As mental health therapists move to build their private practice, the finance side of their practice can be both challenging and frustrating. The business of being a mental health therapist is an important, and sometimes hard to juggle part of being a healthcare professional. In addition to invoices and revenue, mental health therapists have to ensure that their accounting, taxation, and regulatory requirements are properly taken care of. This is on top of the normal payroll, office, and associated expenses that any small business has.
With the complexity of these concerns, it is important for mental health therapists to have a solid grip on their responsibilities as healthcare professionals. In this regard, independent contract arrangements between mental health therapists and other businesses are not uncommon. These independent contracts are often utilized by therapists when they need to find outside financing to keep their practice going or growing.
However, these independent contractor agreements can be deceptively complicated and difficult to wade through. If you have recently come into contact with these agreements, be sure to read up on IRCHLB’s article on understanding these contracts.
The relevance of understanding your agreement is not just theoretical. Very real-world situations can arise where a therapist could get into trouble by not having a good understanding of their writing agreement.
One example of this is the issue of liability. If you enter an agreement improperly, you may become liable for all sorts of expenses and other issues, without realizing until too late that this has happened. Therefore, at IRCHLB we advise that therapists pay very close attention to their agreements to avoid any surprises.
One area where waiting too long to understand your mental health therapist independent contractor agreement is Finance. Due to the nature of therapy work, a lot of therapists have varying amounts of debt on their hands. Sometimes this can come in the form of student debt, personal debt, or in some cases, business debt.
Therefore, any therapist that has attended university can tell you that the debt pile can really pile up quickly. Therefore, it is important to have a good handle on your debt and finances so that you don’t fall into a bad situation. This is where the financial products offered by GoKapital come into play.
For instance, with GoKapital’s line of credit option, as a therapist you can increase your credit during lean times, so that you do not have to go through the real stress of drumming up finances for your practice. In additional to the line of credit, GoKapital also offers loans at attractive rates, which you can utilize to consolidate your debts, invest into your practice, or to simply have a stronger nest egg.
As well, GoKapital also offers merchant cash advance, which can be utilized to receive cash advances on credit and debit card transactions. Therefore, if you have recurring patients that require most of your revenue, or a high number of new clients, the merchant cash advance can be a good alternative to keep your practice running smoothly.
A quick note on the approval process: GoKapital has a relatively streamlined approval process which allows applicants to be matched with the program best suited to their needs. This works to help small and major companies alike conduct their business more effectively and efficiently. From a practical standpoint, this shortens the wait time and increases the likelihood that companies can receive financing for their operation.
In this regard, there are two key points to remember when it comes to business finance. One, your financing needs are low-risk as your practice is established and you do not have to take on much debt as a result, and second, you can pay the loan back over time. In a nutshell, sound business practices and revenue generation can help ensure that you do not place financial strain on your practice. Therefore, with GoKapital, you can have that peace of mind knowing that you have a partner working with you.
The most practical way to think about this is to use a hypothetical example. Let’s say we have a therapist that is renting out an office space. However, sometimes this therapist will go months on end without a patient. Therefore, as the therapist waits for the inevitable patient to arrive, she finds herself without capital to pay her rent and cover her day to day expenses. In a case such as this, the therapist would require a merchant cash advance.
As a follow-up, with a line of credit, the therapist would be able to afford the overhead payments while she waits for a few more patients to arrive. As the patients come in, the therapist can pay off the loan and move forward from there.
In terms of the business of being a mental health therapist, striking a balance between being entrepreneurial and being therapeutic is essential. While there is of course the need to make money, it is important for therapists not to lose themselves while they do so. Give consideration to the previous example when implementing your own plans.
Next, a mental health therapist independent contractor agreement can be a tricky subject. Regardless of who you are working for and what for, be sure to read your agreement through from the start to the end and go through all your questions with your lawyer. Last of all, check out GoKapital’s loan products. From the financial point of view, they can help support your practice.