The world has moved on from cheques and cash. Some considered the final nail in the coffin to be the end of the cheque guarantee card scheme in 2011. Others saw the end of cash when cards and electronic payments took over. While it’s fair to ask how many people actively use cash nowadays, equally we have to recognise that, in some circles, its use is actually rising precisely because it helps those with tighter finances to budget.
The transition to electronic payments has been helped by the world going mobile with payment solutions such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Garmin Pay and Samsung Pay. More are using these systems to pay – without having a card on them – for their purchases. These solutions are great for speeding up transactions and for payments beyond the normal £100 contactless limit; given the rise of wearables, practices will see more payments being made this way.
The problem of making payments – especially with cash – is nothing new. Back in 2018, London Vet Show exhibitor Fidelity Payment commented that “cash payments have been in decline for several years, and as digital payments have become so accessible and, importantly, more convenient too, you won’t be surprised to know that this decline is expected to continue […] in the future your customers will not need wallets to pay; in fact, 64 percent of consumers are ready to leave them at home now if they had the choice”.
Of course, cash invariably results in cumbersome administrative tasks for the practice as well as having to bank takings – with cost – at a time of a decline in the number of bank branches.
The rise of the systems
For some time, practice management software has been able to integrate payment systems into itself. To the technophobe this seems like a bureaucratic nightmare and feels beyond them; however, it isn’t, and is seamless.
There are a number of providers – Provet Cloud, IDEXX, Digitail, ezyVet, VetIT and others – and they all aim to make life easier for veterinary practices. The value of taking payment through these systems comes from the uninterrupted flow of financial information between a client’s record, the services and goods they’ve bought, and the payment. Because it is a totally digital process, human error is reduced as manual keying is reduced, the tracking of clients and their spending is enhanced and the process of billing is sped up. A corollary of all this is that practices using these systems have at their fingertips accurate and real-time information on the state of the business, which in turn helps with insights into services used and what the practice needs to purchase.
Allied to the above is the ability to use remote and online payment systems. While this sounds like an irrelevance, these systems can offer practices a new revenue stream – clients can pay for services online or via dedicated apps for telemedicine and non-urgent consultations. Naturally, practices may also want to use systems for client payments before they arrive, reducing physical contact and increasing convenience.
Subscriptions and payment plans
By offering clients a range of subscription plans a practice guarantees revenue and ‘loyalty’ while bringing the cost of purchases down and spreading the financial burden of care
It’s no surprise that veterinary care is thought to be costly. Regardless of the debate, staff, equipment, premises and medicines aren’t cheap. The rise in Employer National Insurance from April 2025 will only make things worse.
Even though the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is still conducting its review into pricing in the sector and the British Veterinary Association welcomed “the CMA’s recognition of the ‘dedication and commitment to pet owners and their animals shown by vets and vet nurses’”, there is still the issue of payment – especially when treatment and medical bills are unexpected.
Many practices choose to offer subscription-based models or flexible payment plans to allow clients to pay a monthly fee that covers a range of preventative care services, spreading the cost over time. A good example of this is Priory Veterinary Practice in Stamford. It offers two flexible health plans to clients:
- For £10 a month, clients get 10 percent off flea and worming products, blood tests and vaccinations; 20 percent off dental treatments; and two free nurse checks per year
- For £20 a month, clients receive everything in the lower tier plus unlimited free nurse checks; one free urine analysis per year; and 5 percent off Canagan pet food, dental care products and Yumove supplements
The practice also has a monthly healthcare plan for cats and dogs, priced at £13.99 and £15.99, respectively, that offers something similar to the above but with annual booster jabs, six-monthly health checks and consultations. Beyond that is “Health Care for Life” at £32 per month for dogs and £28.50 for cats. The price is fixed for the life of the pet and offers a range of discounts and benefits, such as free microchipping, consultations, X-rays and up to £1,000 of free treatment from a specialist or up to £500 at an emergency clinic.
We could go on, but the point is that by offering clients a range of subscription plans a practice guarantees revenue and “loyalty” while bringing the cost of purchases down and spreading the financial burden of care.
Credit facilities
Beyond a client’s credit or debit card, there are other payment options that can be offered.
The natural starting point is to look at pet insurance. However, insurance carries a premium that invariably rises with pet age, includes an excess and, depending on the policy’s terms, may not include pre-existing conditions. This leaves the client to pay either the difference between cover and cost or, if uninsured, the whole amount.
In this circumstance there are a number of third-party firms that can offer credit finance to practice clients needing to pay for treatment.
- CareFreeCredit lets practices offer clients either interest-free or interest-bearing credit. It reckons that practices that use this service benefit financially in a couple of ways; as the firm says, “our market research shows us that we expect you to have on average practice revenue increases by 22% where these finance facilities are offered, and debtors reduced by 58%”. The credit agreement is between the bank and the client, and the practice is paid within three working days less a (tax-deductible) fee. It also says that it refers clients to its subscribing practices. The company is a broker, not a lender itself
- humm.com also offers clients credit-based instalment plans. It claims to increase treatment plan acceptance by 26 percent and makes next-business-day payments to practices. It is effectively offering a “buy now pay later” (BNPL) service
- kandoo.co.uk does the same; it states that its funding is used for the likes of routine check-ups and vaccinations, emergency treatment, surgery, dental care, chronic illnesses and specialist referrals. The company is a broker and works with a number of lenders that offer a range of payment terms
- In 2019, the well-known financial stalwart Klarna teamed up with a healthcare payment specialist, Finance 4 Group, to offer healthcare professions, including vets, BNPL specifically for client bills
There are plenty of other options for vets to investigate from firms such as Medivet (which says that “on average our clients save an average of £225 every year when on the Medivet Healthcare Plan”), Vetsuccess (which offers “a simple and affordable choice for pet health plan direct debit collections”) and Lloyd Whyte (which offers pet healthcare plans for BVA members).
It’s clear that flexible finance has been well adopted by the profession. A brief search returns a multitude of practices offering flexible financing, including the South London Emergency Vet Clinic, which offers 0 percent and low-interest loans with terms from three months for sums as low as £100 via CareFreeCredit, and the London Cat Clinic, which offers clients 0 percent credit over 12 months on a minimum spend of £600 via DivideBuy and CareFreeCredit.
Charging methods
Flexibility isn’t just about money […]; it’s also about offering flexible billing. This means looking at flexibility over pricing, especially where the practice operates on a business-to-business basis
But flexibility isn’t just about money, as such; it’s also about offering flexible billing. This means looking at flexibility over pricing, especially where the veterinary practice operates on a business-to-business basis (farm work, for example).
UK-Vet Livestock highlighted its thinking on this subject back in March 2021. In the story, it said that there are a number of ways for vets to charge for services that are fair to both practice and client alike. One option is a fixed fee for a defined task. Another is an hourly rate. Alternatively, separate visit charges may be the way forward, or it may be acceptable to offer clients a subscription-based contract for professional services with medicinal products included or excluded by agreement.
It’s akin to the way that airlines charge: they separate the flight from charges for bags, speedy boarding, extra legroom, and so on. Passengers buy according to preference, budget and whim, paying for what they use.
Summary
It’s perfectly clear that while veterinary practices are facing stiff cost pressures, so is the paying public. Practices that look at options and run the numbers may find that they have to give away some revenue to providers of payment systems to help clients pay for treatment. But they will, in the long run, do better because they maintain relationships for longer and so have to spend less on marketing.
There’s the argument that it’s often – but not always – worth having 98 percent of something compared to 100 percent of nothing; flexibility over pricing and payment systems is part of that debate.
