How to choose software for your veterinary clinic
Updated
Switching software is expensive even when the software is cheap: the real cost is the hours spent configuring, migrating and retraining the team. So it pays to get it as right as possible the first time. These are the questions that save the most grief.
Can I get my data out if I leave?
This is the first question and almost nobody asks it. A system you cannot extract clients, patients and history from is a system you will not be able to leave even when you want to.
Before committing, check that you can export. And do not take the existence of a button on trust: try it during the trial and look at what actually comes out.
Does it work on the device you actually use?
Much of clinical work does not happen in front of a desktop computer. If the system is not comfortable on a tablet or phone, notes get written later from memory, and notes written from memory are worse.
A cloud system opens from any device with nothing to install and without depending on the reception computer being switched on.
What happens when the team grows?
Systems get chosen for the clinic as it is today and hurt when the clinic changes. Ask up front about three things: how many users it supports, whether it allows different permissions per person, and what happens when you open a second branch.
Permissions are the most underestimated. If the system has only one access level, everyone who logs in sees the entire operation, financials included.
Warning signs
Some patterns repeat in the decisions people regret.
- No free trial, or a credit card required up front.
- Pricing is not published and you have to book a demo to find out.
- A mandatory annual contract from day one.
- Support only answers in a language your team does not speak comfortably.
- It is unclear where the data is stored or who can access it.
How to use the trial properly
A free trial where you only click around proves nothing. To be useful it needs real data: load twenty actual clients, configure your procedures with their real durations, and schedule a week the way you would genuinely schedule it.
If at the end of that week the team prefers the new system to the notebook, the decision is made. If not, you have lost seven days instead of a year's subscription.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does VeteApp cost?
- There is a 7-day free trial with no credit card. After that, three plans: Plata ($30/month, 1 branch, up to 1,000 clients), Oro ($60/month, up to 3 branches, up to 3,000 clients) and Diamante ($100/month, up to 5 branches, up to 5,000 clients). Annual plans are 20% cheaper.
- Do I need to install anything?
- No. It is a cloud system: you sign in from any device with a browser, with no installation and no server in the clinic.
- What is included in every plan?
- Scheduling, medical records, reports and support are included in all three plans. What changes between them is the number of branches and the client limit.