How to Run a Weekly AR-Follow-Up Report
My colleagues in the healing professions, After years of watching which practices thrive and which merely survive, one fact remains constant: revenue earned at the point of care must be protected afterwards. Claims left unattended lose value slowly, quietly, and then irretrievably. A weekly AR follow-up report is a disciplined remedy. It keeps money moving, prevents avoidable denials, and lets clinicians focus on patients rather than chasing paperwork. Below is a practical, step-by-step guide to running a weekly AR follow-up report that is readable, repeatable, and respectful of the busy practices you run. It preserves the tone of counsel and craft, while giving you the exact fields, SLAs, scripts, and KPIs to use. Implement this and you will see fewer write-offs and steadier cash flow. What a weekly AR follow-up report is, and why it matters A weekly AR follow-up report is a prioritized extract of your accounts receivable that focuses on next actions. It takes the raw AR aging report and converts it into a worklist for your billing team. Think of it as rounds for your revenue: you inspect, triage, treat, and document. Why weekly? Because timing matters. Denials are easier to appeal early, payer hold reasons are easier to resolve before additional adjudication occurs, and patients are more likely to respond to recent balance notices. Weekly cadence makes the difference between a claim that is resolved and one that ages into a write-off. Primary goals of the weekly report: Reduce days in AR. Lower percentage of AR over 90 days. Resolve denials before appeal windows close. Assign clear ownership and next steps for each claim. Why weekly? Because timing matters. Denials are easier to appeal early, payer hold reasons are easier to resolve before additional adjudication occurs, and patients are more likely to respond to recent balance notices. Weekly cadence makes the difference between a claim that is resolved and one that ages into a write-off. Core inputs you must export each week Begin with these exports from your practice management system or EHR: AR aging report by claim. Claim adjudication detail, including EOBs and denial reason codes. Cash application ledger for the week. Call and outreach logs. Current appeals queue and payer contact list. Standard aging buckets to use: 0–30 days, 31–60 days, 61–90 days, 90+ days. Add quick filters for balance greater than $500, top payers by balance, and assigned staff. The step-by-step weekly workflow Run this process each week. It is short, accountable, and decisive. Export and clean the data Export all open claims with balances. Normalize payer names to avoid duplicates. Remove claims currently in active appeals tracking from the main worklist to prevent duplicate work. Populate two calculated fields: Aging bucket, and Days in AR. Use either report date minus DOS or report date minus last activity consistently across reports. Prioritize Not all claims are equal. Prioritize like a clinician: Priority A: over 90 days or balance greater than $1,000. Priority B: 61–90 days, or recent denials needing attention. Priority C: 31–60 days with missing documentation or awaiting patient action. Priority D: 0–30 days, monitor and send automated reminders. This prioritization focuses staff time where it produces the largest return. Assign owners and set next actions Every claim row must include an Assigned To field and a Next Action. Ownership prevents delay. Next actions must be specific: call payer, refile claim, submit appeal with chart, send patient reminder, or document promised payment. Execute outreach and appeals Use short, repeatable scripts when you call or email payers and patients. Document reference numbers and promise-to-pay dates. For denials requiring documentation, assemble records and prepare an appeal within 7 business days. For filing errors, correct and refile immediately. Update status and close When a claim resolves, mark it closed and record resolution time and cash collected. Archive closed items to measure throughput and to feed your case study or monthly review. Exact columns for your downloadable weekly AR template Set up your spreadsheet in this order so pivots and filters are simple to build. Export CSV No Field 1 Claim ID / Invoice # 2 Patient name or guarantor 3 DOS (date of service) 4 Payer name 5 CPT / Service codes (primary) 6 Billed amount 7 Paid amount to date 8 Balance due 9 Aging bucket (0–30 / 31–60 / 61–90 / 90+) 10 Days in AR (calculated) 11 Claim status (Submitted / Pending / Denied / In Appeal / Partially Paid) 12 Denial reason code 13 Last activity date 14 Next action (phone / resubmit / appeal / patient contact) 15 Next action due date 16 Assigned to 17 Follow-up attempts (count) 18 Promise-to-pay date 19 Estimated collectible 20 Notes / audit trail Practical Filters and Formulas To make your weekly AR review easier: Filter your report by Aging bucket greater than 90 days, balances over $500, the top 10 payers by balance, or by assigned staff. Use this formula to track overall AR efficiency:Weighted Days in AR = SUM(Days_in_AR × Balance) / SUM(Balance) This gives a balance-weighted picture of your outstanding AR and highlights where follow-up will have the most impact. SLA matrix you can copy into your SOPs Aging bucket Aging bucket >90 days or balance > $1,000 High risk / high dollar 61–90 days Denied or delayed 31–60 days Missing documentation / patient follow-up 0–30 days New balances Action SLA Daily payer outreach, manager escalation Initial outreach same business day; escalate to manager within 48 hours Outreach within 3 business days; prepare appeal Appeal prepared within 7 business days Weekly outreach; correct within 10 business days Weekly check Automated reminders; monitor Automated touchpoint within 3–7 days This is a template. Adapt SLA times to your payer contracts and practice size. HS MED Solutions, How We Recover Revenue At HS MED Solutions we treat revenue recovery like your daily practice. We assess your accounts, take action, and measure results. Using the weekly AR follow-up report, we focus on claims that matter most such as over 90-day balances, high-dollar accounts, and