Dear Friends, March 2017

I was a child of the late 50’s and early 60’s raised in a

Catholic family. For those of you who were not raised in

such a family, you may not have had the experience of

riding in a family car under the protection of St.

Christopher. In those days, automobiles had metal

dashboards and no seat belts. It seemed almost every other

vehicle had a four inch plastic statue of St. Christopher

magnetically held to the dashboard. I can remember when

my parents got a new car, they would be sure that the St.

Christopher statue was reinstalled in the new vehicle.

Most people at the time thought of St. Christopher as the

“patron saint of travel”. This patron of travelers gets his

patronage from a thirteenth century legend about a giant

man. He lived alone along the bank of a raging river and

he would help travelers cross in safety. So it happened one

day he helped a small child, who was traveling alone

cross. Thus, the universally accepted imagery of the patron

saint of travel carrying a small child on his shoulders as he

crosses the turbulent river.

Now at this time, it is not certain that this legend ever

existed. During those days, many families felt more secure

with that plastic statue protecting them. There are all kinds

of protection in this world. Sometimes all it takes is a

symbol of protection, other times we need more concrete

evidence of that protection. Things like a visible police

force, locks on our doors, and neighbors and friends that

look out for us all help us feel more protected.

In our practices, we need to feel protected sometimes as

well. Having a dashboard to look at with our practice can

be a great protection of our profitability, our goals, and our

overall happiness in practice. Your practice dashboard is a

list of key practice indicators that you should track daily to

watch trends, make decisions on managing your practice,

and plan for the future. So what is on your dashboard?

Here are some suggestions for you to start with:

1. Over the Counter Collections

This is the amount of today’s collection you

collected from today’s production. It should be expressed

as a percentage. Typically, we want this to be 30-35% of

today’s production. This shows how well your staff is

collecting the patient’s portion of the day’s fees.

2. Overall Collections

Keeping track of today’s total collections is essential to

keeping track of where you are at that point in the month.

You should have an idea of the average collections you

need to meet your goal.

3. Production per Hour for Doctor and Hygienist

Improving production per hour is the one sure way to

improve your profitability. Keeping daily tabs on your

hourly production, as well as, the hygiene hourly

production is essential to your success. In a typical

practice, an increase of $50 per hour could mean

$60,000 in additional profit.

4. Number of New Patients by Source

Tracking the number of new patients each day is important.

However, it is even more important to track the source of where

those patients come from. This is the only true way to

determine how well we do on our internal and external

marketing.

5. Future Production Booked for the Next Month

The better the handle you have not only on today’s production,

what is on the schedule going forward, the more likely you will

take the actions necessary to maintain production goals. By

tracking future production, it provides better assurance of

consistent future production.

6. Accounts Receivable Balance

Managing your Accounts Receivable is very important to

managing your cash flow. Unusual changes in your Accounts

Receivable should be investigated immediately.

7. Conversion Ratio

Perhaps one of the greatest lies that dentists tell themselves is

the amount or percentage of treatment accepted. The only way

to be sure is to track the conversion ratio. In other words, what

percentage of the treatment presented today was accepted.

8. Percentage of Hygiene that is Perio

Many practices struggle to get or maintain a strong Perio

program. One of the best things you can do is track your daily

Perio percentage.

9. Number of Operative Patients Doctor Saw

One of the worst things a dentist can do is schedule too many

operative patients in a day. We have found doctors that have

more than 8-10 operative patients daily tend to actually lose

production. It is essential to be intentional about your schedule.

10. Number of Cancellations or No Shows

Most practices have some problem with cancellations and no

shows. It is very helpful to track not only the number, but also

if there is a particular hygienist or doctor with higher

percentages.

The key to success in practice is “what gets measured gets

done”. It may not be as good as a St. Christopher statue, it is the

next best thing!

“Science cannot progress without reliable and accurate

measurement of what it is you are trying to study. The

key is measurement, simple as that.”

Robert D. Hare

Published

Monthly

Qualified Retirement Plans in Dental Practices - Then & Now by: Ted Schumann, II, MBA, MSF, AIF®, CFP®

outlines how plan assets should be

managed, identifies any extenuating

circumstances, identifies all plan fiduciaries

including the investment committee, and

the scope of each party’s authority.

A documented evaluation process and a

formal Investment Policy Statement are

recommended for trustee directed plans,

where the investments are pooled and the

plan sponsor makes all the investment

decisions. They are also recommended for

participant-directed plans, where plan

participants choose their own investments

according to their own risk tolerance, time

horizon, and investment expertise.

Plan fees were also overlooked or ignored

in the past. Most rational people

understand that no one works for free. Yet

it was not until relatively recently that 401

(k) and Profit Sharing plan fees got any

attention. They are now required to be

disclosed. Admittedly, disclosures are not

necessarily easy for most plan participants

to interpret, but it is a step in the right

direction.

