Vets in Business - from RCVS Vet Careers "Veterinary Science..for all walks of life" on YouTube
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Know your Costs and Price for Profit - Manage your clinic better
Lesley Hullman says that talk of fees within the veterinary industry provides much
discussion with very different theories and methodology.
Some say clinics should base their fees on benchmarks, median fees or national averages based
on demographics. Others claim you should just increase fees across the board and hope the customers
do not complain or worse yet, raise them until they do complain.
Today veterinarians face such complexity and ever increasing costs within their clinics that
they need precise, trustworthy information instead of guesswork in determining their fee structure.
Outside of their clinics there is growing competition and a slowing economy to deal with.
It is also a changing industry that has shifted a lot of the traditional profit away from
inventory because of internet and big discount stores.
Typically the clinic owners must await their month end results to find out if they covered their
costs and ideally made a profit.
Profit Solver is a software tool that gives the clinic owner precise information so they know
their costs and can price for profit. It calculates fees for every service based on actual costs
and shows how to charge out billable labor in order to achieve a desired profit. It determines what
profit they currently run at and maps their fees at their chosen profit level.
Each service fee is composed of labor, inventory and equipment and makes each component an
individual profit center. Profit Solver calculates appropriate mark-ups for all profit centers.
With Profit Solver the owner or manager knows which services are profitable and what to do for
the ones that are not. By knowing the exact profit or loss in each fee charged, the clinic owner
can see how each service, based on the number of times performed, contributes to their profit.
By having better control of their fees and profit, it allows the owners to manage their clinics
better in a variety of different ways.
Because they know how to cover all their costs -- they can fairly allocate their fees upon client
usage. This can include buying new equipment, paying increases in payroll and overhead without
the increase coming directly out of the owner's pocket.
Profit Solver allocates overhead evenly so the clinic charges out their employees correctly.
They know what breakeven is and how to make a profit on equipment and how to cover all inventory
costs. They can see exactly what they make or lose on labor, inventory and equipment.
Profit Solver enables the clinic to be very competitive. It highlights which services are
competitively priced that the owners know they cannot increase. It also highlights the services
that offset the price-sensitive ones. With this software clinics can be very competitive on their
inventory. As labor is charged out to cover all costs, the markup on inventory falls directly to
the bottom line. It enables them to compete with their inventory costs against the internet or
other businesses.
It is fair to everyone. It is no longer necessary to make overall increases that hurt the
client because the owner knows specifically where they need to adjust. The clinics' employees have
understanding of clinic pricing when they see that their time and salary is directly related to
what is charged. The owners are able to afford more flexibility within their payroll and overhead
expenses, afford new equipment and make improvements for their clinics. More importantly by
increasing the profitability, they ensure the clinic's value when it is time to sell.
Profit Solver is easy to use and works alongside the clinic's current software.
The software is preloaded with a couple of hundred services for the small animal clinic; a
specialist veterinary dental module is also available which includes dentistry and small animal
clinic data.
What is interesting about this software is that it is not about just raising prices to improve
the bottom line. It is more about precisely understanding the relationship between pricing and
costs so that positive, rational decisions can be made. That is, the road to a profitable,
sustainable practice may not be to increase prices across the board but simply to manage a few
big-volume losers.
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New marketing company will help "vets and the animal industry gain the competitive edge"
Marie Carter reports that her company has been set up to help veterinary practices - as
well as businesses and organisations in the 'animal industry' - raise their profiles without
breaking the bank.
VET-PR.co.uk, which launched its website last month, has been established in response to a
growing demand, particularly from vets, for specialist marketing support - including public
relations, design, advertising and e-marketing. A division of the successful Durham based
consultancy MC Communications, which already counts a number of practices as well as the
Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) among its clients, VET-PR.co.uk is headed
by former journalist Marie Carter and supported by veterinary consultants, one of whom is a
practising vet.
Marie explained: "During the credit crunch, practices in particular are recognising that they
have to stand out from the crowd to gain or maintain a steady stream of business. Having run MC
Communications for the past three years, and gained something of a specialism in the veterinary
sector, I decided that it was the right time to set up a specialist marketing company to run
alongside MC Communications that would utilise this experience more effectively. The aim is to
deliver a devoted and cost-effective service to vets and the animal industry."
