> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sigmahmis.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Billing: Capture and Track Charges at the Point of Care > Sigma HMIS billing attaches charges to the patient visit as care is delivered, so invoices are accurate and ready for claims without reconstruction. The Billing module creates a financial record while care is being delivered — not after the fact. Every service, procedure, and medication is attached to the patient encounter the moment it happens, so the invoice your finance team sees is a live reflection of what took place in the consultation room, not a reconstruction from handwritten notes or memory. ## How Billing Works Open the patient's active encounter during or immediately after the visit. Billing is always linked to a specific encounter, so charges never float unattached. Add each service, procedure, and medication delivered during the visit as a line item on the encounter. Each line carries a unit cost and quantity so the invoice builds itself as you go. Sigma creates a line-item invoice automatically linked to that encounter. The invoice reference traces directly back to the visit — no manual linking required. Select the patient's medical aid or insurance scheme. Sigma splits the total bill into the patient portion and the scheme portion according to the plan's benefit rules, so each party sees exactly what they owe. Review every line item, the split between patient and scheme, and the invoice total. Confirm the invoice to lock it in and make it ready for claim submission. ## Invoice Components Each confirmed invoice in Sigma carries the following fields. Understanding what each one represents helps your team catch errors before a claim is submitted. * **Visit reference** — A direct link back to the patient encounter that generated this invoice. Every charge is traceable to a specific date, provider, and visit. * **Line items** — Each service, procedure, or medication appears as a separate row with its description, quantity, and unit cost. You can edit line items while the invoice is in draft status. * **Patient portion** — The amount the patient owes directly after the scheme benefit has been applied. This is the figure your front desk collects. * **Scheme portion** — The amount the insurer is expected to pay. This flows directly into the claim when you submit from this invoice. * **Invoice status** — Tracks where the invoice sits in its lifecycle: **Draft**, **Confirmed**, **Partially Paid**, or **Fully Paid**. The status updates automatically as payments are recorded. ## Patient and Insurer Balances Sigma shows the patient balance and the scheme balance on the same invoice view. You do not need to open a separate ledger or cross-reference a spreadsheet to know what each party owes. The patient portion reflects any co-payments already collected at the front desk. The scheme portion reflects what is still outstanding from the insurer. When a patient makes a partial payment, the patient balance updates immediately. When the insurer remittance arrives and is matched in the Payments module, the scheme balance closes. Finance and front desk always see the same up-to-date numbers. ## Billing History Every action taken on an invoice is recorded in order: line items added, adjustments made, payments applied, and write-offs approved. The billing history is visible to both front desk staff and the finance team without requiring separate reports. If a patient disputes a charge or an auditor requests documentation, the full trail is available on the invoice itself — no separate audit log to hunt down. Bill the visit before the patient leaves the clinic. Charges attached at the time of care are more accurate than those reconstructed later from provider notes. A confirmed invoice at discharge also gives the front desk an immediate figure to collect the co-payment against. Built-in billing rules check that scheme codes and required authorisation numbers are present before a claim is submitted from this invoice. If a required field is missing, Sigma will flag it at the validation step rather than letting the claim leave with an error that will cause a rejection. ## Related Submit and track the insurance claim built from this invoice. Walk through the full workflow from patient arrival to confirmed invoice. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.