This article explains what the "Allowed" amount means in the Motivity Collections module and how it helps your billing team monitor payment accuracy and catch discrepancies quickly.
Where to Find It
The Allowed amount is visible within the Collections module in Motivity PM, displayed alongside other claim columns such as Covered, Expected, and patient responsibility.
What Is the "Allowed" Amount?
The Allowed amount represents the total amount an organization can expect to receive for a service — from all sources combined. It includes:
The amount paid by the payer (also called "Covered")
Any patient responsibility, such as a copay, deductible, or coinsurance
In other words: Covered + Patient Responsibility = Allowed
This is the hard cap on what can be collected for a given claim. It is not the same as what was billed.
How Is "Allowed" Different from "Expected" and "Covered"?
These three terms are related but distinct:
Covered — The amount the payer actually paid on the claim
Expected — The amount your organization anticipated receiving, based on the contracted rate entered in Motivity
Allowed — The total amount the payer has determined is payable for the service, including both the payer's portion and any patient responsibility
In most cases, your Allowed and Expected amounts should match. If they don't, that's an important signal worth investigating — it may mean the payer has changed their rate, or that a contracted rate was entered incorrectly in the system.
A Practical Example
| Amount |
Billed Rate | $200.00 |
Contracted Rate (Expected) | $150.00 |
Payer Payment (Covered) | $80.00 |
Patient Responsibility | $70.00 |
Allowed Total | $150.00 |
In this example, the Expected and Allowed match — which is the goal. If those numbers don't align, it's worth investigating whether the contracted rate in Motivity needs to be updated.
Why Does This Matter?
The Allowed amount gives your billing team a way to quickly compare what your organization expected to receive against what the payer has actually approved. Some common scenarios where this is especially valuable:
A payer changes their rate — Whether a payer increases or decreases their rate, the Allowed amount will reflect the updated rate from the payer while Expected still shows your contracted rate. This discrepancy is a flag to review and update your contracted rates in Motivity accordingly.
A contracted rate was entered incorrectly — If someone on the billing team entered the wrong rate, your Expected amount will be off, and comparing it to the Allowed amount from the payer can help catch the error.
Large billing teams — When multiple people are touching claims, the Allowed amount provides a clear, payer-sourced reference point that keeps everyone on the same page.
Have questions about the Collections module? Reach out to our support team — we're happy to help! 💙
Last Updated: 7/10/26 by Tatum Winslow