6 min read ยท Updated 22 Aug 2026
Pathology labs typically lose more revenue to uncollected dues, unrecorded discounts, commission paid on money never received and unpriced outsourcing than they would gain from a price rise. Fixing collection is usually the faster lever.
Start with what you already billed
Billed and collected are different numbers, and in many labs nobody knows the gap precisely. Outstanding dues that are visible get chased; dues that live in memory do not. This is the cheapest revenue available because the work has already been done.
Discounts nobody recorded
A discount given at the counter and not recorded looks identical to money that was never collected. Recording who applied a discount and why turns an unexplained gap into a decision you can review.
Commission on money you never received
If referral commission is calculated on billed value, an unpaid bill still generates a payout. Accruing commission against collections instead means the lab never pays out on revenue it did not receive.
Outsourcing without a margin
Tests sent to a partner lab at an unrecorded cost can be sold at a loss for months without anyone noticing, because the cost and the revenue sit in different places. Recording partner cost at the point of sending makes the margin visible per test.
Know which referrers actually pay
Revenue split by referral source usually surprises people. A referrer sending high volume at a deep discount can generate less margin than a smaller one at full rate, and that is invisible until it is measured.
A note on what not to do
Increasing revenue by adding tests a clinician did not ask for is not a business strategy, it is a professional and ethical problem. The levers above are about collecting what has been properly earned.