Sessions Health: Charge a Parent’s or Partner’s Card
By George Ruan • October 7, 2026
Last reviewed: October 7, 2026.
In Sessions Health, you can charge a card belonging to a linked contact, such as a parent or partner, even if they are not the billing contact. When you add the client payment, select that person’s tab and enter the amount they agreed to. The billing contact setting controls who receives bills, not whose card you can use.
Sections
Billing contact versus paying card
Sessions Health’s client contacts guide allows one billing contact per client. Its split-payment instructions explain that linked contacts’ saved cards appear when you add a payment, so you can charge part of an invoice to one person and the rest to another. AutoPay uses only the billing contact’s card, so splitting is a manual step.
How this plays out with families
The most common version we handle: a child’s chart, with separated parents who each pay for some visits.
Keep one chart for the child. Parent sessions without the child are often held under the child’s chart, when the child is the identified client and the session is part of their treatment. The claim goes to the child’s policy no matter which parent attended.
Default card plus same-day exceptions. One parent’s card stays the default. When the other parent is paying for a visit, the therapist tells the biller that day, and only that visit’s copay goes on the other card.
Say “card,” not “secondary.” “Bill the secondary” can mean a second card or secondary insurance. We confirm which one before charging.
Hold the charge if a card is about to change. If a parent says their card needs replacing, wait until the new card is on file rather than charging the old one and having it fail.
If the card you expect is not there
In the chart’s Contacts section, choose Add and search Existing Contact before creating anyone new; imported contacts may already exist as inactive records.
Confirm the contact is linked to this client, and that the card is saved on that person’s record.
If they need to add a card themselves, send a portal invitation to their own email, with only the permissions the payment needs.
Do not copy a card from another chart or take the number by email. Have the cardholder enter it.
After charging, check that the payment applied to the right invoice and what balance remains. Being linked or receiving bills does not, on its own, authorize charging someone’s card; get the cardholder’s agreement for the amount.
For a clean split of duties between you and your biller, see how to work with your biller.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I charge a parent who is not the billing contact?
Yes, if they are a linked contact with a saved card and have agreed to pay. Select their tab when adding the payment.
Which insurance does a parent-only session bill to?
When the child is the identified client and the session is part of the child’s treatment, it is billed on the child’s chart to the child’s policy, whichever parent attends.
Will AutoPay charge the other parent?
No. AutoPay uses the billing contact’s card. Charges to anyone else are manual.
Sources
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