For years, plan fees, commissions, and

revenue sharing arrangements were buried

in mutual fund expense ratios and out-of-

pocket costs were low or non-existent.

Seldom did the practice owner or employee

-participants know who they were paying to

do what and how much. Worse than that,

most investment professionals were held

only to the “Suitability Standard”. This

meant that as long as an investment’s risk

was not inappropriate for the investor’s

situation, it was appropriate and acceptable

to sell the client the highest commission

product available.

This is a far cry from the way most dentists

do business. In my experience, most

dentists give their patients treatment options

based on the patient’s case and

circumstances. Treatment options will vary

in cost and feasibility, however, the patient

has enough information to make an

informed decision about their health. The

When many 401(k) and Profit Sharing plans

were first adopted by dental practices, the

main focus was on sheltering tax. Owner-

Doctors would set up these plans to allow for

tax-deductible funding and tax-deferred

investing for their employees and

themselves. This worked very well

historically, and still works very well today

to allow Doctors and staff to build sizeable

retirement nest eggs. In the old days, it was

not uncommon for all participant money to

be pooled in the 401(k) or Profit Sharing

plan. Furthermore, Doctors would often take

it upon themselves, as the plan sponsor, to

make investment decisions on behalf of the

plan. Some plans even run this way today.

While this arrangement did not give the

participants much control over their accounts

or transparency in their investments, it did

not generally create major problems as long

as Doctor, or their advisors, invested the

funds prudently and responsibly. It was not

until some business owners decided to get

“creative” with plan investments that

problems arose. Consider the business

owner that determined real estate would be a

good plan investment, so they used the plan

assets to finance the purchase of a cottage.

This kind of activity prompted regulators

like the Department of Labor (DOL) to hold

plan sponsors more accountable for the

investments they made available inside

retirement plans. To be most compliant with

DOL regulations, the plan must demonstrate

a documented process for evaluating and

screening investments for inclusion or

exclusion from the retirement plan. As you

can imagine, an evaluation process is

generally not friendly to investments that are

opaque. There has been a trend toward

increased transparency for this reason.

It is not incumbent upon the plan sponsor to

choose the best performing investments.

However, it is imperative that a plan sponsor

shows criteria for selecting the investments

they used. For example, it is a best practice

for a 401(k) plan to have a signed Investment

Policy Statement. This is a document that

Page 2 Dental Business Success

Inside This Issue 4 Dr. Dan’s Corner:

The Relentless Pursuit of Value

5 Reporting Unclaimed

Property 6 Reviewing and

Revising Your Fees…It Is That Time Again

7 Staff Spotlight 8 Good News! 8 Computer Tips &

Technology 9. Associate for Your

Dental Practice: Do You Need One?

10 Practice

Opportunities & Associate Positions

11 Email Us!

Page 3

The new Fiduciary Standard is

nothing new to Registered

Investment Advisory firms like DBS

Investment Advisers, LLC. We have

always been held to the Fiduciary

Standard. So for firms like ours, it

is business as usual. For the more

commission-oriented Broker Dealer-

type firms, this is a major paradigm

shift. Some of these firms have

decided to discontinue managing some

types of retirement accounts

altogether. For example, Edward

Jones has made significant changes to

their business model due to the new

requirements.

Retirement plan sponsors also have a

fiduciary responsibility and liability

for monitoring plan fees. Recently,

some plan sponsors have been sued by

plan participants (employees) because

of excessive plan fees. Excessive fees

are a result of the plan sponsors

breached duty to monitor and

benchmark plan fees. This includes

dentist does not offer only the

procedure that will generate the most

profit for the practice without giving

the patient some other options. Sadly,

that is exactly what many financial

salespeople were doing to their clients.

Fortunately, the Department of Labor

is turning this practice upside down.

Readers who know me well know that

it is seldom in my nature to welcome

even more regulation in the industry.

In this case, it makes sense. The

Department of Labor is now

expanding the requirements of

financial professionals that service

retirement accounts. All advisors will

now be held to the “Fiduciary

Standard”, which means they must

always act in the client’s best interest;

unless, and I wish I was making this

up, they qualify for an exemption

known as the Best Interest Contract

Exemption (BICE). Yes, a loophole

exists to actually exempt an advisor

from acting in the client’s best interest.

mutual fund expense ratios, revenue

sharing paid by plan investments,

advisory fees, and fees charged by

record-keepers (investment

companies), and plan administrators.

