CommBank Smart Health lets you process EFTPOS card payments and refunds, send Private Health Insurance (PHI) claims, and run claim estimates directly through your practice's terminals. This integration is available for Australian practices.
Before You Begin: Get Your Integration Key
CommBank Smart Health uses an Integration Key to connect your practice to your Smart Health account. This is a secure token that you generate from the CommBank Smart Health Hub. You only need to do this once per practice.
Keep the Integration Key handy. You will paste it into Principle in the steps below.
Enabling CommBank Smart Health in Principle
CommBank Smart Health is available for Australian practices. To start using it, enable it in your practice settings:
Go to Settings > Practice > Integrations
Find the CommBank Smart Health section
Toggle Enabled on
Paste your Integration Key into the Integration Key field
Click Save
Your settings are now saved against the practice.
If you do not see CommBank Smart Health in your integrations, it is only available for Australian practices. Contact support if you believe this is an error.
Test Mode
Test mode lets you connect to the CommBank Smart Health test environment instead of the live one. This is useful for training or verifying your setup without processing real payments or claims.
To enable test mode:
In the CommBank SmartHealth section, toggle Test Mode on
Click Save
When test mode is on, all transactions go through the test environment. Remember to turn test mode off before processing real payments.
Setting Up Your Certificate
After you save your Integration Key, you need to install a certificate. The certificate is what lets Principle talk to your terminals securely. Principle handles this for you, you just need to start the process.
Make sure you have entered and saved your Integration Key first
Click Setup Certificate
The button changes to "Setting up..." while it works
When it finishes, you will see "Certificate installed" in green, along with the certificate's expiry date
If you click Setup Certificate before entering an Integration Key, you will be prompted to enter one first.
Adding Your Terminals
Once your certificate is installed, Principle can discover the terminals linked to your account. You do not enter serial numbers by hand. Principle fetches them for you.
In the Terminals section, click Fetch Terminals
The button changes to "Fetching..." while it works
Any terminals found are added to the list automatically
Each terminal appears in the table with a Name and a Terminal Nickname. Terminals you've already added are skipped, so you can click Fetch Terminals again at any time to pick up new ones without creating duplicates.
If no terminals are found, check that your account has terminals registered with CommBank and that your certificate is installed, then try again.
Renaming a Terminal
The Name column is a friendly display name you can change. The Terminal Nickname comes from CommBank and is how the terminal is identified when taking payments.
Click the edit (pencil) icon on the terminal row
Enter a new display name
The change is saved straight away
Removing a Terminal
Removing a terminal takes it out of your list. You can add it again later with Fetch Terminals.
Click the delete (trash) icon on the terminal row
Confirm the removal
Taking a Payment
When CommBank Smart Health is enabled and you have at least one terminal, you can take a payment on an invoice.
Open the patient's invoice
Click Payment and select CommBank SmartHealth
Enter the payment amount
If you have more than one terminal, choose the one you want to use. If you only have one, it is auto-selected for you
A dialog appears showing that the payment request is being sent to the terminal
The customer taps, inserts, or swipes their card on the terminal
Once the terminal returns a result, the payment is saved to the invoice
If the payment settles, it is recorded on the invoice immediately. If the customer cancels at the terminal, you will see "Payment Cancelled" and nothing is recorded. If the payment cannot be confirmed, the transaction is saved with a Pending status so you can resolve it later.
Refunding
You can refund a CommBank Smart Health payment from the invoice.
Open the invoice with the payment you want to refund
Click Refund in the Transactions section
Confirm the refund deposit prompt if one appears
Enter the refund amount
Select a terminal
A dialog appears showing that the refund request is being sent to the terminal
Once the terminal returns a result, the refund is recorded on the invoice
If you back out at any step, you will see "Transaction Cancelled" and nothing is recorded. If the refund is cancelled at the terminal, you will see "Refund Cancelled".
Health Fund Claims (PHI)
CommBank Smart Health can send Private Health Insurance claims to the patient's health fund through the terminal. The fund works out the benefit, and the patient pays any gap.
Open the patient's invoice
Click Payment and select CommBank SmartHealth (the health and safety option)
Choose a terminal if prompted
A dialog appears showing that the claim request is being sent to the terminal
The patient presents their health fund card on the terminal
Once the fund responds, the claim is saved to the invoice
The saved claim shows a breakdown of each item, the cost, how much the insurer paid, and a result for each item (Approved, or the fund's message if not). It also shows the Total, the amount the insurer paid, and the outstanding amount the patient still owes.
Claim Estimates (Quotes)
Before treatment, you can run a claim estimate to show the patient roughly what their health fund will cover and what their gap will be. An estimate does not take any money and does not create a transaction. It is a quote only.
Claim estimates are run from treatment planning. When you request an estimate, you choose CommBank SmartHealth as the provider (if more than one claiming provider is enabled), confirm the items, and the request is sent to the terminal. The patient presents their health fund card, and the estimate comes back showing each item's expected benefit and gap, along with the totals.
Because an estimate is only a quote, nothing is saved to the invoice and the patient is not charged.
Cancelling a Claim
If a claim was sent in error, you can cancel it, but only on the same day it was made.
Open the invoice with the claim you want to cancel
Click Cancel on the claim transaction
Choose a terminal if prompted
A dialog appears showing that the cancel request is being sent to the terminal
The operator confirms the cancellation at the terminal
Cancellation is only available for the most recent claim on the invoice, and only on the same calendar day the claim was made. After that day, the Cancel option is no longer available and you will see "Can only be cancelled on the same day".
If the cancellation is declined at the terminal, you will see "Cancellation declined" and the claim is left as it was.
Pending Transactions
Sometimes the terminal cannot confirm the result straight away, for example if the connection drops or the terminal does not respond in time. When this happens, the transaction is saved with a Pending status.
Check the physical terminal to see what actually happened, then resolve the transaction on the invoice based on the outcome.
Troubleshooting
CommBank SmartHealth does not appear in settings - It is only available for Australian practices. Contact support if you believe this is an error.
"Please enter an Integration Key first" - You clicked Setup Certificate before saving an Integration Key. Paste your key, click Save, then try again.
Certificate will not install - Check that your Integration Key is correct and saved. Generate a fresh key from the CommBank Smart Health Hub if needed.
No terminals found when fetching - Confirm your certificate is installed and that terminals are registered with CommBank, then click Fetch Terminals again.
Cannot cancel a claim - Claims can only be cancelled on the same day they were made, and only the most recent claim. After that, cancellation is not available.
Transaction stuck as Pending - Check the terminal for the actual outcome, then resolve the transaction on the invoice.
Notes
The Integration Key is entered once per practice and is hidden once saved. If you need to change it, paste a new key and save again.
The certificate expires. Keep an eye on the expiry date shown in settings and set it up again before it lapses.
Surcharge and tip amounts added at the terminal are not included in the invoice amount. Only the base payment is recorded.
Terminal communication can take time. If a transaction runs long, it may be saved as Pending so you can confirm the outcome from the terminal.
Configuration is per practice. Each practice in your organisation has its own Integration Key, certificate, terminals, and test mode setting.