Everything to have ready before your first patient
Opening a therapy practice is mostly a sequencing problem. A few things have long lead times and gate everything after them, and a few can wait until you have a caseload. Get the order wrong and you open with patients you cannot yet bill for.
This page covers the order, and where your practice management system fits into it.
What to do, and in what order
Roughly the order these need starting, not the order they finish. The first two are quick and unblock everything else; the third is the one people underestimate.
- 1
Business entity, EIN and bank account
Days — start first
Form the entity, get an EIN from the IRS, and open a business account. Everything downstream — your NPI, payer applications, malpractice cover, your merchant processor — asks for these, so a delay here delays all of it. This is also the cheapest step to get professional advice on, because changing entity type later is considerably more work than choosing it correctly now.
- 2
NPI, licensure and malpractice cover
Days to weeks
Apply for your organizational NPI through NPPES; individual clinicians need their own. Confirm your state licence is active and in the name the practice will bill under, and bind malpractice insurance — payers ask for the certificate during credentialing, so not having it stalls the application you are about to start.
- 3
Start insurance credentialing
Months — the long pole
This is the step that decides your opening date. Get your CAQH profile complete and accurate before submitting anything, then apply to each payer separately. Timelines vary widely by payer and state and commonly run several months from submission to effective date, so start as early as you have an entity and NPI to put on the form. Practices that plan around an optimistic estimate here are the ones that open with an unbillable caseload.
- 4
Choose and configure your practice management system
Weeks — before credentialing lands
Intake forms, note templates, your fee schedule, telehealth, and claim submission all need to exist and be tested before the first appointment. Configuring an empty system takes a fraction of the time that migrating a live one does, and it means your first session produces a clean claim rather than a reconstruction exercise.
- 5
Policies, HIPAA groundwork and consent forms
Weeks — before first patient
A security risk assessment, signed business associate agreements with every vendor touching patient data, a notice of privacy practices, and your consent, cancellation and payment policies. None of this is optional and all of it is easier to write once than to retrofit after an incident or an audit.
- 6
Space, website and first referral relationships
Ongoing — can overlap
Physical space or a telehealth-only setup, a website that can take a booking, a Google Business Profile, and conversations with the referrers who will send your first patients. This work can run alongside credentialing, and usually should — an approved payer contract with no referral pipeline behind it is an empty schedule.
Why your software choice belongs before credentialing finishes
Credentialing is the long pole, and the day it completes is the day you can start billing that payer. If your system is not in place by then, you either delay seeing patients or you see them and reconstruct the documentation later — which is how new practices end up with their first denials. Having intake forms, note templates and claim submission working before the first approval arrives means the first session is also the first clean claim.
It is also far easier to set up a system with no patients in it than to migrate one later. Read more on insurance credentialing, what it costs to start and what differs by state.
Explore TheraPro360 features
Effortless Patient Scheduling
TheraPro360 makes arranging and adjusting appointments easy. Save time, keep clients happy.
Learn moreEfficient Billing Solutions
TheraPro360 makes billing simple. Automate invoices and track payments for faster, more accurate payments.
Learn moreIntegrated Telehealth Services
TheraPro360 helps you expand your practice by offering secure online therapy sessions through our telehealth platform.
Learn moreComprehensive Patient Management
Easily manage patient records with TheraPro360. Our tools help you create custom intake forms and keep patient information organized.
Learn moreStreamlined Insurance Verification
Quickly check patient insurance eligibility with TheraPro360 and avoid claim delays.
Learn moreIntegrated Messaging Features
Communicate easily and securely with clients and staff using TheraPro360's messaging feature.
Learn moreStreamlined Note Taking and Documentation
TheraPro360 makes it easy to record accurate clinical notes, ensuring you always have the information you need and stay compliant.
Learn moreHigh-Quality Video Conferencing
Use TheraPro360's clear video conferencing and have engaging online therapy sessions with clients.
Learn moreTherapist Schedule Management
TheraPro360's calendar system makes it easy to manage your schedule and coordinate appointments.
Learn moreAdvanced Admin Features
TheraPro360 helps you manage your practice efficiently with tools for reporting, tasks, and staff coordination.
Learn moreSecure Resource Storage
Keep your therapy documents, videos, and other materials organized and share them easily with patients.
Learn moreComprehensive Patient Portal
TheraPro360's Patient Portal gives your clients control over their therapy with 24/7 access to their information, appointments, and secure messaging.
Learn moreDesign and build a website with TheraPro360
Unlock new growth opportunities with Website Design + SEO services catered to start-up practices.
Written for practices that have not opened yet
The right setup depends on where you are. If that is not you, one of these will fit better.
Run your practice with TheraPro360
With TheraPro360, you can manage your therapy practice all in one place and keep everything running smoothly without any hassle. We make managing your therapy practice easy.