Finance

You want satisfied clients, of course. But pet owners who are emotionally plugged-in are better yet. Why? The strong relationship should mean that they accept more recommendations and refer more new business.

Relatively few clients have pet insurance, but the numbers are steadily rising. And that's a good thing for your business.

If your credit card statements are rife with odd or inexplicable charges, a few simple changes could help you save.

We currently subtract the cost of inventory from our doctors' production. Do you recommend this? Also, should we subtract payroll taxes?

The IRS allows small businesses to reimburse employees for medical expenses.

You don't have to avoid accounts receivable altogether-just be smart about when to offer credit and who you offer it to.

The cost of living creeps up and up. Does team members' pay keep pace?

I'm opening a new practice. Is a conventional loan better than a capital lease?

Take these five earth-friendly steps to minimize building costs, energy usage, and toxic materials in your facility.

Neel Veterinary Hospital in Oklahoma City, a paperless practice, prides itself on using the latest technology. "Adding computed radiography was a natural step in our practice evolution," says co-owner Dr. Tina Neel.

For too long, practitioners undervalued their services, charged too little and often gave away care for free. Though this may still be true for some, others digested the message about a healthy business supporting good medicine and raised their fees. But to make this equation work, you need to raise the level of service, too.

Use this budgeting tool to capture your revenue, expenses, and amount available for compensation and reinvestment.

Q. I'm the medical director of a newly formed emergency clinic, and the board is looking for a formula for my pay. What percentage of production would you recommend?

The first time I painted the interior of my bungalow, I got it all wrong. First, I picked bone white-a classy name, but a boring off-white just the same. Second, I used an old, wide, flat paint brush that looked like it'd been stuck in an electric socket.

This practice improved scheduling and compliance, established a solid staff management team, developed written standards of care, and more. Not only is Loving Hands Animal Clinic stronger- and ready to move into a new facility-but it made money along the way.

Q. Our practice has weeks when we're extremely busy, but we see only so-so revenue. Other weeks seem slower, yet revenue is high. Why is this?

Q. To help my team members improve their computer skills, I'd like to pay for training classes. But I'm afraid a team member might leave soon after and I won't get a return on my investment. Should I take the risk?

Q. How many hours can an associate work and still be considered part-time? Do on-call hours count?

Consider these five roads out of practice, and start planning your journey now.

Dr. Brad Rosonke, owner of Hillside Animal Hospital in Scottsdale, Ariz., has little interest in dentistry. But he knows that offering dental services means better care. His solution: Hire a dental resident.

I heard that a veterinarian was audited and fined more than $30,000 in back taxes for not claiming discounted pet care as taxable income on his employees' paychecks. I've been offering $300 in pet care per year per full-time employee (and half that for part-timers). If an employee goes over the $300 limit, he or she gets a 50 percent discount on additional care. Have I been doing it wrong all these years?

Is there a less complicated way to offer pet care to my employees than offering discounted services?

Higher building costs coupled with clients' higher expectations for care put you in a challenging position. Adopt these forward-thinking strategies to position your new practice for success.

Too often practitioners who thought they were on the doorstep of retirement are finding they need to work three to five years longer than they thought-or even more. The problem: When they have the practice valued, they find a gap between the retirement they envision and what they can actually afford.

Should we charge separately for blood pressure evaluations or incorporate these fees into our annual exam fees for pets 5 and older and ill pets?

When our owner's out of the building and the technicians perform dentals, does our part-time associate receive credit even if the owner scheduled it and already performed a physical exam?

Dr. Suzanne Miller Hogue, who owns Dr. S.B. Hogue DVM Inc., in Farmdale, Ohio, doesn't accept postdated checks because if something should happen, for example, if the client dies, the check would no longer be good. Instead, she has clients date the check for that day's date and attaches a sticky note with the date clearly marked when the client wants it to go through the bank.

Are there programs that offer recent grads loan forgiveness?

Opening your own practice takes courage and vision. And keeping it open requires profits. Tilt the odds for financial success in your favor by answering these six key questions about your new venture.

My group practice is thinking of adding a doctor, but we're worried that it could cost more in additional overhead than he or she will produce. What should we do?