cya-psychology.co.uk

SITUATION

CY&A Psychology is a UK-based private psychology practice providing specialist services to children, young people, and families. Operating within a regulated healthcare environment, the practice delivers appointment-based services with strict requirements around accuracy, confidentiality, and financial governance.

While client demand was strong, growth was increasingly constrained by manual financial administration rather than service capacity. Payments were collected digitally via Stripe, accounting was managed in Xero, and clinical records were maintained in a specialist, industry-specific system with limited integration capabilities.

Prior to automation, CY&A Psychology faced several operational challenges:

• Stripe payments required manual invoice creation and reconciliation in Xero

• Refunds and payment adjustments were handled manually, increasing error risk

• Significant administrative time was spent reconciling:

  • Session payments

  • Late or missed payments

  • Refunds and corrections

• The clinical system could not reliably integrate with accounting platforms

This created inefficiency, delayed month-end close, and increased exposure to human error. The objective was clear:
automate financial workflows end-to-end, improve accuracy, and reduce admin time—without compromising clinical data integrity or compliance.

SOLUTION

A deliberately lightweight, resilient automation architecture was implemented, using best-in-class tools for each function and avoiding unnecessary complexity.

• Stripe handled payment processing

• Xero remained the accounting, invoicing, and reporting system

• Zapier acted as the orchestration and automation layer

• The clinical system was retained exclusively for client records, with minimal integration by design

This ensured compliance, scalability, and long-term flexibility.

Automated Payments → Accounting Workflow

• Successful Stripe payments triggered automated workflows via Zapier

• Customer records were matched or created in Xero

• Invoices were generated automatically and marked as paid

• Stripe transaction IDs were stored against invoices for a clean audit trail

This eliminated manual invoice creation and ensured perfect alignment between payments and accounting records.

Refunds & Adjustments Automation

• Refunds or partial refunds processed in Stripe automatically updated corresponding records in Xero

• Credit notes and invoice adjustments were applied without manual intervention

This maintained accurate financial records and removed reconciliation gaps.

Outstanding Balances & Late Payment Monitoring

• Zapier monitored unpaid Xero invoices beyond defined thresholds

• Internal notifications were triggered for administrative review

• Optional, compliant reminder workflows could be activated when appropriate

This improved cash flow visibility while maintaining a professional, non-intrusive approach.

Deliberate Constraint: Minimal Clinical System Integration

Rather than forcing unreliable integrations, automation with the clinical system was intentionally limited to:

• Payment confirmation flags

• Session payment status indicators

This avoided fragile workflows, preserved data integrity, and kept sensitive clinical information isolated.

IMPACT

The automation framework delivered immediate and measurable improvements across efficiency, accuracy, and scalability.

Operational Outcomes

• Weekly finance administration time reduced from 5–7 hours to under 1 hour

• Manual invoice creation reduced from 100% to 0%

• Reconciliation errors reduced to near zero

• Month-end close moved from delayed to consistently on time

• Real-time visibility into financial performance and payment status
  

Strategic Benefits

• Operational scalability: Client volume can increase without additional admin headcount

• Financial accuracy & compliance: Automated, consistent records reduce audit and regulatory risk

• Tool independence: Stripe and Xero can be replaced in future with Zapier acting as a control layer

• Reduced cognitive load: Clinicians and administrators spend less time on finance and more time on client outcomes
  

Forward-Looking Capability

The automation framework now supports future enhancements without changing core systems, including:

• Pre-paid session bundles

• Automated payment plans

• Revenue reporting by service type

• Forecasting based on confirmed payments

• Integration with analytics or BI tools

All while keeping the clinical system untouched.