Q&A: Starting Your Own Business by Pat Bowen, CMT

Do you charge for the following services? Copies of lost reports, copies of reports made on a copy machine, faxed reports? And how much would you charge? Do you charge also for special delivery and pickup?

I have never charged for replacing lost reports or faxing STAT reports. However, I wasn’t asked to do these things on a regular basis. I do know some people who routinely make copies of records and charge for them. I would think a charge of 10-15 cents per copy would be reasonable. It’s up to you, but you are right to be thinking about these things BEFORE you get an account. You might specify in your contract, "I will archive all reports for no less than six months. A fee of $2.00 will be charged for each report retrieved and reprinted."

The same goes for STATs. None of my accounts abused this privilege, so I was happy to do it at no extra charge. However, you may want to specify, "Reports transcribed and returned to the office in less than 12 hours will be charged at 1-1/2 times the normal rate." I would charge for any special pickup and delivery. The charge would be dependent on the distance.

What about billing? Is it unreasonable to ask for payment on receipt of bill?

Because you are a business, you will be expected to wait 15-30 days (sometimes longer, unfortunately) for a check, just like other vendors. Something that worked very well for me was billing a couple of days before the client’s employees were to be paid. That way, I knew the office manager was writing checks … and I knew exactly when I would be paid, i.e., every other Friday. It is probably best to ask office managers when they would like to be billed.

My other question is taxes. What do I need to do to get started? I already have business cards and flyers, and stuff like that, but tax-wise, what needs to be done? Do I need to see an accountant or something? How do I prepay tax when I don't know what my income will be?

You need to prepare to pay estimated taxes. This is where a number of independent MTs get into trouble. They don’t save money out of each check and then panic at the end of the year (I speak from the voice of experience). Dependent on your situation, plan on holding back a certain percentage out of each check (30% has always worked well for me). There are worksheets available from the IRS to help you calculate your potential tax liability. You can call the state tax office and ask them to send you estimated payment forms, or your accountant should be able to provide these.

I would definitely recommend finding an accountant. One who specializes in doing taxes for small businesses would be good.

Although it may seem expensive at the time, having an accountant will save you a lot of time and anxiety. Mine charges about $250 to prepare my taxes once a year. I take care of the estimated taxes myself. A good accountant should be willing to tell you these things over the phone without charging you.

If you need clarification and are working off-site, are you allowed access to patient records? Is there someone in the office you can call? Or do you just flag the report?

If you're working outside of the office, you will not have access to patient charts. Depending on the office and how receptive they are to calls from the outside MT service, you can call and ask them to look in the patient's chart for specific information. Otherwise, you would flag the report. I would ask the office or transcription manager which procedure he/she prefers.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Reliance on the accuracy and validity of the information is the responsibility of the reader. For further information, please consult the appropriate professional(s) in your area.

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