Future and Past Contract Charges Reports

Understanding the Future Contract Charges and Past Contract Charges

The Future Contract Charges and Past Contract Charges reports help you review scheduled and historical contract charges in Tops.

Although both reports display monthly contract charge totals and year-over-year (YoY) comparisons, they calculate information differently and serve different purposes.

Let’s take a closer look!

Generating the Reports

1. Navigate to Reports and select Future Contract Charges or Past Contract Charges.
2. Select the desired Orthodontist and Office, or leave the filters set to All.
3. Enter the date range you want to review
   1. Future Contract Charges report - Future Dates
   2. Past Contract Charges report - Past Dates
4. Click Run Report.

Both reports display monthly contract charges, a Prior Year Total, and a Year Over Year percentage.

Future Contract Charges

The Future Contract Charges report shows contract charges currently scheduled for upcoming months, based on contracts that are currently active in Tops.

These totals can change as new contracts are created, existing future charges are modified or rescheduled, or contracts are deactivated.

For example, if a $500 charge scheduled for an upcoming November is moved to the upcoming December before it posts, the November Future Contract Charges total decreases by $500, and the December Future Contract Charges total increases by $500.

When a contract is deactivated, its scheduled charges are no longer included in the Future Contract Charges report.

Important: Although this report is designed to review upcoming scheduled charges, it can also be run for historical dates, but will only represent data from currently active contracts.  It uses contract-event information currently stored in Tops rather than a historical snapshot of what was scheduled at that time.

Understanding the 'Prior Year Total' and Year Over Year (YoY%) Comparison

The Future Contract Charges report compares scheduled contract charges for the selected period against charges associated with the same period in the previous year, using contracts that are currently active in Tops.

When reviewing the Prior Year Total, keep in mind:

• Currently active contracts may have contributed charges during the prior-year period, while newer contracts may only contribute to the current period.
• Deactivated contracts are excluded, even if they were active and had scheduled charges during the prior-year period.
• Rescheduled Charges that previously posted may still be included because Tops retains the original contract event.

How is Comparison Helpful?

The Prior Year Total and Year Over Year (YoY)% provide insight into how scheduled contract charges for your currently active contracts compare with the same period in the previous year. This comparison can help you understand how newer contracts contribute to upcoming scheduled charges compared with contracts that were already generating charges during the prior-year period. It also provides perspective on the distribution of scheduled charges across your current active contracts and how that activity changes over time.

Example: Deactivated Contracts

A contract was active in November 2025 and had a $500 scheduled contract charge. The contract was later deactivated.

When running Future Contract Charges for November 2026, the original $500 will no longer contribute to the Prior Year Total because the contract is no longer active.

Keep in Mind: The Prior Year Total can change as contracts are completed or deactivated, even though the actual financial activity from the previous year has not changed.

Example: Year Over Year Comparison  (YoY %)

Suppose the Future Contract Charges report displays:

This means that, amongst contracts currently active in Tops, $38,705.89 in contract charges is associated with the selected period, compared with $26,961.73 associated with the same period last year.

Some contracts may contribute to both periods, while others may only contribute to one.

Important: The Future report’s Prior Year Total is not a historical snapshot of all contracts that were active during the previous year. Because it only considers contracts that are currently active, the YoY% should not be interpreted as a measure of overall practice growth or actual historical financial performance. For year-over-year comparisons of actual posted contract charges, use the Past Contract Charges report.

Past Contract Charges

The Past Contract Charges report shows contract charges that actually posted during the selected date range.

These charges can include:

• Recurring monthly contract charges
• Initial fees from new contracts
• Remaining contract balances charged when contracts are deactivated

Unlike the Future Contract Charges report, Past Contract Charges include historical charges from contracts that may no longer be active.

Once a contract charge posts, it remains part of the Past Contract Charges total for that date, even if the charge is subsequently rescheduled or the contract is deactivated.

Example: Deactivating a Contract

A patient has five remaining monthly contract charges of $333.37, totaling $1,666.85.

When the contract is deactivated, Tops charges the remaining balance to the patient’s ledger.

The remaining scheduled monthly charges are no longer included in Future Contract Charges, while the $1,666.85 is reflected in Past Contract Charges for the date it posted.

Understanding Rescheduled Charges in Financial Reports

Tops maintains a record of contract charges that have posted, even if those charges are later rescheduled.

Reports such as Income Analysis, Transactions of Type and Past Contract Charges continue to reflect the original posted amounts. Applicable financial reports also provide a separate line item for rescheduled charges, allowing you to track these changes without altering the original posting history.

Tops Tip: Use the Past Contract Charges report when comparing actual contract charges from one month or year to another.

Why Don't Future and Past Contract Charges Match?

The Future and Past Contract Charges reports use different criteria, so their totals should not be expected to reconcile.

Comparing Future Charges to Prior Year Past Charges

Comparing Future Contract Charges for an upcoming month against Past Contract Charges for the same month last year is not a true year-over-year forecast.

This comparison measures two different things:

Future Contract Charges: What is currently scheduled to charge on active contracts.

Past Contract Charges (Prior Year): Everything that actually charged during the same period last year, including charges from contracts that may have since been deactivated.

Future Contract Charges cannot account for activity that has not happened yet, such as new contracts, initial fees, future changes to existing contract schedules, or contracts that are deactivated prior to the final charge date.

As you look farther into the future, additional charges may be added as new contracts are established.

A lower Future Contract Charges total does not necessarily mean the practice's actual contract charges will decline.

Which Report Should I Use?

Key Takeaway

Future Contract Charges provides insight into upcoming scheduled charges and compares contract activity among currently active contracts.

Past Contract Charges reflects actual posted charges, including those from contracts that have since been deactivated.

For meaningful year-over-year comparisons of actual contract charges, use the Past Contract Charges report.

Remember, contract charges represent amounts charged to patient accounts, not payments received or cash collected.