Business

Use American Humane's Tag Day, April 1, as an opportunity to regroup and refresh your efforts to promote tags and microchips.

What should I look for in an accountant?

A form to help you determine the costs of employment, such as health insurance, continuing education, dues, license, retirement programs, and payroll taxes.

About 45 to 55 percent of a doctor's time can be spent performing non-clinical duties.

Just ask a client which part of the anesthetic monitoring or pain relieving medications you should leave out to save them money at the expense of their pet's health.

Physicians once said nurses would dilute their earning power and endanger patient safety.

Encinitas, Calif. — Communication with staff is the key to a hospital's success, Dr. Michele Drake says.

Like it or not, lay people can learn to competently perform many routine tasks.

It can be helpful for you to spend time in each type of practice before making your decision.

Use this sample veterinarian evaluation form as a launching pad for written employee performance reviews or as a self-evaluation tool.

Only about 80 percent of time slots will be accomplished despite the best plans, but it's better than 20 percent without a plan.

Dr. Tim McAughan, a 1978 graduate of Texas A&M University, College of Veterinary Medicine, is no stranger to buying and building facilities. In 1985, he started a practice in a retail center, then moved it to a new facility. In 1997, he bought a second practice in a retail center in Spring, Texas. That, too, needed a freestanding home, he says.

Well-managed practices work on management issues proactively, looking for ways to improve and innovate rather than just responding to the fires that arise each day. Of course, striving for excellence isn't a one-person job. And getting your team involved in finding better ways to serve clients is a great first step to being more proactive.

Sometimes these employees are simply in the wrong job. If so, just redeploy them.

Q I'm a recent graduate, and I find that the clients I see have no preference for which doctor examines their pet. How can I develop my own clientele?

The rising cost of health care is taking a bigger chunk of the pie when it comes to the total compensation employers pay to employees.

Valley Animal Hospital in Roanoke, Va., helped people looking for love as well as abused animals by hosting a "Speed-Dating for Pet Lovers" night. The fundraiser was for the clinic's SPIRIT fund, which defrays veterinary care expenses for abused animals. "We hosted it as a typical speed-dating setup but participants had to have a pet, and the admittance picture had to be of the owner and pet together," says owner Dr. James Poage.

A new campaign launched by the American Association of Equine Practitioners and Fort Dodge Animal Health aims to let owners know their horses should get exams twice a year—in the spring and fall.

Take one IV bag, stir in a concerned client, and add a dash of helpful team member.

Q What's the typical turnover rate for front-office team members? How do I know if my turnover's too high?

How one practice successfully promotes dental care.

In November, President Bush signed into law an addition to the Agriculture Appropriations Bill that supports the development of open technology so all scanners can read all microchips.

"Accounts receivable in most small animal hospitals should never exceed 2.5 percent of the yearly gross income. For equine and other large animal hospitals, 4 percent to 5 percent of gross revenue is the norm," says Gary Glassman, CPA, a Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member and partner with Burzenski and Co. PC in East Haven, Conn. Most practices struggle because they lack good procedures to ensure collection, he says.

You've seen it before: Sweet little white-haired Mrs. Smith turns into the Queen of Mean when she gets her first gander at her bill.

Consider starting annual, seasonal, or quarterly events to expand your client base and retain current clients. Be creative: Make your promotions fun; make them silly!

I'm a bovine practitioner looking into ProSal compensation for my associates. I'm concerned with the percentage used to calculate the portion of the salary above the base. What percentage profit should a practice owner expect to make off of his associates?

As graduation approaches, my mind is a whirlwind of questions, concerns, and hopes. I'm ready to practice?mostly. Yet there's one topic that leaves me wary: salary. While production-based compensation and traditional salary historically have been the only two options, they each have room for improvement. But there's a third choice: the ProSal formula, developed by Hospital Management Editor Mark Opperman, CVPM. To understand why I think ProSal is right for me and other new associates, consider these pros and cons.

Choppers, fangs, incisors-call them what you like, but don't forget to celebrate them this February.

Don't let those New Year's goals slip away. Act now.

Relief veterinarians are typically treated as independent contractors responsible for their own income taxes and the reporting of their earnings and expenses. And most relief veterinarians conduct their practice activity as sole proprietors. Based on this, you'd report net income or loss from your relief practice on your personal income tax return. There are several important rules you should be aware of, however.