Financial Wellness

Dollars and percentages can tell different stories about the cost of goods sold. Higher numbers aren’t necessarily bad.

Nineteenth-century American humorist Josh Billings said, “It ain’t ignorance causes so much trouble; it’s folks knowing so much that ain’t so.” Three decades on, I’ve listened to practice owners, hospital managers, consultants and advisers bemoan a high cost of goods sold (COGS). Lower practice profitability is often attributed to a high COGS. But is a […]

Your practice might need an overhaul if you neglect to monitor a few key performance indicators.

If you’re the owner, a veterinary practice is likely your largest asset. But is your clinic a finely tuned machine that produces a handsome return? If you don’t know the answer or are afraid of the question, it’s time to check the key performance indicators. Just as a car might break down if the dashboard […]

Veterinary practices are fetching record sales prices, but what about the real estate itself? You have a few choices if you also own the property.

The veterinary profession is seeing record-setting revenues as the percentage of households owning small animals continues to grow. In addition, surging demand for quality veterinary care has pushed practice valuations to record highs. Corporate consolidators and private equity investors realize that now is an excellent time to purchase veterinary clinics and earn solid long-term returns […]

An expert adviser can help select the wisest and most rewarding option for practice owners and their employees.

We hear from veterinarians across America — both small and large animal — that recruiting sharp, young clinicians to their practices is difficult. To attract, retain and reward employees, practice owners must offer competitive compensation and an engaging culture as well as a properly designed retirement plan. Further, in an environment where taxes could rise, […]

A professional adviser can help get your financial house in order, but to get started you need to know what you have.

It was only a little more than a year ago that the global pandemic changed our world dramatically. As a whole, the veterinary community responded very well and many practices flourished financially. However, everyone seems mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted, and we still have a long way to go to beat COVID-19. To help prepare […]

You should work with the present and future in mind. Setting aside 10% of your earnings now will pay off big-time decades from now.

A crude definition of financial life planning is bringing the future to the present while you still have time to act. More formally, it’s the process of organizing your financial goals into something workable so that you can live in financial security in the style you desire. Financial life planning involves the proper handling of […]

Understand why you make irrational choices with your investments and what you can do about it.

Standard financial and investment theory holds that markets and investors are completely rational. The assumption is that investors exercise self-control and adhere to a defined investment discipline when making financial decisions. Therefore, those decisions are free of human emotion at all times. Yeah, right! Behavior and Investing The influence of human emotions on financial decision-making, […]

What likely will be the biggest financial decision of your life shouldn’t be made in haste. You can sell your practice quickly to a consolidator, hand off to an associate in 10 years or do something in between. Weigh your options and the pros and cons.

We work with successful veterinary practice owners who are contemplating the sale of their hospital. In many cases, they are considering a sale because of the significant growth in corporate consolidators who pay multiples as high as twice the historic valuations. A general feeling exists that the bubble will inevitably burst and that practice values […]

If your portfolio is sickly, you better have a treatment plan. A simple 10-part test can help determine whether you should get a second opinion.

As we look back to the beginning of the year — a lifetime ago, it seems — the economy was healthy and growing, the U.S. stock market was rolling along in a bull market approaching 11 years’ duration, unemployment was at levels not seen since the end of World War II, and personal income and […]

The investment program you and your employees participate in might not be the same one everyone turns to when it’s time to step away from the practice.

The decision to sell a veterinary practice is loaded with financial considerations, but don’t gloss over the need to clearly understand what you want to achieve. Are you tired? Frustrated? Burned out? At retirement age? Overloaded with management duties? Do you want to maximize the sale price or transfer the practice to an associate veterinarian […]