Why Quanta Pay Outperforms Built-In Processors

As dental technology evolves, many practice management systems (PMS) now include built-in payment processors that promise convenience and simplicity. On the surface, it sounds appealing — everything in one system, one login, one vendor. But what’s marketed as “convenience” often hides higher costs, limited flexibility, and less control.

The truth is, those built-in processors are designed to serve the PMS company’s revenue model, not your practice’s financial health. Quanta Pay was built to change that — giving dental offices a transparent, modern, and flexible way to process payments without the inflated fees or lock-ins that come with PMS-embedded options.

Most PMS-integrated payment systems operate under a revenue-sharing model. The PMS company partners with a processor, inflates the rates, and takes a percentage of every transaction. According to a 2024 analysis by the Iowa Dental Association, the average dental office’s credit-card processing costs rose from 3.06% in 2019 to 3.53% in 2023 — a steady increase tied in part to opaque pricing structures. When a processor shares revenue with a PMS, that markup gets baked directly into the “flat rate” you’re quoted. The difference might sound small — just a few tenths of a percent — but across tens of thousands of dollars in monthly transactions, it can mean hundreds of dollars lost every month.

Quanta Pay keeps things simple and fair with true flat-rate pricing. One predictable rate across all transactions. No tiered surcharges, no backend “network fees,” and absolutely no hidden PMS revenue share. What you see is what you pay — making it easy to forecast costs, balance deposits, and trust that every dollar is accounted for.

Built-in processors work only inside their own PMS, which can box in your payment options. Want to accept payments through an online scheduling tool? Add a membership plan? Offer a patient-facing payment portal? You’ll often find yourself limited — or forced to pay for multiple processors that don’t communicate with each other. Quanta Pay solves that by unifying in-office, online, and recurring payments into one system that plays nicely with multiple tools. Whether a patient pays through your website, a text message, or a recurring payment plan, it all syncs to a single dashboard. That means faster reconciliation, less manual work, and more visibility into your revenue streams.

Many practices don’t realize that using a built-in processor often means giving up control of their merchant data. Switch PMS systems, and you could lose stored cards, payment plans, and years of transaction history. With Quanta Pay, your merchant account — and the data attached to it — belongs to your practice. You can switch systems, expand your tech stack, or add new tools without losing access to past transactions or recurring billing. Your data stays portable, secure, and under your control.

For PMS vendors, payment processing is a secondary feature. Their primary focus is on clinical and administrative tools, so payment innovation tends to lag behind. Updates come slowly, if at all, and new functionality is limited by what fits neatly inside their software. Quanta Pay was built around payments from day one. That means faster updates, more integrations, and ongoing innovation — things like automatic ledger posting, simplified refunds, and enhanced patient communication tools. We’re focused entirely on helping practices collect faster, work smarter, and maintain a smoother cash flow.

With processing fees continuing to rise, many practices are looking for compliant ways to offset those costs. Unfortunately, most PMS-embedded processors don’t support surcharging — or don’t handle it correctly. Quanta Pay includes fully compliant surcharging tools that automatically apply fees only where legally allowed, with built-in disclosures and signage support. It’s transparent for patients, protects your practice from compliance risk, and helps offset costs responsibly without compromising trust.

Dental offices are processing more payments than ever — the Iowa Dental Association reports an average of $44,925 in monthly card volume per office in 2023, up nearly 45% since 2019. With that kind of growth, every fraction of a percent in fees matters. Built-in processors might feel convenient, but they quietly erode your margins and tie you to one software ecosystem. Quanta Pay offers predictable pricing, flexibility, and control — designed specifically for dental practices that want to operate smarter and keep more of what they earn.

Make the switch to smarter payments.