As you can see, management and

maintenance of retirement plans has

evolved over time. While dentists

were once able to make deposits into

their plans, take applicable tax

deductions, and invest the money as

they wished with little regard to fees or

investment process, those days are

gone. The bar is now higher and

decisions at a plan level must be made

more thoughtfully. In addition to

portfolio management, support of the

fiduciary process is a big part of what

we do for our clients. If you have not

thoroughly reviewed your retirement

plan lately, you need to. If you have

never reviewed your retirement plan, I

can help. Feel free to contact me at

ted.schumann@dbsia.net to schedule a

no-obligation fiduciary review.

month recalls for her and Mr. Tightwad

which will occur right after they return

from their winter home in Florida. The

scheduling coordinator then offers a core

and crown appointment for Mr.

Tightwad. Mrs. Tightwad immediately

chimes in that they will talk about that at

their next appointment. The scheduling

coordinator again slips into education

mode and does a great job making the

point that if Mr. Tightwad wants to keep

his tooth, a crown is essential. She even

offers to rush the process along so the

crown can be cemented before the

couple leaves for Florida on January

2nd. Mrs. Tightwad again refuses and

the scheduling coordinator feels sorry for

Mr. Tightwad who has been staring at

the floor during this entire interaction.

Mr. and Mrs. Tightwad head out the

door into their new Cadillac which still

has the sticker in the back window. This

car has just replaced their two year old

Cadillac. They do need a safe car to

drive to their winter home in the

Sunshine State after all! March rolls

along and the Tightwads arrive home

from Florida to find a postcard in their

mailbox reminding them of their

appointments in a couple weeks. Mrs.

Tightwad calls the office and insists on

moving their appointments back to July

because when you are on a fixed income

you are not able to spend that kind of

money.

Mr. and Mrs. Tightwad come into your

office for their “cleaning” appointments

in July. The hygienists check the charts

and realize that they have not been in for

eight months despite their history of

perio treatment and the fact that both the

hygienists and doctor recommended

three month recalls. Mrs. Tightwad

presents with progressing perio and her

usual downright nasty attitude. Mr.

Tightwad presents with progressing

perio and a massive hole adjacent to

tooth #3. The hygienist works her tail

off on Mrs. Tightwad, re-educates on

perio disease for the 16th time, and urges

a three month follow up appointment.

The other hygienist works her tail off on

Mr. Tightwad, re-educates on perio

Try not to smile when you think of the

exact patient family in your practice that

I am talking about. Mr. and Mrs.

Tightwad come into your office for their

“cleaning” appointments in mid-

December. The hygienists check the

charts and realize that they have not been

seen in eight months despite their history

of perio treatment and the fact that both

the hygienists and doctor recommended

three month recalls. Mrs. Tightwad

presents with progressing perio and her

usual downright nasty attitude. Mr.

Tightwad presents with progressing

perio and a failing ancient, huge

amalgam on tooth #3. The hygienist

works her tail off on Mrs. Tightwad, re-

educates on perio disease for the 15th

time, and urges a three month follow up

appointment. The other hygienist works

her tail off on Mr. Tightwad, re-educates

on perio disease for the 15th time, urges

a three month recall, makes the patient

aware of the failing huge amalgam on

tooth #3, uses the intraoral camera to

display this condition to the patient, and

does a fantastic job of educating him on

the need for a crown on this tooth. The

doctor comes into the room and does her

exam on Mrs. Tightwad. She backs the

hygienist up on the importance of

maintaining the perio condition and does

her best to educate Mrs. Tightwad some

more as Mrs. Tightwad gets a nasty look

on her face and rolls her eyes. The

doctor then goes to the room next door

to do her exam on Mr. Tightwad. Mr.

Tightwad is alarmed by his perio

condition and really does not want to

lose tooth #3. He listens to the hygienist

and doctor, agrees to a three month

recall, and seems ready to schedule the

crown on #3.

This couple then goes to the front desk

to meet the scheduling coordinator. The

scheduling coordinator first offers both

patients a three month recall

appointment. Mrs. Tightwad snaps that

when you are on a fixed income, you are

not able to spend that kind of money.

The scheduling coordinator then goes on

to re-educate yet again on the

importance of maintaining perio. Mrs.

Tightwad reluctantly agrees to four

disease for the 16th time, urges a three

month recall, makes the patient aware of

the massive hole, uses the intraoral

camera to display this condition to the

patient, and does a fantastic job of

educating him that this tooth is in serious

trouble and that they will have to ask the

doctor if she can save it. The doctor

comes into the room and does her exam

on Mrs. Tightwad. She backs the

hygienist up on the importance of

maintaining the perio condition and does

her best to educate Mrs. Tightwad some

more as Mrs. Tightwad gets a nasty look

on her face and rolls her eyes. The

doctor then goes to the room next door to

do her exam on Mr. Tightwad. Mr.

Tightwad is alarmed by his perio

condition and really does not want to

lose tooth #3. He listens to the hygienist

and doctor, agrees to a three month

recall, and is very disappointed when the

doctor recommends extraction of tooth

#3.

