Do's and don'ts for finances

You don't need a financial guru to tell you that every day you were not in the office was a loss for your practice. But there are things you can do to ease some of the strain and pain. The key is to make sound decisions, not hasty ones. Practice leaders who keep their cool now will be positioned for recovery.

Contact your bank. If it's possible, contact your bank and increase your line of credit. You don't know how long it will take you to recover financially from a shutdown, lost cases, or lost patients. By increasing the line of credit, you'll give the practice a buffer to have financial security and reduce overall financial stress.

Don't cut every expense. During this COVID-19 crisis, businesses have understandably gone through a great deal of panic. In trying to save their practices, they are taking the knee-jerk reaction of cutting every expense possible. Unfortunately, if you cut everything down to the bone, your recovery will be harder and take longer -- and you might not recover at all. Of course, practices that want to survive must carefully monitor and reduce expenses. The best way to approach this is to list every practice expense in order from largest to smallest. Then look at each one and challenge every expense in your mind.

Roger P. Levin, DDS, is the CEO of Levin Group, a leading dental management consulting firm, and one of the most sought-after speakers in dentistry. Dr. Levin has authored 65 books and more than 4,000 articles on dental practice management and marketing. You can sign up for the Levin Group Tip of the Day.

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