Can Sarva handle paper EOBs?

Paper EOBs require manual posting. Sarva automates 835 electronic remittances only. If you receive a mix of electronic and paper remittances, Sarva posts the electronic portion and flags paper EOBs for manual entry.

What happens with short pays?

Sarva flags short pays — payments less than the expected amount — for staff review. Short pays may indicate contractual underpayments, patient responsibility portions, or processing errors. Sarva categorizes the short pay and routes it to the appropriate workflow (underpayment identification, patient billing, or payer follow-up).

Use Case

Payment Posting Automation for Healthcare Revenue Cycle

Payment posting automation uses AI to parse 835 Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) files, match payments to submitted claims, post payments and adjustments to the correct patient accounts, and flag short pays, denials, and discrepancies for review. Sarva eliminates manual payment posting for electronically adjudicated claims while routing exceptions to staff.

Automate Your Payment Posting

The Business Problem

Payment posting is a high-volume, low-complexity task that consumes significant staff hours. Each 835 ERA may contain dozens or hundreds of payment lines that must be manually matched to claims and posted to patient accounts. Errors in posting create reconciliation problems that surface during month-end close. Staff time spent on posting is time not spent on higher-value AR follow-up and denial management.

Affected Team

Payment posting staff, billing team, and revenue cycle leadership. CFOs see the impact in delayed month-end reconciliation and inaccurate financial reporting.

How It Works

Current Manual Workflow

A payment posting specialist downloads the 835 ERA file, reviews each payment line, matches it to the corresponding claim in the practice management system, enters the payment amount, posts adjustments (contractual write-offs, co-pays, coinsurance), and reconciles the total. Discrepancies — short pays, unexpected denials, unmatched payments — are set aside for investigation. The process is tedious and error-prone.

Automated Workflow with Sarva

Sarva ingests 835 ERA files automatically, parses each payment line, matches it to the corresponding claim using claim ID and patient demographics, posts the payment and adjustments to the correct account, and reconciles the batch total. Short pays, denials embedded in the ERA, and unmatched payments are routed to staff for review. The posting is completed within minutes of receiving the ERA.

Inputs

835 ERA files from payers and clearinghouse
Claim data for matching (claim ID, patient, amount)
Contractual adjustment rules by payer
Practice management system account records

Outputs

Automatically posted payments and adjustments
Matched claim records updated
Short pay and denial flags for review
Unmatched payment exceptions
Reconciliation reports per batch
Payment posting audit trail

Human Oversight

Staff review exceptions: short pays that may indicate underpayments, denials embedded in ERAs that need to enter the denial workflow, and unmatched payments that require investigation. Sarva handles all routine posting without staff involvement.

Security Considerations

All ERA and payment data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Posting actions are logged with full audit trails. Access controls ensure only authorized staff can review exceptions. HIPAA BAA included. SOC 2 Type II certified.

Integration Considerations

Sarva ingests 835 ERAs from your clearinghouse or directly from payers. Payments are posted to your practice management system via API or database integration. The system supports all major practice management and EHR billing systems including athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, Tebra, and AdvancedMD.

Limitations

Paper EOBs and non-electronic payments require manual posting. Sarva handles 835 ERAs (electronic remittances) but cannot automate checks received by mail or payments posted manually at the front desk. For mixed electronic/paper environments, Sarva posts electronic payments and flags manual payments for staff entry.

Key Performance Indicators

Electronic payment posting rate

Target

> 95% automated

Posting accuracy

Target

> 99%

Posting turnaround

Target

Same day as ERA receipt

Staff time on posting

Target

70% reduction

See how this workflow applies to your practice.

Automate Your Payment Posting

Related Connectors

What Is AI Revenue Cycle Management?

Frequently Asked Questions

The 835 Electronic Remittance Advice is the standard EDI transaction payers use to communicate payment and adjustment details for adjudicated claims. It is the electronic equivalent of a paper EOB. Sarva parses 835 files to automate payment posting.

From the blog