This couple then goes to the front desk to

meet the scheduling coordinator. The

scheduling coordinator first offers both

patients a three month recall

appointment. Mrs. Tightwad snaps that

when you are on a fixed income you are

not able to spend that kind of money.

She then expresses dismay that the

doctor cannot pull Mr. Tightwad’s tooth

that same day. Mr. Tightwad stares at

the floor.

Smiling yet because this couple are

patients of yours? Perhaps dismayed,

crying, or getting depressed instead? As

I wrote the story above I had a mental

image of the real Mr. and Mrs. Tightwad

that I used to see in our practice. We all

have them and they drive us all nuts. Is

it any wonder that dentists get

unsatisfied, depressed, and burned out?

The true issue in the vast majority of

cases, when treatment that we and our

teams recommend is rejected, has

nothing to do with the patient’s ability to

pay for the recommended treatment. It

has everything to do with the perceived

value of the recommended treatment.

Truth be told, dentists compete very little

Page 4 Dental Business Success

DR. DAN’S CORNER: The Relentless Pursuit of Value by: Daniel Peters, DDS

Page 5

Reporting Unclaimed Property by: Rachelle Fenwick, Asst. Accounting Manager

March 31

Identify properties that could be reportable

as unclaimed property as of March 31

April 15

**Prepare and mail due diligence letters to

those property owners identified as

inactive.

May 15

Determine property owners with whom

contact has not occurred (i.e., returned

mail, no response, etc.)

June 1

Begin preparing the annual unclaimed

property report using reporting software.

A free version of the software may be

downloaded at the website listed above

located in the Reporting Unclaimed

Property section.

On or Before July 1: Mail the electronic

media containing the annual unclaimed

property report, Michigan Holder

Transmittal for Annual Report of

Unclaimed Property (Form 2011) and

remittance to the Unclaimed Property

Division. If your entity has no unclaimed

property to report, you do not need to file

anything.

**Michigan law requires holders to send

written notice to owners at their last

known address informing them that they

hold property subject to being turned over

to the State. This requirement only applies

if all of the following conditions exist:

1. The address for the owner does not

appear to be inaccurate

2. The property has a value of $50 or

more

3. The statute of limitation does not bar

the claim of the owner

Notice must be sent not less than 60 days,

nor more than 365 days, before the filing

Most businesses have unclaimed property

resulting from normal operations. Any

asset, tangible or intangible, belonging to a

third party that remains unclaimed for a

specified period of time is considered

unclaimed property. For example,

uncashed payroll checks must be turned

over to the State after one year. Most other

property types, such as vendor checks and

accounts receivable credit balances, must

be turned over after three years.

Government entities must turn over all

unclaimed property, regardless of property

type, after one year.

Michigan’s Uniform Unclaimed Property

Act, Public Act 29 of 1995, as amended,

requires businesses and government

entities to report and remit to the Michigan

Department of Treasury abandoned and

unclaimed property belonging to owners

whose last known address is in Michigan.

In addition, every business or government

entity that is incorporated in Michigan

must report and remit abandoned property

belonging to owners where there is no

known address.

An outstanding payroll or commission

check has a one year dormancy period. A

refund due to a patient or a credit on your

accounts receivable has a three year

dormancy period. For a complete list of

property dormancy periods, see the

dormancy chart in Appendix A of the

Treasury website. That website is

www.michigan.gov/unclaimedproperty.

The due date this year for filing the

unclaimed property annual report is July 1,

2017, for property reaching its dormancy

period as of March 31, 2017. The

recommended timeline for Unclaimed

Property Review is as follows:

of the report. See the Appendix for

samples of due diligence letters.

Complete instructions and forms are

available in the Manual for Reporting

Unclaimed Property.

The amount of properties that a holder

reports determines the method for

reporting.

Those reporting 10 or more properties –

File using free third-party software

Those reporting less than 10 properties –

File using free third-party software or

paper forms.

Holders who have previously filed

unclaimed property reports with the State

of Michigan now have the ability to remit

payment for their unclaimed property

report. Since this payment method

requires validation, this payment method is

not available to first time filers.

Treasury is providing entities that have not

previously reported or have underreported

unclaimed property in the past with an

opportunity to voluntarily comply with the

requirements of the Michigan Unclaimed

Property Act (Act) by offering a Voluntary

Disclosure Agreement.

Entities that submit a Voluntary Disclosure

Agreement indicate their desire to be

compliant with the Act. Accordingly, the

holder agrees to voluntarily comply with

the Act by reporting and remitting

previously unreported unclaimed property

due the State of Michigan. In accordance

with the Voluntary Disclosure Agreement,

the holder agrees to accurately complete

and file unclaimed property reports and

remit payments for the current reporting

year and the previous four reporting years

within six months from the date the form

is filed with the Unclaimed Property

Division. Holders will not be assessed

penalties or interest.

