Money Matters

How hospital owners are paid — and how much — depends on the responsibilities they hold and the budgets and policies that are in place.

Veterinary practice owners often see their hospital as more than an investment. For many, it is a passion, a calling or a life choice. Few private buyers acquire a hospital with a primary goal of making as much money as possible. The money is important, of course, but creating a legacy is sometimes of equal […]

Becoming an independent practice owner carries many risks, but the rewards can be hefty if you have a knack for business and are willing to sacrifice sizable paychecks for a while.

I have noticed a surge in the number of associate veterinarians interested in starting a practice. Whether this interest is the result of skyrocketing sales prices for existing practices, the desire to create something of one’s own or other factors, I am seeing new privately owned startups, even in areas with many competitors. Of the […]

Investing in your hospital shortly before a sale makes sense only in certain situations. Needless spending can depress the practice valuation.

With so many veterinarians considering a practice sale, either to an associate or a corporate consolidator, some owners wonder whether making further investments in the hospital or new equipment will yield a higher price. The answer? It depends. Your Facility Is now the right time for new construction or a remodel? If you plan to […]

Consolidators possess deep pockets, but practice owners might welcome a partner’s offer when the property itself, creative financing and even one’s legacy are taken into account.

Corporate consolidators get all the attention these days when the topic is practice sales. As a generation of veterinarians reaches retirement age, the number of practices available to purchase is greater than the number of private practitioners ready to buy. If consolidators can and will pay more for a hospital than an associate veterinarian can […]

With practice sales and corporate offers, the devil is in the details.

Owning an attractive veterinary practice that will command a high sales price carries certain bragging rights. While no one would argue that the sales price isn’t important, it is only one factor in a complex deal. Here are some important considerations to ensure your ultimate satisfaction with a sale to a corporate consolidator. 1. Selling […]

Practice ownership opportunities aren’t just for veterinarians. In some cases, managers and nurses can become proprietors, too.

Creating a successful veterinary practice takes more than a veterinarian. It takes a team to engage the pet owner, schedule appointments, provide veterinary medical and surgical care, assure a safe work environment, keep inventory stocked at appropriate levels, and find the best suppliers of everything from gauze to controlled drugs to appointment cards. When you […]

As consolidators hover and prices spike, the decision to sell your practice comes down to more than dollars and cents.

There has been a lot of buzz lately about the so-called corporate practice-buying frenzy and how long it might last. What started with VCA, National Veterinary Associates and VetCor is now a market flooded with consolidators from within and outside the industry. More than 30 consolidators of various sizes are active in the veterinary market, […]

A tangible spending plan is your vision for the future and is important for the financial health and success of your practice.

What if I told you that one of the best ways to achieve your goals while maintaining or increasing profit levels is through developing and using an annual budget? To the uninitiated, the mere mention of budgets causes groans and eye rolling. However, power users know that budgets are critical tools for managing their businesses. […]

Key performance indicators help monitor the success of your actions, but they don’t explain the reasons for change.

Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are individual business metrics that help veterinarians, managers and consultants evaluate the overall health of the practice, as well as the effectiveness of new programs and any progress toward goals. With the multitude of reports available from practice management information software, plus more that can be customized in hundreds of […]

The popular financial metric is not the most accurate method for calculating profitability or a veterinary hospital’s value.

You may hear about veterinary practice sales where the purchase price was some multiple of EBITDA. EBITDA (pronounced: ee’ bit dah) is an acronym for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. In other words, EBITDA represents net income with certain accounting expenses, namely depreciation and amortization, income taxes and interest expense, added back in. […]