• Hero Banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Buying or Selling a Practice
Hospital Design
Leadership & Personal Growth
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Technology
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Live Conferences
Conference News
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Is your veterinary practice bleeding money from discounts?

November 5, 2019
Emily Shiver, CVPM, CCFP, CVBL

Implementing these changes could help your veterinary practice realize thousands of dollars.

alswart/stock.adobe.comWhen was the last time you had the nerve to peek at your discount report? Do you intentionally find a creative way to display it on your profit and loss (P&L) statement? Do you have any idea how much money the practice is “giving away” every month, every quarter, every year? If you answered yes to any of these questions, listen up! These tips will change the trajectory of your practice's revenue very rapidly.

Stop the bleeding

Your first goal should be to stop the bleeding when it comes to discounting inventory items. This will help prevent complete shock on the client's end. Let's face it: Some practice owners are afraid that if you take the discounts away, the clients will scurry away to the practice down the street. That is simply not true. Your clients come to you and stay loyal to you because of the experience you provide them, not because they save $1.20 on every nail trim.

You may argue that you are only discounting inventory items by 10%. Let me provide a reality check: Your markup on therapeutic veterinary diets is 45%. For this example, your holding costs are 10% and ordering costs are 20%.  When you give your client their 10% senior discount, your profit = 0! You are giving your clients free food.  

Reconsider your markups

Consider looking at your current markups. Perhaps you can lower your markup on long-term medications like thyroid meds, pimobendan, etc. Raise the markup on your short-term medications like metronidazole, amoxicillin, enrofloxacin, etc. You can just explain to clients that although you have removed discounts on inventory items, you have made long-term medications more affordable.

Advertisement

Price your preventatives competitively

Re-evaluate your markups on heartworm and flea prevention. If your practice dispenses 12 months, six months and single-month doses, incentivize your 12-month supplies by lowering the markup on them. It is vital to call your competitors in town and keep a finger on the pulse of the online pharmacies to price yourself competitively. Another tip would be to keep your heartworm prevention in house by utilizing products like Proheart 6 or Proheart 12.  

Come to an agreement on services

Run discount reports on your service items daily. Study the trends. Do you have a doctor that takes five radiographs and charges for three? or A doctor who performs a fine needle aspirate and doesn't charge because nothing alarming was found? Or a doctor running diagnostics because he or she “is curious”?  Identify these trends and present your doctors with solutions. You can even create a group price or build the cost of the diagnostic by breaking it down into a couple of services.

Rip the Band-Aid off! It is totally worth it. If you have a practice owner who is reluctant to implement these changes, gather your facts and present solutions with projected results. Some practices could realize a $50,000 or more revenue gain easily. 

Emily Shiver, CVPM, CCFP, is practice manager at Cleveland Heights Animal Hospital in Lakeland, Florida.

Related Content:

Practice ManagerRoles
I graduated veterinary school in 2023: Here are my takeaways
I graduated veterinary school in 2023: Here are my takeaways
Amplifying Advocacy: A veterinary student's journey in addressing pressing issues in the veterinary industry
Amplifying Advocacy: A veterinary student's journey in addressing pressing issues in the veterinary industry
Lyon College School of Veterinary Medicine names founding dean
Lyon College School of Veterinary Medicine names founding dean

Advertisement

Latest News

New report links pet ownership with human health care savings

UC Davis corrects horse’s irregular heartbeat with electrical shock procedure

Pride, representation, and inclusion in vet med

Partnership to promote diversity in veterinary medicine and more

View More Latest News
Advertisement