Side Note: The ADA just repor ted

that in 2015 the average income for GP

dentists was $179,960. For Specialists,

the average income was $320,460 for

the same period. For owner GP’s, the

average income was $195,200. For non-

owner GP’s, income was $132,370.

When adjusted for inflation, GP income

has dropped significantly since the peak

in 2005 when earnings had a value of

with each other in the marketplace. Our

true competition is companies like

Starbucks, Apple, Amazon, and BMW

as well as airlines, vacation destinations,

and spas.

Next month I’ll cover how we go about

building value to compete with our true

competitors.

$219,638 when adjusted to 2015 dollars.

This bothers the heck out of me. If you

are experiencing this same alarming

trend in your own situation, please give

me a call and let’s talk about it.

Dental Business Success Page 6

Reviewing and Revising Your Fees…It Is That Time Again by: Donna Rosebush Practice Management Consultant

located in the Reporting Unclaimed

Property section. If you have any

questions, please call your accountant for

further details.

What’s NEW?

Senate Bill 538 amends the Uniform

Unclaimed Property Act of 1995 effective

12/22/15. Properties with a value of

$25.00 or less are not required to be

escheated per Section 567.224a Sec 4a.

Does not apply to dividends or stock-

related properties defined in Section

567.231a Sec. 11a.

If a property holder fails to properly file a

report, penalty and interest may be

assessed as follows:

Interest at one percentage point above

the adjusted prime rate per annum per

month on the property or value of the

property from the date the property

should have been paid or delivered,

and /or

Penalty at 25 percent of the value of

the property that should have been

paid or delivered.

The information for this article can be

found online at

www.michigan.govunclaimedproperty

These properties can still be

voluntarily escheated.

New streamlined audit option described in

Section 567.25 1b Sec. 31b for businesses

whose principal place of business is in

Michigan as defined by Section 567.222

Sec. 2. This is retroactive and applies to

audits in progress as of August 15, 2015,

but does not retroactively apply to

contested determinations in litigation

before the date of enactment of this

amendatory act.

determined closer to the 70th percentile.

So what happens if you hold off on adjusting your fees for two or more

years? Your vendors are keeping up with

inflation without regard to your personal

aversion to raising your fees. Do you

know where your fees rank? Is it

possible that the dentist next door is being

reimbursed at a higher level by the same

insurance company? Is it feasible that

your reimbursement is being stifled

because you fail to increase your fees due

to a misguided understanding that once you reach that magic number where the

insurance company no longer pays your

full fee you believe that you finally broke

their “code” and forever more leave your

fee set there? The truth is that other than

the PPO contracts that provide you with a

set fee schedule, most other companies

raise or lower your reimbursement based

on the fees that you submit. If you are

not writing off a significant amount (up to

20%), chances are you are stifling your own reimbursement.

Is your recare retention ratio at 85% or

above as evidenced by the number of

periodic exams being billed? Are you

coding and billing properly for the

periodontal procedures being performed by your hygiene team? Are you properly

coding Palliative Treatment instead of

Kick off 2017 by taking charge of your

profitability! Act today and save $300 by taking advantage of the following

valuable special offer before April 30,

2017.

Ideally, I recommend to each of our

clients that they review their fees at least

once per year, preferably in the same

month each year. Since 2017 is a new

beginning, it is a great time to initiate

new fees. Staff reviews are often

conducted around the first of the year. Although wage increases should always

be based on merit, rather than mere

longevity. It is always easier to fund well

earned increases at the same time

production and collections are also on the

rise.

We are astutely aware that the insurance

companies are not looking for ways to

overcompensate the practice. They wait

to increase your reimbursement level

until you actually ask for it by submitting

higher fees. It used to be that many of the

insurance companies would base their

“UCR” (usual and customary

reimbursement) on the 80th percentile.

They would eliminate the top 20% of

submitted fees and payout based on those dentists in the top 80%. We are now

finding that the reimbursement level is

Limited Focused Emergency Exams?

Are you adequately tapping into the opportunity to provide a higher standard

of care by offering Adult Fluoride,

Sealants, Occlusal Analysis and Guards,

or cosmetic dentistry? And are you

realistically aware of how much money

you may be leaving on the table by not

knowledgably aligning your fees?

Proper coding and well aligned fees result

in higher reimbursement and evidence of

higher standards of patient care, while

adding potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars to the bottom line.

Most importantly, if you find reviewing

and adjusting your fees to be a time

consuming, frustrating exercise of

uncertainty that you avoid at all costs, do

not turn your back on the process. Delegate the process by hiring an expert

that can help you navigate your way to a

healthier income. You deserve to be

properly compensated for the great work

that you do!

