You know that sinking feeling. You’ve spent the last four weeks running between operatories like a maniac. You’ve prepped the crowns, managed the hygiene checks, and tackled the difficult root canals. You’re exhausted, and your production numbers look great on paper.
But then you look at your bank account. The numbers don’t match the effort. Despite performing high-profit dental procedures, the cash simply isn’t there.
Conventional wisdom tells us to wait for the CPA to send the Profit and Loss (P&L) statement. But by the time that hits your desk, it’s often three weeks after the month has closed. You’re looking at data that is nearly sixty days old. Essentially, you are trying to drive your business by looking solely in the rearview mirror. This lack of real-time data is a primary driver of dentist burnout. If you want to stop wondering where the money went and start actually keeping it, you have to stop managing by the month and start managing by the week.
To steer the ship before you hit the iceberg, there are three specific reports you need to review every single Friday.
1. Your True Labor Cost (The Burden Rate)
Payroll is your single biggest expense. In a healthy general practice, staff labor should consume between 25% and 35% of your overhead. If that number creeps toward 45%, you aren’t running a business—you’re paying for the privilege of going to work.
The mistake many colleagues make is viewing payroll as a fixed cost. It’s not. You need to calculate your true burden rate, not just the hourly wage.
- The Math: If an assistant earns $25/hour, their true cost (including FICA, unemployment, workers’ comp, 401k matches, and health insurance) is likely closer to **$32 or $35/hour.**
- The Leakage: Fifteen minutes of “early coffee” or thirty minutes of staying late because a patient arrived late adds up. With a team of seven, small “leaks” can result in thousands of dollars of lost profit every month.
The Weekly Action: Compare your total burdened payroll against your weekly collections. If your payroll is $10,000, you should have collected at least $35,000–$40,000. If you find yourself consistently overstaffed, it may be time to stop reacting and start planning your downtime more effectively.
2. Your Collections Engine
High production is great for the ego, but collections pay the bills. If you produce a million dollars but don’t collect it, you are just a very busy volunteer.
You cannot afford to be a bank. Lending money to patients interest-free by batching statements once a month is insanity. To keep your “collections velocity” high, you must monitor two things:
- Aging Reports: Review your “Over 30” and “Over 60” reports every Friday. Insurance claims are like fresh produce—they spoil the longer they sit.
- Over-the-Counter Collections: The probability of collecting a patient portion drops the moment they walk out your front door. If your front desk struggles here, it might be time to overhaul your system-based blueprint for 98% collections.
3. Adjustments and Write-Offs: The Silent Killer
This is the report most dentists ignore because it’s confusing, but it’s often where the profit disappears. You need to distinguish between two types of adjustments:
- Contractual Write-offs: These are the necessary evils of the dental insurance trap. However, you must audit these. If your software is using an outdated fee schedule, you might be writing off 40% when you should only be writing off 30%.
- “Other” Adjustments: These are the courtesies, bad debt write-offs, and “friends and family” discounts.
A Word on Diligence: I hate to say it, but the adjustment report is where embezzlement hides. When your team knows you review this report every week, the “sloppy” adjustments disappear, and the accuracy of your data improves instantly.
Conclusion: From Observer to Commander
Managing these three levers—labor costs, collections velocity, and adjustments—takes only fifteen minutes on a Friday afternoon.
This weekly rhythm changes your psychology. It moves you from being a passive observer of your practice to an active commander. You’ll stop hoping there is money in the bank and start ensuring it.
Stop drilling for a moment and fix the holes in your bucket. Whether you are a seasoned owner or a new graduate finding your roadmap, knowing your numbers is the only way to ensure dentistry remains rewarding.
