The AI Strategy Powering a 100+ Location DSO
Jun 30, 2025
Southern Orthodontic Partners (SOP), a premier DSO with over 100 locations, built its reputation on clinical excellence. But rapid growth created immense pressure on their financial operations. The manual, inconsistent revenue cycle workflows that worked for a few practices were now actively hindering profitable growth and operational leverage, leading to unpredictable cash flow and compressed EBITDA margins.
The Challenge: When Manual Processes Become a Barrier to Growth
Before Wieldy, SOP’s RCM was struggling with a high volume of claims and payments across all their practices and systems. Previous attempts to automate had failed, as other software solutions were not true automation—they were manual, low-quality, and could not handle the complexity, forcing the team back to spreadsheets, paperwork, and operational admin workarounds.
This resulted in critical business challenges:
Delayed Cash Flow: Revenue recognition delays averaged 16.8 days, tying up significant working capital.
Bloated A/R: Delinquent receivables in 60+ and 90+ day aging buckets were ballooning, representing a growing financial risk.
Operational Bottlenecks: The team spent 100+ hours per practice each month on manual claims management, pulling staff away from higher-value tasks.
Inconsistent Reporting: A lack of standardized processes and systems across locations made accurate financial forecasting a challenge.
The situation was untenable – as one Financial Coordinator described it: "It was getting overwhelming with checks coming in... sometimes the stack was half a foot thick. I’d look at it and think, ‘Well, this is all I’m doing today.’"
The Solution: Deploying True AI-enabled Automation
SOP deployed Wieldy’s AI agents to drive efficiency and standardization across a pilot group of practices. The implementation was seamless, integrating directly with their existing Practice Management Systems.
Benji : Deployed to provide real-time tracking of all payer statuses and denials, moving resolution from weeks to minutes.
Postie : Deployed to automate payment posting, eliminating thousands of hours of manual data entry and ensuring 99.9% accuracy.
Unlike their past experiences, SOP’s team was now equipped with true automation that worked, delivered on its promises, and immediately began generating returns.
The Results: A New Standard for Financial Performance
The impact was both immediate and compounding, delivering significant financial and operational returns.
🚀 Financial Impact
$463,000 Annualized A/R Improvement: Achieved from just the initial two pilot practices.
83% Faster Revenue Recognition: Cash flow was accelerated by 14 days, with average revenue recognition dropping from 16.8 to just 2.8 days.
70% Reduction in 90+ Day A/R: Wieldy's agents prevented claims from aging through real-time denial management, ensuring prompt payment and minimizing write-off risk.
$4M+ Projected Working Capital Optimization: The success of the pilot projected a massive financial upside as Wieldy is rolled out across every 10 practices.
⚙️ Operational Impact
210+ Admin Hours Eliminated Monthly: Wieldy returned 1.5 FTEs worth of capacity with just the first two practices.
Standardized & Predictable Operations: Wieldy centralized denial workflows and standardized financial reporting, creating clarity and control across all locations.
Happier, More Productive Staff: By removing tedious, manual work, staff morale and satisfaction skyrocketed, allowing team members to focus on patient-facing and high-priority financial tasks.
Leadership & Staff Validation: "A Breath of Fresh Air"
The success was validated at every level of the organization, from C-suite leadership to the financial coordinators on the front lines.
"Wieldy has built an AI platform that's transforming how DSOs handle insurance payments and denials. Beyond just cutting costs, more revenue, and speeding up cash flow, they're standardizing financial operations across locations – creating more predictable financial reporting and revenue recognition for DSOs." – Stephanie, Head of Revenue Cycle
"We tried software and AI solutions, but they were nothing but one headache after another. Wieldy is genuinely different – it actually works. It's the only platform that delivered true automation, eliminating our paperwork and giving us back hours every day. It's been like a breath of fresh air in a market full of empty promises." – Tracy, Financial Coordinator
The Outcome: From Pilot to Strategic Partner
The pilot delivered such compelling ROI that SOP leadership immediately approved a broader, phased rollout across their network. This swift decision marked Wieldy's transition from a successful pilot program to an essential, strategic partner for enterprise growth.
Facing similar challenges across your DSO?
Wieldy’s AI platform is more than automation – it’s a transformation of your revenue cycle.
Want to learn more? Click to schedule a demo with the Wieldy team, and learn how we can accelerate your cash flow and simplify your operations.