The DBS Companies care about all of our

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Page 7

DBS Staff Spotlight!

Nikoloz Khubutia Staff Accountant

1. What are your responsibilities at DBS? I currently work under the supervision of our Accounting Manager, Britni. My responsibilities include monthly accounting, preparation of certain state and federal tax returns, as well as, year-end reviews. 2. If you could do another job for one day, what would it be? If I could start all over again, I would consider becoming a dentist.

3. Do you prefer paper books, e-books, audio books, or none of the above? I love listening to stories, therefore, audio books work best for me.\ 4. What would be your first choice for a superpower?

Reading other people’s minds.

“MONEY MATTERS” WITH TED SCHUMANN II FREE SEMINAR! TWO FREE CE CREDITS!

Every dentist has to make financial decisions over the course of their career.

The consequences of these decisions may be unclear, or may change as the doctor’s circumstances evolve.

This seminar is designed to address the common financial issues encountered by dentists and how to approach

them for the best possible outcomes.

*Earn 2 FREE continuing education credits for attending this seminar. Vouchers will be available at the seminar.

Click here for more details and to register.

Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2017 6-8 p.m. EDT

Paesano Restaurant in Ann Arbor, MI

Cost: FREE to MDA members*

results in recommendations based on

hundreds of other practices and national benchmarks, while spotting and outlining

any untapped potential that may have

gone unnoticed in your practice. Also, up

to a one hour coaching session to review

the fees and ADA code usage

recommendations (either in our office or

via a visual teleconference) is included in

this special pricing package.

Do not Wait--Schedules will fill Quickly!

Prior to April 30th please:

If you choose to take advantage of this

valuable offer, you will be given a color coded spreadsheet outlining specific

recommendations for each fee. With the

aid of your dental software’s Production

Summary Report, I will also provide you

with a detailed written frequency

analysis. This valuable aspect of the

reporting process reviews the number of

times each procedure code was (or was

not) performed over the year and the level

of production generated by each code.

This in-depth study and written report

Call Kelley Kelly 800-327-2377

(extension 132) or email her at

kkelly@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

to schedule your appointment.

Provide your current office fee

schedule, your dental software

Production Summary Report for the

past 12 months, and your actual

Active Patient Count.

Fee surveys will be compiled and

analyzed on a first come first served

basis. Call today to reserve your

place in the schedule.

Computer Tips & Technology by: Joyce Olson-Burpee, Computer Operations Manager

on in the world of technology help you

review things out there that can harm

your system.

It is important to have your

information protected, especially if

your computer systems harbor

confidential information such as

customer’s names, addresses, and

social security numbers. These are the

things people use to steal identities.

Please be sure your company is taking

care of the important things on your

computer and have a qualified person

or company taking care of the

necessary security. A qualified person

will be able to block the security flaw

that was announced and not patched by

Microsoft (SMB2 TREE-

CONNECT…). They will most likely

patch this on their next update. In the

meantime, computers can fall prey to

this flaw.

What do you think of a company not

taking a security exploit serious? I

think it is criminal. With all the ways

the hackers and crooks can get into our

computers anyway, it is terrible that a

company as big as Microsoft does not

patch a security issue even after they

had been told of it three months

earlier.

The security hole has now been

released into what is known as the

wild so anyone can exploit the

problem if they know how. That falls

into many people’s realm of

knowledge. There should be a huge

fine for companies that are told about

security flaws and do not fix them.

They should be held accountable for

any damage that it causes their users.

I know many people have no idea how

to fix these things themselves. It is in

your own best interest to have a friend

or a company that knows what is going

If you have a connection to the internet

and you have not hired a security

person or company, it would be in

your best interest to do so.

Happy computing!

Page 8

Have a Newsletter

Article Idea You

Would Like to See?

We are always

looking for ideas, questions,

or comments

regarding our newsletter

articles!

If you have an idea for an

article or a question you

would like answered,

please email

Regan Duperon at

regan.duperon@dbsia.net

Dental Business Success

Good News!

Congratulations to Dr. Alan K. Charnley

on the successful transition of his dental

practice. Best of luck to you in all your

future endeavors!

Congratulations to Dr. Timothy W.

Kowalski on the successful transition of

his dental practice to Dr. Jeremy Bezzo!

Best wishes to both Doctors!

QuickBooks Quickies!

For those of you who are just starting with QuickBooks here is your first tip

Did you know you can customize and move that icon window that is on the left

side of the screen?

Go to view

Then look at the second section, (first one is open window list).

You have the ability to put that icon window at the top, leave it on the left, or hide

it all together.

You just need to change where the checkmark is on the list.

You can also customize the icons by choosing the customize button under view.

You can remove many of the icons you do not need in this program to make it

much cleaner.

One more quick thing: you can add the screens you go to the most under favorites.

