Assistants from VirtualWorkerBee before marketing yourself further.