> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getlemma.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Cash sweeps

> Automate fund movement between accounts so passthrough and MSO collections land where they belong — without daily manual transfers.

In healthcare billing, money often arrives in one account but needs to end up in another. Insurance payments land in a passthrough account that feeds the operating account. An MSO collects on behalf of its PCs and needs to distribute funds daily. A practice keeps a reserve threshold and sweeps the rest to a higher-yield account overnight.

Cash sweeps handle all of this automatically. You define a rule once — which account to watch, how much to keep, where to send the excess, and when to check — and Lemma runs it on schedule.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/tobiasgetlemmacom/hn9J-CaoOF39Q-Vj/images/sweep-list.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=hn9J-CaoOF39Q-Vj&q=85&s=065527f32a8f8066db0a3c9dcacc48e7" alt="Cash Sweeps page showing a configured sweep rule that moves excess funds from Business Checking to a Cigna account" width="1278" height="570" data-path="images/sweep-list.png" />

## Creating a sweep rule

<Steps>
  <Step title="Pick an account">
    Select the source account to sweep from and name your rule.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure the rule">
    Lemma supports two sweep methods: keep a minimum balance and sweep the excess,
    or send a fixed amount each run.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the destination">
    Choose whether funds go to another Lemma account or an external recipient.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the schedule">
    Choose which days of the week and what times of day to check the balance.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review and create">
    Click Create Sweep Rule. You can always edit your rule later if you made a
    mistake.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## When to use sweeps

* **MSO-PC fund distribution** — an MSO collects insurance payments centrally, then sweeps each PC's share to their dedicated account at the end of each day
* **Passthrough accounts** — a lockbox account receives all inbound checks, then sweeps the balance to your operating account after keeping a small reserve
* **Cash concentration** — multiple practice locations each maintain a local account, and excess funds are swept nightly to a single treasury account

## Sweep methods

### Target balance

The default method keeps your source account at a set floor. Whenever the sweep runs, Lemma checks the current balance and sends everything above your threshold to the destination. If the balance is already at or below the target, the sweep is skipped.

<Frame caption="Target balance sweep: keep $500 in the account and send the rest to another Lemma account.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/tobiasgetlemmacom/hn9J-CaoOF39Q-Vj/images/target-amount-cash-sweep.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=hn9J-CaoOF39Q-Vj&q=85&s=eaff0062ccc1a2e343c0c9df7393c80b" alt="Sweep rule configured to keep a target balance and send excess funds to another Lemma account." width="1040" height="1196" data-path="images/target-amount-cash-sweep.png" />
</Frame>

### Fixed amount

You can send a specific dollar amount each time the rule runs. This is useful when you need to fund an account by a predictable amount — for example, topping up a PC's operating account with a fixed daily allocation from the MSO.

The sweep is skipped entirely when the source account has less than the fixed amount.

<Frame caption="Fixed amount sweep: send exactly $500 each time the rule runs.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/tobiasgetlemmacom/hn9J-CaoOF39Q-Vj/images/fixed-amount-cash-sweep.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=hn9J-CaoOF39Q-Vj&q=85&s=9e909b3fab53790663a06ad9663b7d6e" alt="Sweep rule configured to send a fixed amount to another Lemma account." width="1036" height="1286" data-path="images/fixed-amount-cash-sweep.png" />
</Frame>

## Sweeping to another Lemma account

When both accounts are on Lemma, transfers settle instantly as book transfers at no cost. This is ideal for MSO-PC structures where the MSO and each PC both bank with Lemma.

Select **Another Lemma account**, then pick the destination provider and account. If your organization only has one provider, the provider dropdown is skipped.

## Sweeping to an external account

You can also sweep funds to a bank account outside Lemma. Choose your transfer method based on urgency and cost:

| Method | Speed             | Best for                      |
| ------ | ----------------- | ----------------------------- |
| ACH    | 1-2 business days | Routine, low-cost transfers   |
| RTP    | Seconds           | Urgent transfers up to \$1M   |
| FedNow | Seconds           | Urgent transfers up to \$500K |

<Frame caption="Sweep excess funds to an external account via ACH, RTP, or FedNow.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/tobiasgetlemmacom/hn9J-CaoOF39Q-Vj/images/sweep-external.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=hn9J-CaoOF39Q-Vj&q=85&s=fe40f4177a06af35081c2cca0bfe2fa7" alt="Sweep rule configured to send excess funds to an external account. Shows the transfer method options: ACH, RTP, and FedNow." width="1036" height="1366" data-path="images/sweep-external.png" />
</Frame>

<Tip>
  External recipients must be added before they can be used as a sweep
  destination. See [external accounts](/guides/external-accounts).
</Tip>

## Setting the schedule

Each sweep rule runs on the days and times you choose. You can add multiple check times per day — for example, 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM — so excess funds are swept both when the business day opens and after the last deposits settle.

ACH transfers only process during banking hours on business days. A sweep that triggers on a weekend or holiday will queue the ACH, but it won't settle until the next business day. If you need funds to move over weekends, use RTP or FedNow instead. Both RTP and FedNow settle in seconds, any day of the week. Lemma remembers your timezone when you create a rule, so a 5:00 PM sweep always runs at 5:00 PM in your timezone. Team members who edit an existing sweep will not be able to change the timezone.

## Limits

Each sweep run can transfer up to **\$100,000**. If the excess balance is larger than that, the remaining amount will be swept on the next scheduled run. Contact us at [contact@getlemma.com](mailto:contact@getlemma.com) if your practice needs higher per-run limits.

## Editing a rule

Click any row in the sweep rules table to open the editor. The form is pre-filled with the current configuration. **Save Changes** only activates when you have actually changed something, so you cannot accidentally save a no-op update.