Just click the favorites from the menu bar and then click customize. This will let

you choose what things you go to most and put them in whatever order you would

like.

Here is to being quicker in QuickBooks!

For example, if the Associate starts an

ortho case and then leaves, how do you

determine how this case will be

completed if you do not do ortho?

A new factor we need to look at now is

insurance in your office. Are you a

Delta Premier provider? This could be

an issue. Most new dentists applying for

an Associate position are not Premier

providers. How would you handle this

in your office? Will the insurance

company reimburse you with a different

fee schedule depending on the provider?

How will you determine what treatment

the Associate will provide if their fees

are lower than yours? Who will see the

new patients in the practice?

How will you determine if you and the

Associate can work together in

harmony? Are your practice

philosophies the same? Consider doing

a personality profile to ensure a good

match. What are the Associate’s

expectations for working in your

practice? Have a frank discussion about

your expectations and the parameters the

Associate would work under. What are

the personal and professional goals of

the Associate? What are your goals

concerning the Associate?

When you interview potential

Associates, you can give them an idea of

what you expect and what they can

expect. Although you can be somewhat

flexible with the Associate, it is good to

know the following:

Will the Associate be an

Independent Contractor or an

Employee?

How will they be compensated:

percentage of production or

collections?

Who pays for lab fees? and at what

percentage?

What benefits will you provide:

health insurance, retirement plan,

vacation, holidays, continuing

education allowance, malpractice

insurance, etc.?

Will you pay for dues, licenses, etc?

Are you thinking about bringing an

Associate into your practice? If so, there

are some questions that you need to ask

yourself. Why now? What will an

Associate do for you or your practice?

Do you want an Associate because you

are swamped, or you like the idea of

more free time, or because it worked for

your colleagues? In a different direction,

is the concept of hiring an Associate to

permit you to cut back, and having an

Associate could replace those hours and

keep your practice vital prior to an

eventual sale? Ask yourself if you are

ready to take less income home. If the

need is not real, then you are only

building in more overhead, reducing

your profit, and perhaps destabilizing

your practice. If your plan is to keep

your practice vital and still allow you to

cut back, then there are some ground

rules to hiring an Associate:

Do you have enough active patients

in your practice to give the

Associate enough hours to make it

worth their while to come work for

you? At the very least, you would

need 2,000 active patients to hire an

Associate.

Are you thinking that this Associate

is your built-in buyer for your

practice, a possible partner, or do

you want to remain in control and

just need help in your practice?

You need to determine if the practice can

accommodate an Associate. In addition

to the active patient count, do you have

enough treatment rooms for both you

and the Associate to work the same

hours? If not, you may need to increase

the office hours to do a staggered

schedule; so you can both work

efficiently. Do you have enough staff to

accommodate two dentists and to

increase office hours or will you need to

add another assistant to accommodate

the new Associate? Is there any

treatment that you currently refer out

that an Associate could perform thereby

creating a new profit center in the

practice? Is there any specific treatment

that you refer out that you would prefer

that the Associate not do in the practice?

What administrative tasks will be

their responsibility?

Will they have any management or

marketing duties?

Will they be a part of the practice

decision making process?

Will they be required to attend staff

meetings?

There is a long list of items to be

determined to have a successful

Associate Agreement. These are just a

few of the items you will need to

concern yourself with.

Whatever the reason to have an

Associate, you will want to plan ahead

before you bring the dentist into your

office; make sure you have all the

appropriate contracts in place to protect

both you and the Associate. You would

need to have an Associate contract that

spells out all your expectations of the

Associate’s employment, and a

Covenant not to Compete; should they

decide to leave your employment. The

Covenant not to Compete can be signed

with a 90-day clause; that way if either

of you decide before 90 days is passed

that it is not working, the Associate

moves on and there is no Covenant. Or

it is working and the Covenant goes into

effect as of the 91st day. There is no

harm to anyone that way. An Associate

cannot hurt your practice in 90 days.

Please have your attorney draft these

documents to make sure they are legally

binding and protect you.

The best suggestion I can make is to

have advisors, who know your individual

practice, help you determine if you are

ready for an Associate in your practice.

They will help you determine if your

practice is large enough for an Associate,

if you are ready for an Associate, or if

you can work with an Associate. They

will help you plan to attract the

Associate that would work best in your

practice. If you are thinking about an

Associate, call your DBS advisors today.

We welcome your questions regarding

Associates.

