Payouts: Manual adjustments and when they happen
Last updated: August 25, 2026
Most of a payout is calculated automatically. A manual adjustment is a deliberate, documented correction Alpaca books against a specific claim when the automatic calculation cannot get to the right answer on its own. This article explains what they are, when they occur, and how to read one.
Where you see them
Manual adjustments appear alongside the other payout components when a period has any.
On the Finances page, under Payout Details:
As a Manual adjustments figure in the Payout overview panel, when the period has any
As a Manual Adjustments section further down, listing each one
They are also folded into the Total payout this period, and appear in the total's one-line breakdown as · Manual [amount].
Who creates them
Manual adjustments are created by Alpaca, not by your practice.
The Payout Details view is read-only for clinics. If something looks wrong with a payout, the route is to raise it with support — Alpaca books the adjustment with a category and a written reason, which is what makes it auditable afterwards.
An adjustment cannot be added to a payout period that has already been finalized. That is why a correction raised after a period closes lands on the next payout rather than retroactively changing one you have already received.
Reading an adjustment
Every adjustment carries five things:
The claim it applies to — client, date of service, CPT code
The amount — positive means you are paid more, negative means less
A category
A reason, which must be a real sentence rather than a code
The payout period it lands in
The categories
Category | Typical situation |
|---|---|
Payer Update After Reconciliation | The payer changed something after the claim had already been reconciled — a re-adjudication, a corrected allowed amount, a plan change applied retroactively. |
Unit Correction | The billed units were wrong, so the payout calculated from them was wrong. |
System Error | Alpaca got it wrong — a calculation or data issue on our side. The adjustment puts you back where you should have been. |
Other | Anything that does not fit the above. The written reason carries the explanation. |
You may also see adjustments recorded against a payout difference — these reconcile a gap between what a payout period computed and what was actually transferred, and are used when a payment has already gone out.
Manual adjustments vs reconciliation adjustments
These are different things and it is worth keeping them apart:
Reconciliation adjustment | Manual adjustment | |
|---|---|---|
Trigger | Insurance finalises the claim and the real patient share is known. | A human identifies a correction that the automatic calculation cannot make. |
Created by | Automatically, every cycle. | Alpaca, deliberately, with a reason. |
Bounded? | Yes — it can never claw back more than Alpaca paid. | No — a manual adjustment can be any amount. |
Where it shows | Reconciliation section. | Manual Adjustments section. |
If you think a payout is wrong
Open the payout period on Payout Details and use Filter by client to narrow to the family in question.
Expand Payout by client and check the per-claim detail — very often the "missing" money is a reconciliation that has not happened yet, or a note that landed in a different period.
If it still looks wrong, email support with the client, the date of service, the CPT code and the payout period. That is everything needed to identify the claim.
See also Why is my payout $0? and Checking Authorization, Claim, and Payment Status.
Still stuck? Email support@alpacahealth.io and we will take a look.