Jacqui Molyneux, principal vet at the Prince Bishop Veterinary Hospital, based near Consett in
County Durham, said: "There really is a growing demand among vets to step up their marketing
campaigns in these challenging times. A marketing budget is now an essential driver in creating
a flourishing business, and many vets are realising that they can no longer just rely on occasional
advertising but need to invest in promoting themselves. Businesses and organisations in the
animal industry will also benefit from the expertise that a company like VET-PR.co.uk can offer."
You can click here
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Team Satisfaction Pays - Organizational Development for Practice Success
I was delighted to receive a review copy of Dr Carin Smiths new book direct from the author who
I met as a fellow member of Vet Partners (formerly known as the Association of Veterinary Practice
Management Consultants and Advisors) a couple of years ago.
This is an essentially practical book about the structure and process of teamwork in practice.
It ties together tasks and relationships and the focus is on the development of your practice and
your practice team. The nine detailed sections comprising more than 350 pages will show you how
to create business structure, define and achieve 'good attitude', conduct global reviews,
create a plan for diversity management, involve team members in growing your practice, give
effective feedback through coaching, create your vision, mission, and core values and address
ethical issues with your team.
You will also learn how to develop leadership, recruit and retain the 'best and brightest'
doctors and team members, improve teamwork & efficiency, hold people accountable, facilitate
productive meetings, provide flexible work (and still cover needed hours), help veterinarians and
team members talk with clients about money issues, address issues of family, friends and work
and use facilitative, evidence-based management
This is an excellent, well researched and comprehensive publication based on Dr Smiths' extensive
experience as a veterinary clinician, consultant, speaker, trainer and author. It is packed full
of action lists and team exercises which you can use to enable your practice team to develop
your practice vision, mission and core values, develop leadership skills, improve teamwork and
individual attitude, increase staff motivation and improve performance.
The book includes a CD containing all the team exercises in .doc and .pdf format and is an
invaluable resource comprising a systematic approach for veterinary practice owners and
managers to build motivated teams essential for the delivery of high quality professional
veterinary services in a demanding market.
You can click here
Team Satisfaction Pays
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Business is down - a glimpse at one of the topics in the practice managers discussion group on VSPN
"I am a practice manager of a pretty successful practice. It is a small animal, 7 year old
progressive clinic, that is before the economy started to go on the decline. We had so many
appointments that we couldn't keep up, We would be double and triple booked with three
hospitalized patients a day. We experienced growth every month, sometimes exponentially. But
since about February/March-ish we have been slower and slower, and the bottom line is going
down and down."
"We have had more factors than the economy that is playing a part in this. Our owner had
bought another practice and started practicing there full time in March, We had one doctor here
since October of last year but it turned out the clients and staff didn't like him so we let him
go around June. In March we had another DVM come on board, he has been the main and full time
vet since. Our practice manager resigned in January, so I took over the position, with management
change we also had a turn over in staff. Now things are more stable, but we did bring on 2
part time vets as the owner has been practicing between the two clinics and is being spread too
thin".
"With new doctors and management policies and procedures have changed...to practice more
quality medicine, but the changes have scared clients. So needless to say we are now
slow, making almost half of what we did last year, and I need some advice on how to turn things
around!!!"
"Help!!!"
"Just curious...how's the other practice doing?"
"Have you tried contacting your local shelters and offering a discounted or free first exam
for each adopted pet? That might get people in the door so you can turn them into lifelong
clients
Our local animal shelter always gave vouchers for spays and neuters (not for the full amount,
but part), and what we decided to do was match their voucher. So, if the animal shelter put
$28 towards the surgery, we put $28 towards it as well. The client ends up saving $56 on
a spay, and have been pretty good at coming back to us later on."
"My paycheck bounced last week - Ya, hard times."
"Ouch -- sorry to hear that...hope things get better soon."
"We noticed a significant drop when the stock market went nuts. We've had some busy days but
over all October is down about $500 a day compared to last October. Last week looked pretty
good until Friday and Saturday which were slow.
We have not in the past sent people home when it was slow as long as they stayed productive,
but we've been fortunate that people have volunteered to cut hours on slow days because it was
coming to that. I've got two employees (one receptionist, one assistant) that are getting ready
to go on maternity leave. I no longer intend to replace the assistant and will likely just
increase a part-time receptionists' hours slightly and fill in as needed up front myself for
the time being."
"I think it's important to be proactive at this time but not to panic. Fear and panic is what
causes the stock market to crater the way it has lately...hopefully in the end cooler heads will
prevail."
"Before you can react, you need to know what you are reacting to. We know the economy is bad,
in some locations more than others. We know you have had significant turnover, with one longtime
DVM leaving, and another alienating some clients. We know you have had some policy changes, which
have also alienated some clients. Have prices changed significantly as well? How is the net
doing?"