Page 9

Associate for Your Dental Practice: Do You Need One? by: Sarah Pajot, Transition Specialist

Practice Opportunities & Associate Positions

Southeast Michigan Practice available! Royal Oak area, Avg. Gross $796K, 5 ops, digital x-ray. Long-term, loyal

staff. Delta Premier, no PPOs. Lease space in great location! Reference PPB16R149

Northern MI – Easy access to I-75, Avg. Gross of $900K, 5 ops, digital x-ray, Eaglesoft Software. Open 4 days per

week. Located in a beautiful northern community. Reference PPB16S279

Western, MI ! Avg. Gross of $750K, 4 ops, digital x-ray, Cerec & Dentrix Software. Open 4 days per week. Must

see office located in beautiful waterfront community! Reference PPB15S275

PENDING ! Merger Opportunity in Grosse Pointes - Approx. Gross $600K. Space-share, move your practice into

this site. Delayed sale contracts all done before move, Traditional Insurance, 4 ops, room to expand, digital x-rays!

Reference PPB15R144

PENDING! NW Oakland County $1M practice - Delta Premier, very limited PPO, strong cash flow. Staff aware

and ready to support new owner. Seller assistance for limited period. Professional building-spacious suite.

Reference PPB16R151

North of Flint – Easy access to I75! North of Flint – Easy access to I-75, Quaint little town with access to a large

variety of quality shopping. Avg. Gross on 3 days a week is $600K, 4 ops, Eaglesoft, Dexis digital x-ray, building

available Reference PPB16S276

Associate Buy-In! Mid-Michigan practice seeking associate for general dental practice! Reference PPB16T334

Motivated Seller! Southern Michigan, - Delta Premier, 4 ops, room to expand, attractive brick building. Gross

$440K! Reference PPB15R143

Associateship Opportunity! Mid-Michigan Oral Surgeon seeking associate leading to quick buyout! Reference

PPB15T329

Saginaw Bay Area! Merger Practice, 4 ops, digital Dentech Software, avg. gross $450K, open 4 days/wk., refers

out endo, oral surgery, perio & ortho! Reference PPB16S277

DBS Professional Practice Brokers 800-327-2377

Ted Schumann, Randy Daigler, Sarah Pajot

www.adstransitions.com / www.dentalbusinesssuccess.com Find us on Facebook!

Search for us under

The DBS Companies

and “Like” our page.

Page 10 Dental Business Success

E-Mail Us!

PARTNERS:

Ted Schumann tedtbti@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Jack Frank jackf@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Ted Schumann, II ted.schumann@dbsia.net

ACCOUNTING:

Bailey Ciaciuch bailey@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Britni Ketola britni@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Dawn Prime dawn@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Debbie Love debbie@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

James West jwest@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Jenny Bickham jenny@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Maeona Carter mcarter@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Melissa Bourdon melissa@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Nikoloz Khubutia nkhubutia@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Rachelle Fenwick rfenwick@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Shelly Lowery shelly@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Trisha Oberlee trisha@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

ADMINISTRATIVE:

Jacquelyn Duemler jacquelyn@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Sandy VanTol eassistant@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Ty Robbins ty@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

BROKERAGE:

Nicole Duemler nicole@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Randy M. Daigler rdaigler@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Sarah Pajot sarahp@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

COMPUTERS:

Joyce Olson-Burpee jburpee@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

CONSULTING:

Donna Rosebush drosebush@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Kelley Kelly kkelly@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Toby Haske tobyhaske@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

INVESTMENT ADVISORY:

Ted Schumann, II ted.schumann@dbsia.net

Gabby Sedrowski gabby.sedrowski@dbsia.net

Jennifer Martin jennifer.martin@dbsia.net

Regan Duperon regan.duperon@dbsia.net

LIFE COACH:

Dan Peters, DDS danieljdds@dentalbusinesssuccess.com

Approved PACE Program Provider FAGD/MAGD Credit Approval does not imply acceptance by a

state or provincial board of dentistry or AGD

endorsement 1/1/2014 to 12/31/2017 DBS ID: 33344

*The AGD requires completion of a survey prior to issuing Continuing Education credits.

The information herein has been obtained

from sources believed to be reliable,

but the accuracy of the information cannot be guaranteed.

BURTON/FLINT

Rent an operatory or more! Minimize your

overhead. Beautiful, conveniently located six

treatment room facility in Burton (near Flint) has

space available to share. Ideal for a specialist

(periodontist, orthodontist, endodontist, etc.) or GP.

Please reply to DrParkside@yahoo.com.

Associate Needed!

Solo doctor seeking full-time associate, experience

preferred, for a growing family practice with select

traditional insurances. Potential for equal partner-

ship within the next two years. Great work environ-

ment in attractive, state of the art equipment practice

with well-trained staff who will offer their continual

support. If interested, please reply to

toothdoc2013@gmail.com.

Dental Business Sucess

Page 11

For Sale!

Kodak Trophypan

8000C—

SFAA062 Digital Ceph/

Pano Machine. 2002

model, purchased in 2004.

Asking $2,000. Contact

Dr. Dale Davis at

(989) 631-1334 for more

Page 11