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Use this checklist for each new professional entity. A consistent sequence makes later setups easier to plan, review, and hand off.

Phase 1, before the entity exists

  • Entity name decided, satisfying professional entity naming rules
  • Naming convention confirmed for accounts: [Brand] [State] PC, [Purpose]
  • Chart of accounts template ready (identical to every other PC)
  • Registered agent arranged
  • Friendly dentist vetted: dental license verified, OIG LEIE and SAM.gov clear, documented

Phase 2, formation

  • Formation documents filed and state-stamped
  • Board pre-approval obtained, if the state requires it
  • Bylaws or operating agreement adopted
  • Organizational consents adopted, naming account signers
  • Shares or membership interests issued, with restrictive legend
  • Transfer restriction agreement executed
  • EIN obtained; CP 575 legal name recorded exactly as printed
  • State tax and employer registrations complete
  • DSO foreign-qualified in this state, if new
  • DSO registration filed with the state, where required (Texas, Kansas, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and others. See Register a DSO)

Phase 3, identifiers

  • Type 2 NPI obtained, with the NPPES legal name matching the CP 575 exactly
  • Group taxonomy selected and recorded (1223G0001X general practice, or the specialty code. See Taxonomy codes)
  • Each dentist’s Type 1 NPI confirmed (no duplicates created)
  • CAQH profiles updated with this location and re-attested
  • W-9 prepared with the exact CP 575 legal name

Phase 4, banking

  • Operating account opened, in the PC’s name
  • Signer is the PC’s licensed officer, not a DSO executive
  • No DSO withdrawal authority: no standing sweep, no ACH debit authorization, no DSO signer
  • Read-only access provisioned: bookkeeper, controller, reconciler
  • Naming convention applied
  • Beneficial ownership answered accurately (the dentist, 100%)
  • Routing and account numbers recorded for EFT enrollment
  • ACH addenda visibility confirmed, you need the TRN to reconcile
  • Payroll account opened, if segregating
  • Refund/disbursement account opened, if applicable
  • Check stock ordered, drawn on this PC’s account, with this PC’s signer
  • Payment card issued for this entity, labeled

Phase 5, payer enrollment

Per payer, and each Delta Dental member company is its own payer, contracted per state, so the new state means a new Delta relationship:
  • Group contract executed by the PC’s officer; effective date recorded
  • Fee schedule obtained and reviewed before signing, including downgrade and network-leasing terms
  • Timely filing limit and appeal deadline recorded
  • Each dentist credentialed and linked; provider effective dates recorded
  • Retro-effective dates requested in writing
  • EDI enrollment approved (not merely submitted)
  • ERA enrollment pointing at your current clearinghouse
  • EFT enrollment pointing at the account authorized for the enrolled billing provider
  • Any VCC-paying payer converted to EFT
  • Test claim submitted and accepted at 277CA
  • First 835 received and posted
  • First EFT confirmed in the correct account, reassociating by TRN
Plus:
  • Medicaid: the applicable state enrollment plus each current plan, administrator, contracting, credentialing, or affiliation step required by the state’s delivery model
  • Medicare, only if applicable: Part B entity, dentist, and reassignment records completed through PECOS or the current CMS-855B/CMS-855I workflow; CMS-588 EFT and PTANs recorded; separate CMS-855S supplier enrollment completed for each applicable DMEPOS location

Phase 6, billing stack

  • Entity configured in the PMS with its own Tax ID and group NPI
  • Separate submitter configuration at the clearinghouse, so claims cannot go out under another entity’s Tax ID
  • Attachment service configured for this entity (NEA/Vyne or clearinghouse-integrated), so required radiographs and narratives are transmitted with the appropriate claims
  • Fee schedules loaded, per payer, for underpayment and downgrade detection
  • Scrubber edits configured, including the preauthorization-required edit for Medicaid and DHMO work
  • ERA auto-posting configured, with group code mapping tested against a real 835

Phase 7, accounting

  • General ledger created from the identical chart of accounts template
  • Intercompany account pairs created on both sides:
    • Management fee expense (PC) ↔ revenue (DSO)
    • Loan payable (PC) ↔ receivable (DSO)
    • Interest expense (PC) ↔ income (DSO)
  • Added to the consolidation model with eliminations
  • Added to the monthly close checklist
  • Management fee invoice template configured for this entity
  • Uncashed-check ledger started

Phase 8, agreements

  • MSA executed, drafted for this state’s current law
  • Transfer restriction agreement executed
  • BAA executed (this PC ↔ DSO, a separate one per PC)
  • IP/brand license extended to this entity
  • Dentist employment agreements executed, with state-appropriate restrictive covenants
  • Board and member consents adopted by both entities

Phase 9, compliance calendar

  • State annual report due date, with 60-day lead
  • Franchise tax due date, with 30-day lead
  • Registered agent renewal
  • Owner’s dental license renewal and DEA, with 60-day lead
  • CAQH re-attestation, with 14-day lead
  • Malpractice renewal, with 60-day lead
  • DSO registration renewal, in the states that require one
  • Medicare revalidation, with 90-day lead, if enrolled for crossover work
  • Medicaid, plan, and dental-administrator revalidation as applicable to the current delivery model
  • Payer recredentialing dates
  • LEIE, SAM.gov, and state-list screening at the cadence required by applicable sources and the documented risk policy
  • Annual MSA review
  • Annual CPOD self-audit

Phase 10, verify before go-live

  • Entity active and in good standing
  • Legal name, TIN, NPI, and any permitted DBA reconcile across IRS, W-9, NPPES, bank, and payer records as each form requires
  • Signers, approvers, delegates, and online roles match governing resolutions and state-law control requirements
  • Every EFT enrollment points at the account authorized for the enrolled billing provider
  • Every ERA enrollment points at your current clearinghouse
  • Test claim accepted; test remittance posted; test deposit reconciled by TRN
  • Entity added to the close checklist, consolidation model, and compliance calendar
  • Per-entity setup runbook updated with anything learned

Four checks before go-live

Confirm these four items before the entity begins billing:
  1. Identity fields reconcile across source records; a legal-name, TIN, NPI, DBA, or account-holder mismatch can cause enrollment or payment failures
  2. EFT to the account authorized for the enrolled billing provider, with the legal name, TIN, ownership, and control matching payer and bank records
  3. ERA pointing at your current clearinghouse, otherwise you get money you cannot post
  4. No unsupported unilateral manager control over a professional entity’s account; test the state’s rule, resolutions, online permissions, sweeps, and actual approvals together
Last modified on August 21, 2026