PaySec + Dentrix Ascend: Cloud Dental Practice Management with Zero Processing Fees
How multi-location dental groups and DSOs on Dentrix Ascend are eliminating processing fees across all locations with PaySec.
When you are managing a dental group or DSO with multiple locations, every operational decision scales. A small inefficiency at one office becomes a significant cost across ten or twenty offices. Credit card processing fees are one of those costs that scale in the worst possible way: every location processes patient payments, every payment loses 2.5% to the processor, and the aggregate annual cost is often shocking when someone finally calculates it. A 10-location dental group where each office collects $55,000 per month in patient payments is paying over $165,000 per year in processing fees. That is a dentist's salary — sent to a payment processor.
Dentrix Ascend is Henry Schein's cloud-based dental practice management platform — built specifically for multi-location dental groups and DSOs that need centralized management, real-time visibility across offices, and scalable operations. It is the enterprise-grade dental platform for organizations that have outgrown single-office software.
PaySec's Dentrix Ascend integration brings Network Offset Pricing to every location simultaneously, eliminating processing fees across your entire organization from a single deployment.
What Is the PaySec + Dentrix Ascend Integration?
PaySec leverages Dentrix Ascend's cloud infrastructure to connect with patient billing and checkout workflows at every location. When a patient pays at any office — copay, treatment balance, or statement payment — the PaySec terminal displays dual pricing: the base amount for cash, check, or ACH, and an adjusted amount for credit card. The patient chooses, the payment processes, and it posts to their account in Dentrix Ascend automatically.
This is Network Offset Pricing (NOP) — a fully legal, card-network-compliant approach available in all 50 states. Both prices are displayed transparently before the patient decides. There are no hidden fees. The practice receives the full amount regardless of which payment method the patient selects.
For multi-location organizations, the integration is configured centrally and deployed across all locations, with per-location merchant accounts and unified corporate reporting.
The Real Cost of Processing Fees Across Multiple Locations
| Locations | Monthly Collections (per location) | Total Monthly Fees (2.5%) | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | $55,000 | $4,125 | $49,500 |
| 5 | $55,000 | $6,875 | $82,500 |
| 10 | $55,000 | $13,750 | $165,000 |
| 25 | $55,000 | $34,375 | $412,500 |
A 10-location DSO pays over $165,000 per year in processing fees. A 25-location group pays over $412,000. These are not theoretical numbers — they are the actual cost of accepting credit cards across a multi-site dental operation.
How Network Offset Pricing Works Across Your Group
The integration architecture is designed for centralized management with local execution:
Centralized Configuration: NOP display rules, pricing settings, and terminal configurations are set up once at the corporate level. Every location inherits the same settings, ensuring a consistent patient experience across your entire group.
Per-Location Settlement: Each office has its own merchant account with clear financial separation. Deposits go to the correct location account, keeping your multi-entity accounting clean.
Role-Based Reporting: Office managers see their location's payment data. Regional managers see their region. Corporate leadership sees everything — aggregate savings, payment method mix, transaction volumes, and settlement data across all locations.
Standard Checkout Workflow: No change to the daily checkout process at any office. Staff continue using Dentrix Ascend exactly as they do today. The only visible change is dual pricing on the payment terminal.
Patient Experience at Checkout
A patient finishes a crown procedure. Their out-of-pocket balance is $850. At the front desk, the PaySec terminal shows:
- $850.00 — cash, check, or ACH
- $884.00 — credit card
The patient chooses and pays. The practice receives $850 regardless. This experience is identical at every location in the group.
Integration Features
Centralized Pricing Rules: Consistent NOP display across all offices, configured once at the corporate level.
Corporate Dashboard: One reporting interface showing savings, volumes, and payment data for every location.
Patient Portal Payments: Patients paying outstanding balances online see dual pricing. ACH and card options display clearly, reducing AR across all locations.
Automatic Payment Posting: Every transaction posts directly to the patient's account in Dentrix Ascend without manual entry.
Scalable Deployment: Adding new locations is simple — each new office inherits the group's PaySec configuration and receives a terminal.
PCI Level 1 Compliance: All card data handled through PCI Level 1 certified infrastructure. No location stores sensitive payment data.
No Contracts, No Minimums: No long-term commitments or minimum volumes per location.
DSO Economics and Valuation Impact
For dental service organizations, processing fees directly impact EBITDA — and EBITDA drives valuation multiples:
| DSO Size (locations) | Annual Processing Fees Eliminated | EBITDA Improvement | Impact on Valuation (8x EBITDA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $82,500 | +$82,500 | +$660,000 |
| 10 | $165,000 | +$165,000 | +$1,320,000 |
| 25 | $412,500 | +$412,500 | +$3,300,000 |
Eliminating processing fees does not just save the annual fee amount — it improves EBITDA, which multiplies through your valuation. A 10-location DSO that eliminates $165,000 in annual processing fees adds $1.32 million in enterprise value at an 8x multiple. For a 25-location group, the valuation impact exceeds $3.3 million. This is not a minor optimization — it is a material financial event.
Who Is This For?
The PaySec + Dentrix Ascend integration is purpose-built for multi-location dental groups and DSOs. If you are running Dentrix Ascend, you have already made the decision to invest in enterprise-grade, cloud-based dental management. PaySec is the logical extension of that decision: eliminating an enterprise-scale cost (processing fees) with an enterprise-grade solution (centrally managed NOP across all locations).
Organizations focused on EBITDA growth, operational standardization, and preparing for recapitalization or exit events will find the valuation impact particularly compelling.
Getting Started
- Contact PaySec for a DSO/multi-location dental account — the team assesses your group's volume and structure
- Corporate-level configuration and rollout plan — one setup process covers all locations
- Deploy terminals to all locations — NOP-enabled devices shipped and installed at every checkout station
- Centralized reporting activated — corporate dashboard goes live alongside the first location
- All locations processing at zero cost — most groups are fully live within two to three weeks
PaySec's deployment team manages the rollout centrally, so your office managers focus on patient care, not payment terminal configuration. The process is designed to be fast, consistent, and non-disruptive to daily operations at any location.
PaySec + Dentrix Ascend: the dental enterprise platform built for scale, paired with payment processing built for zero cost at any scale. Every location, every payment, every dollar — retained.