"Look at the gross- you said it has fallen by more than 50%. In what manner, and why?"
"How many records requests are you getting? Are patient visits down? Is your ATF down? Are
surgeries , vaccines, preventative products down (i.e. in what areas are you hurting the most?)"
"If people are still coming in, but spending less, you need to look at why. Are they less willing
to spend $? Or are the recommendations not being made? Or are the recommendations coming across
poorly?"
"If you've mostly had a client drain- I would try and recoup some of those lost clients. Send
them an "exit" survey....let them know you noticed they left, you want them back, and you'd like
to know how. If things are truly bad, enclose a certificate for a free exam- ask them to please
take the time to see how you've responded to their concerns. People love to be asked their
opinions, especially if they think they have the power to actually change things. And it will
be easier to regain a once-satisfied client lost over a single incident, than to truly convert
an entirely new client."
You can click here
for veterinary support staff working with, for, or in the field of veterinary medicine, under
the direction of a licensed veterinarian. Membership in VSPN is free.
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Veterinary Pet Insurance Reveals Most Expensive Pet Conditions -Pets of All Ages Susceptible to Costly Accidents and Illnesses
Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), the oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance in
the USA, recently analyzed medical claims submitted in 2007 to find the most expensive insured
conditions commonly suffered by dogs and cats.
VPI ranked conditions based on the average fees attached to common claims from among its more
than 460,000 pets insured nationwide.
The data revealed that the costliest conditions affected pets of all ages and breeds and
often required diagnostic tests and emergency surgery. Average claimed fees for the priciest
conditions ranged from $500 to nearly $3,000. Following are VPI's Top 10 most expensive common
conditions for dogs and cats, with the average claimed fee amounts submitted in 2007:
From an article published on the ="_blank"> National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues website
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What Makes a Good Logo?
by Sharon Housley
What is a logo?
A logo is a design, graphical representation, image or symbol that represents a business or
organization. Logos were initially used to distinguish and differentiate products, the logos
assisted purchasers in finding the product they prefer or have come to trust (or not trust). When
product selections were limited and items were marked with a logo which a consumer was familiar
they would naturally assume a certain level of quality or value, even if they had not previously
used that specific product from that vendor. Now many companies not only have a corporate logo,
but they have a logo to represent each of their products or product lines.
The company or product logo typically appears on all printed media or websites that are
associated with the company or product. The logo appears in all marketing material and media.
A logo is really more than just a graphic, a logo design is part of a larger marketing concept.
Marketers take specific care when selecting a logo, and they give a lot of thought about what they
want their customers to identify with the company or product logo.
Some logos are designed around color. Studies have been conducted about the psychology of
color and how different colors evoke different emotions. Green is used to imply wealth or
expense, a marketer might use a green logo to imply an increase in perceived value. Blue on
the other hand has a calming and soothing effect. Multiple colors can be used to accent and
highlight specific parts of the logo. Accented and highlighted colors should be contrasting
and complimentary.
Regardless of what colors you select, be sure that you use standard pantone colors and websafe
colors. Also make sure these colors can be easily reproduced in print mediums.
Logos should be simple, and not overly elaborate or complex. Newer businesses and technology
companies should have modern logos, while long standing businesses may want to use a logo that
emphasizes their business experience. That does not mean that an older business cannot freshen
or enhance an older logo, they may just want to retain certain qualities so their logo is still
recognizable. Rarely do business depart drastically from an established logo. For this reason
businesses should select a logo that has longevity. Once you establish and build a strong
corporate image, you will want to retain it.
Logos should be designed so that they scale easily and can be used in a variety of mediums:
letterhead, t-shirts, and more. Always keep in mind that logos are part of a larger marketing
concept. Promotional materials will require consistency to reinforce the company or product
image.
Taglines incorporated into the logo help reinforce the underlying message in a logo and can be
an easy addition. Countless memorable marketing campaigns over the years have associated slogans
with a logo to hit a message home.
While logos sound complex, in truth it has never been easier to locate a logo. Professional
graphic artists are abundant on the web, and can be contracted to create a custom logo, or business
owners can scroll through thousands of logos in logo directories.
Here are some Logo Directories:
Logos are the building blocks of a company or product identity. Be sure to take the time to
find a logo that reflects the values that you, as a business owner, want associated with your
business. Find a logo that is more than just a graphic.
You can ="_blank">click here to read the original article