---
title: "What Is Collections? Dental Practice Glossary | Copeland Consulting Services"
description: "Collections are the money a practice actually receives from patients and insurers in a period, as opposed to the fees it billed or the value of the work it..."
url: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/collections
publisher: Copeland Consulting Services
email: drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com
contact: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact
---

Practice management

# Collections

Collections are the money a practice actually receives from patients and insurers in a period, as opposed to the fees it billed or the value of the work it produced.

Collections count cash received. The ADA's financial basics page defines collection as the actual amount of money collected by the practice. It also says that high production can be great, but it does not mean anything if collections are weak. Collections depend on the plans a practice accepts, because some plans pay a reduced fee. Collections are the base for two common ratios: [overhead](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/overhead), which divides expenses by collections, and the [collection ratio](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/collection-ratio), which compares collections with [net production](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/net-production). Associate pay formulas may also use collections, which is why the term appears in contracts as well as on reports.

[Next stepPractice consulting with Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact?topic=consulting)

## Related terms

-   [Production](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/production)
-   [Net production](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/net-production)
-   [Collection ratio](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/collection-ratio)
-   [Overhead percentage](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/overhead-percentage)

## Sources

1.  [ADA, How to purchase with confidence](https://www.ada.org/resources/careers/career-planning/how-to-purchase-with-confidence)
2.  [ADA, How to purchase with confidence](https://www.ada.org/resources/careers/career-planning/how-to-purchase-with-confidence)

## Talk with Dr. Copeland

[Contact Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact)[Email](mailto:drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com)