Is Your Veterinary Software Costing You More Than Just Money?
It’s a well-known fact that humans are creatures of habit. We eat the same restaurants, drink the same coffee, and in general, fall into routines that can be difficult break out of. When it comes to running a veterinary practice, this affinity for consistency doesn’t stop at the door.
The True Price Of An Outdated System
It’s easy to grow complacent with an old and familiar veterinary practice management software. However, keeping the status quo and accepting “the way we’ve always done it” can come with costs that aren’t limited to the price of the practice management software of the program itself.
Lost Revenue
A complicated inventory system or missed invoice charges thanks to slow, glitchy veterinary practice software can result in significant lost revenue for a veterinary practice. $100 per week in missed charges for products and services (a nail trim, medication administration, ear cleaning, etc) adds up to over $5,000 in a year.
Inefficient Workflow
If an outdated veterinary software requires the front desk staff to spend hours on the phone doing follow-ups or appointment reminders, it can cost both time and productivity. Efficiency is having a system that can make these simple reminder emails, texts and phone calls, freeing them up to do tasks that helps the clinics overall productivity.
Team Members Staying Late
Outdated veterinary practice software often lacks the automation, integrations, and time-saving innovations that come standard in newer software systems. Because they don’t have modern features to help with tasks like reconciling inventory counts or invoice disputes, team members often need to clock overtime. This not only costs the clinic money in staff wages, but team morale takes a hit when employees can’t get home to their families on time.
Low Team Morale
Outdated software is often the cause of jumbled or missing information, manual processes, and slow-moving workflows, all of which have the potential to create confusion and headaches for the entire team. No practice can afford the devastatingly high costs associated with low morale including high staff turnover and an effect on mental health.
Save More Than Money With Updated Veterinary Software
As time goes on, veterinary software programs continue to iterate, innovate, and improve. Technology is only moving forward, and it's in a veterinary practice’s best interest to hop on for the ride. While it may seem simpler to stick with a familiar software, it may not be the best choice for a business in the long run. Taking the leap and converting to a veterinary software system that will benefit a practice’s future is key to having a successful business.
Increased Efficiency
Efficiency and structure is imperative when it comes to running a successful veterinary practice. Having veterinary software that streamlines the process of creating treatments, entering records, and maintaining accurate financials is crucial. Having too many ways to complete one task or dealing with an overly complicated system will only slow down the flow of work and create frustration among staff (and clients, as a result).
More Patients = More Revenue
Updated veterinary software programs typically offer a user-friendly, intuitive, and adaptable interface. Instead of dealing with software frustrations and IT support, the team can spend more focusing on patient care. It may even be possible to see more patients in the day (and benefit from the resulting increase in revenue).
Automated Services and Integrations
The ability of new veterinary software systems to integrate with other apps and services opens up a whole new world for veterinary practices. New functionalities like inventory management, integrated payment systems, and client communication programs all have a significant impact on how a practice runs. For example, eliminating the need for front desk staff to spend hours calling appointment reminders and follow-ups means they are able to focus on scheduling new appointments and assisting clients face-to-face.
Improved Team Morale
The new era of veterinary software brings with it a departure from the frustrations of software systems that came before them. Staying overtime, performing time-consuming software updates, and spending time on tasks not related to patient care are all a thing of the past.
Happy employees are those who feel useful, heard, and valued. Providing a lower stress, stable, and efficient work environment (with a chance of a lunch break!) will only help to improve team morale.
The longer a practice continues to use its outdated veterinary software program, the more opportunity there is for costs – monetary and otherwise- to add up. New veterinary software programs offer benefits that make the change more than worth it for the entire team.
Book a chat with an IDEXX software expert to learn how our cloud software can help your practice.
