Finance

Will that new piece of equipment pull its weight in your practice?

Will clients embrace your new service? Crunching the numbers and weighing the pros and cons can help you decide.

You've bought new digital radiography equipment. Now where will your fees land? Will you just break even or make a profit?

Imagine an enjoyable - and educational - vacation, with Uncle Sam picking up part of the tab.

Clean up with 12 monthly resolutions for your best year yet! Plus! Three more must-do's from the experts!

Las Vegas - Fresh out of college, Dr. Carlos Vareli earns $72,000 a year and pays on $75,000 in education loans.

Competing on price is the biggest slip-up you can make. Here's why.

Fresh out of college, Dr. Carlos Vareli earns $72,000 a year and pays on $75,000 in education loans.

Q: Are there any guidelines for leasing my building after selling the practice?

You get what you pay for, so it should be no surprise that paying peanuts yields less-qualified, more-likely-to-be-unhappy employees-and high turnover.

Yes, credit cards make it easier for clients to pay. But the costs add up. Use these tips to balance the fees and turn credit card use to your benefit.

My partner and I are opening a hospital and we're concerned about our accounting structure. Is a local accountant with a good reputation adequate, or should we find someone who specializes in veterinary medicine? What kind of costs can we expect?

We use a human resource company to handle our payroll and medical insurance. Should I include their management fee in our staffing costs?

Many veterinary practices operate in older buildings with leaky windows, poor insulation and patched roofs. Despite escalating energy costs, the harsh reality is few veterinarians are aware of the many incentives – both cash and tax incentives – available to help reduce that operating expense.

How much should I compensate a mobile veterinarian who wants to perform surgeries and dentals at my clinic? She'd conduct the procedures but use my clinic's equipment, staff, and drugs for her clientele.

The Clocktower Animal Hospital in Herndon, Va., saves nearly $36,000 a year through a buying group.

What are my options for saving for retirement?

Practice managers lower turnover, free up the doctors' time so they can focus more on patients and clients, and improve the owners' sanity. Could you use one of these gems in your practice?

Trenton, N.J. - Ninety-two students from seven veterinary institutions are scrambling for last-minute tuition funds following a New Jersey budget battle that axed $650,000 from the state's $1.337 million Veterinary Medicine Education Program (VMEP).

I've been with the same clinic for seven years. There's a lot of turnover, and my boss hires new graduates. Depending on my day, I'm stuck playing teacher with up to three new veterinarians. My boss isn't around much and says I'm not pulling my weight given what I'm being paid. How can I explain the situation to him?

Back in the trenches, I've realized that often we're worth more than we think. Don't undervalue your skills; the truth is that most people couldn't do your job.

Tampa, Fla. - The American Veterinary Medical Association's Group Health and Life Insurance Trust (GHLIT) has boarded the student circuit in an attempt to education future DVMs about their services.

I'm going to sell my list of 1,300 active clients to a practice located about five miles from mine.How much should I charge?

Not every client lives in a gated community. And when I look at benchmarks for fees, I think they're out of line with real-life practices-at least in our area.

The message isn't new-pets are still missing basic care. This updated data shows how the issue affects your bottom line.

Elimination of pain is an effective focus and client motivator.

25 percent of practitioners say they start seeing resistance when a bill lands between $200 and $400. But there's no way to know which clients will opt for your "A" plan.

Spend too much on wages and you could face financial trouble. Spend too little ... and well ... you get what you pay for. Use these guidelines to make sure you land on the middle ground.

Maintaining a retail area requires time, effort, and most of all, space. Is the investment worthwhile?

Maintaining some semblance of your current lifestyle in retirement doesn't have to be a "pie in the sky" idea-if you plan ahead. (Hey, 30-somethings: We're talking to you!)