Finance

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.

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?

In "Feeling Squeezed by Expenses?" (December 2005), the author discusses categories for expenses. What category does after-hours emergency work fit into, and what is the current pay recommendation for those services?

I barely got a chance to say hello before Mrs. Blastaway gave it to me with both barrels.

College Station, Texas - Practice owners are losing thousands of dollars due to compliance failures, and the quality of medicine at the point of care is suffering, too.

Does a moment with your credit card statement feel like a moment in hell? Quit cowering and put out the flames for good.

A successful financial plan should offer you the choice of allocating profits back to the practice or into a more diversified portfolio.

If you're considering selling part ownership to a valued associate, you need to know the tax traps for buyers and sellers.

For most doctors, owning the facility offers the most benefits. Yet there are circumstances when renting may be smarter, especially if you're starting from scratch. Consider these issues to decide what's right for you.

Here are the factors owners say they weigh most heavily when deciding about an associate's ownership potential.

How can I calculate client visitation and retention?

Paying equally doesn't always make sense in a partnership, especially when doctors aren't contributing in the same ways. A tiered-compensation system can account for these variances.

Is it OK to accept postdated checks when clients can't pay?

Of course, greater earning power and financial gain rank as important reasons for ownership. Yet there are more reasons to take this step. Here are some other benefits to owning a practice.

FLP requires both careful analysis and strict compliance with IRS regulations.

Forty percent of referrals to Deer Creek Animal Hospital in Littleton, Colo., come from pet stores, breeders, shelters, and rescue groups?that's 140 new clients a month.

Use this sample collection letter as a starting point as you work to control accounts receivable.

What tax rules apply to awards given to employees for service?

Does your accounts receivable make up more than 2.5 percent of your practice's yearly gross income if you're a small animal hospital and 4 percent to 5 percent if you're equine or large animal? If so, it's time to take action.