Veterinary teams rely on practice management software to get through their days, from scheduling, records, and billing to communication, reporting, and more. But each system has slightly different features and functionality that can impact day-to-day operations from the front office to patient care on the clinic floor.
So, how do you know which veterinary practice management software in the US market is right for your clinic and team? This guide covers the core features you should look for in a PIMS, questions to ask vendors to find the right fit, and considerations specific to the US market.
What is veterinary practice management software?
Veterinary practice management software (PIMS) is the central platform that clinical and administrative teams use to run daily operations. Veterinary professionals use a PIMS to manage electronic medical records, schedule appointments, process billing, track inventory, and communicate with clients. From solo practices to multi-doctor veterinary clinics and large veterinary hospitals, all manner of practitioners rely on veterinary software to practice medicine.
Cloud-based PIMS have become the “gold standard” in modern veterinary practices because they offer greater flexibility, remote access, lower costs, scalability, and freedom from bulky local servers that require maintenance and manual updates.
Must-have features in veterinary practice management software
Most PIMS can handle the basics of daily practice, but the depth and usability of core features vary widely. Here are the must-haves that veterinary professionals should look for in a PIMS.
Electronic medical records and treatment planning
Your clinical teams need centralized patient records that they can access in real time from any workstation or location in the clinic. Customizable templates within an EMR help veterinary professionals document species-specific treatment plans without having to start notes from scratch.
Client communications
Built-in or easily integrated client communications platforms offer automated appointment reminders and post-visit follow-ups, plus two-way messaging tools to stay connected with pet parents while also reducing your front desk team’s workload.
Agentic AI
A PIMS with AI built into the system can do more than transcribe. AI agents can help capture consults from your voice, surface patient histories before appointments, draft discharge notes for review, and answer operational questions in plain language. The result? Less time on documentation, more time on the patient in front of you.
Inventory management
Many veterinary professionals underutilize the inventory features built into their PIMS because of a less-than-ideal user experience. In a new system, look for intuitive inventory features that you’ll actually use, like real-time tracking of medications and supplies that integrates with your online pharmacy, so you’ll never have to guess mid-appointment whether something is in stock.
Payment processing
A PIMS with built-in, comprehensive payment processing can connect all of your billing options in one place, speeding up checkout and preventing transcription errors from using the old credit card terminals. Integrated billing also connects patient records with the invoicing system, so services automatically populate on the final bill.
Reporting and practice oversight
Reporting features can vary widely from one PIMS to the next. Look for veterinary software with a centralized data analytics and reporting dashboard that allows practice owners and administrative staff to quickly and easily view daily, weekly, and monthly performance metrics and hold team members accountable.
For Dr. Matthew Kemper of Lakehouse Veterinary in Frederick, Maryland, inventory features made the biggest difference.
"Because I'm often buying the same things over and over, price increases risk cutting deeper and deeper into profit margins unless I stay on top of them,” he said. “But with Provet, I don't have to; it's always reflecting the new price on the invoice and maintaining my margins."
How veterinary practice management software improves team accountability
With a cloud-based PIMS, every team member, regardless of when or where they’re working, has access to the same shared patient records and schedules. This ensures all team members are held accountable for completing the day’s work and upholding the highest possible standards of patient care.
Modern, cloud-based PIMS offer convenient features that keep everyone on track, including:
- Role-based access: Administrators decide which individuals or roles can perform which tasks, such as viewing or editing patient records
- Audit trails: Cloud-based PIMS keep track of who makes changes to charts, so you know who to ask if there’s a mistake.
- Shared task visibility: Team members can see which tasks are pending, even if they aren’t on their personal to-do list, so they can jump in to help finish up for the day.
For Jennifer Pack, Practice Manager of Warrington Veterinary Clinic in the US, new software has kept her team accountable and functional from the start.
"Staff who had never used it were up and running in three days, even though some were hesitant because they'd used the old system for years. But once they saw Provet, it clicked. The aesthetics, the usability — it just works. Training new staff is so much easier now."
Does veterinary PACS integrate with practice management software?
Because imaging is an integral part of veterinary care in the US, practice management software systems prioritize integrations with image storage and viewing systems, also called picture archiving and communication systems (PACS).
In many older setups, team members could view images only from one workstation in the clinic, which was attached to the X-ray equipment. Images didn’t import into the medical record, so they had to be manually uploaded.
However, cloud-based PIMS exist in a digital space, so they’re able to easily integrate with DICOM-compliant PACS systems. You can then access diagnostic images directly within a patient's electronic medical record to review results or explain them to pet parents in the exam room.
Choosing the right software for your US veterinary practice
If you're evaluating a new PIMS for your US practice, there are a few factors specific to this market worth considering, including whether the veterinary practice management software complies with data standards, supports USD payment processing, and provides support during typical US working hours.
Practice managers at growing clinics should also consider whether the veterinary software can scale with them as they expand from a single clinic to multiple locations.
Here are a few questions to ask vendors when evaluating whether the software is right for your US veterinary hospital:
- Is the software cloud-based?
- Does the software update automatically?
- Does the software leverage AI?
- How does the electronic medical record work?
- Can we track audit trails in the software?
- What does onboarding and ongoing support look like?
- Does it integrate with our online pharmacy and lab partners?
- Is there a communication platform to connect with pet parents?
- How do you handle data residency?
- What happens to our existing integrations if we migrate?
- What’s your incident response process?
Ultimately, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Your veterinary PIMS should help you practice better medicine and be the right fit for your team and practice style.
Why Provet
Provet is is a cloud-based, AI-enabled veterinary practice management system built to serve clinics and hospitals of all sizes, from independent practices to multi-site enterprise groups. Designed to reduce administrative burden and improve clinical efficiency, Provet includes a wide range of features that come together to save one hour, per person, per day in every veterinary practice.
55,000 veterinary professionals rely on Provet, including some of the biggest groups in the world and independent practices in 45 countries. Together, they see over 20 million animals a year.
Schedule a demo to see Provet in action.
FAQs: Veterinary practice management software in the US
1. What does veterinary practice management software do?
Veterinary practice management software (PIMS) is the central platform veterinary teams use to manage electronic medical records, scheduling, billing, inventory, client communications, and reporting.
2. What are the must-have features in veterinary practice management software?
Important PIMS features to look for include intuitive electronic medical records, customizable treatment planning templates, integrated payment processing, real-time inventory updates, two-way digital client communication, and an easy-to-use reporting dashboard.
3. How does veterinary practice management software improve team accountability?
Cloud-based PIMS centralizes the day’s work so that nothing gets missed. All team members access the same records, schedules, and task lists, helping keep everyone accountable for getting the day’s work done. Additionally, audit trails and role-based access provide an extra layer of security.
4. Does PACS integrate with veterinary practice management software?
PACS, or picture archiving and communication systems, are digital diagnostic imaging storage and viewing systems found in most modern veterinary practices. Most cloud-based PIMS integrate with PACS systems that use the DICOM image format, allowing veterinary professionals to view diagnostic images directly within a patient's electronic medical record.
5. How much does veterinary practice management software cost in the US?
Pricing for veterinary software in the US varies widely depending on the vendor, practice size, number of users, data integrity, and the features included. Most cloud-based systems charge a monthly subscription fee to maintain access, but don’t require hospitals to buy large on-site servers or commit to lengthy contracts.
6. Is cloud-based veterinary software better than on-premise systems?
Cloud-based systems have become the standard in veterinary practice because they offer greater convenience, security, and lower costs than many older server-based systems. They also offer remote access, automatic updates, easy scalability, and the flexibility to add third-party integrations as they become available.
