We understand that running a veterinarian practice has its own unique challenges and running a successful profitable one is something that many struggles with. That is where a firm that specializes in veterinarian accounting can truly be an invaluable asset to your practice. We’ll share some tips and best practices in veterinary accounting and operations management for you to consider applying to your veterinarian practice in the sections below.

Typically at a high level, we see that most people working in veterinary businesses have no formal training in accounting. That’s ok because you went into business to be a veterinarian, not an accountant. There is though absolutely a need to understand accounting to analyze the business and make more impactful decisions for your veterinarian practice. It doesn't necessarily have to be all about accounting methods and cash flow analysis, but there is some general accounting knowledge that every veterinarian should have.

Veterinary Practice Management Software

Choosing the right veterinary practice management software can be as important as having the right personnel. Veterinarians use veterinary practice management software to manage patient information, treatment planning, and scheduling, as well as back-office functions such as accounting. This type of software helps veterinary clinics with patient diagnosis and treatment management and allows nurses or technicians to efficiently deliver treatments. Administrative personnel uses veterinary practice management software to manage patient communications, influx, and payments. More advanced veterinary practice management software is available for veterinary hospitals, while scaled-down versions can be used by small clinics or private practices. Here is a link to a great resource for comparing some of the veterinary practice management software options and discussing your individual practice needs with your veterinary specialized accountant is a great way to make sure you select the right one.

These solutions typically include integrations with claims processing software. Integration with veterinary-specific electronic health records software is essential to gain access to patient health information. There are some common features every veterinary practice management software must-have.

Veterinary Practice Management Software Essentials:

• Health Records
• Scheduling (Typically Automated)
• Billing and Invoicing
• Customer Messaging and Communication
• Reporting

Modern veterinary practice management software centralizes your most-used applications to keep you in a faster and more efficient workflow. An easy-to-use interface combined with some of the industry's most powerful features provides the information veterinarians need to improve their clinical service management efficiency. Veterinarians work in a veterinary environment that includes a variety of different animal species, such as dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals. Some of the features in your veterinary software share the same trends and are similar to those in human-based medical practices, such as medical records, financial reports, etc. Your veterinarian accounting firm should be experienced at setting up your practice management software so that it aligns with your individual veterinary practice’s needs.

Benefits of a Veterinarian CPA or Specialized Accounting Firm

Most accountants do a really good job in many industries, yet for veterinary practices, it is crucial to make sure the nuances of the veterinarian industry are at the forefront of the accounting firm’s knowledge base. An accounting firm or CPA that specializes in veterinarian accounting principles can help you structure your clinic efficiently, guide you by appropriately selecting software that aligns with your business and where you are heading, minimize financial risks, as well as make sure that all accounting records match your Electronic Health Records to make filing your taxes as smooth as possible. A veterinarian accounting firm will have the knowledge to calculate and project areas such as how much inventory a practice should carry based on the practices revenue patterns, industry benchmarks and practice philosophy. If you have multiple locations, a specialized veterinarian accounting firm will be experienced in managing and determining the profitability at each center while forecasting any impactful variances.

Top 5 Benefits of a Veterinary Certified Public Accountant

• Corporate structure modeling for your practice
• Streamlined tax planning and budgeting for your veterinary practice
• Debt financing evaluation
• Financial benchmarking guidance
• Expedited tax preparation

Common Operational Practices

The day to day operations of your veterinarian practice is the backbone of your success. Several common areas could impact your practice such as the classification of different assets, capital investments, operational expenses and more which could all impact the bottom line of your veterinarian practice’s balance sheet. An accounting firm that specializes and focuses on veterinarian practices will be intimately familiar with your day-to-day operations and overhead structure, billing routines, staffing requirements, and more. This knowledge allows our team to understand and advise each company on opportunities such as system enhancements, fee schedules, an industry comparison of cost structures, analyze staffing efficiencies and identify incentives or tax savings.

By hiring a Veterinary Certified Public Accountant (CPA) that provides a boutique level of expertise, not only will you have a sound financial system with excellent reporting, you'll have a trusted advisor to make better-informed business decisions. And, a Veterinary Specialized CPA also has peers around the country to canvass for extremely rare situations.

As a veterinary clinic or business owner, it is important that you maintain the correct accounting practices, and these are strengthened every year. Your veterinary practice’s specialized accounting firm will help you ensure that your financial plan is more than just a pet project. These specialized veterinary accountants and CPAs at JLP CPAs are here to save you time, reduces your costs, streamline your operational practices, effectively manage your finances, help make sound business decisions, expand the practice and make tax season a smooth time for your veterinary practice.

Our veterinarian accountants are engaged in the industry and focus on providing each client with an individualized plan tailored to your veterinary practice. Our team will provide you with a detailed analysis to identify business trends and opportunities for growth—as well as help you improve the operations, efficiency and profitability of your practice. Trust your veterinary practice’s accounting to a firm that knows your industry and contact JLP CPAs to make sure your veterinarian practice is positioned for success.