VMC, Inc. Newsletter

The QuickBooks Tip is courtesy of Burzenski & Company, P.C., Certified Public Accountants and Financial Consultants.

Melody Mann Fox is the Director of Client Services, specializing in Veterinary Medicine.

Burzenski & Co, PC

News from VMC, Inc.

mark I hope this newsletter finds everyone well and in the best of practice health. Speaking of practice health, have you heard there is a recession going on? It is hard to open a journal or newspaper these days and not read about the economic downturn. But you know what is amazing? Most of the practices we consult with are having banner years and doing very well.

Is there a recession? Is Veterinary Medicine recession proof? I am sure that we are in the midst of a recession, you just have to go to the gas station and fill up your car to know that money is not going as far as it used to. But I think too many people are using the recession as an excuse. If your practice is not doing as well as it had been doing in the past, are you just throwing up your hands and saying "it is the recession" or are you working smarter to grow your practice? I think the progressive practices work smarter - they don't accept that there is a recession.

Go back to the basics. How effective Is your reminder system? Are you offering a full service approach to your clients and their pets and making sure we are educating them about all the preventative procedures and products they might need? Have we evaluated our customer service and team communication? I refuse to work under the limitations of a recession mindset and opt to work with my practices to continue to grow them and improve upon their profitability. You can choose to do the same. Hopefully some of our recommendations stated in this newsletter will help you to accomplish this goal.

Mark Opperman
President, VMC Inc.

Let us hear from you - tell us what you'd like to see in future issues. You can contact us at vmc@vmc-inc.com

How Much Information Should You Share With Your Team?

by Monica Dixon Perry, CVPM

Monica Dixon Perry We were recently asked to include in our newsletter our recommendation regarding how much information practice owners should share with their team (management and team members alike).

As consultants, we often go into practices and come to the realization that practice owners have managers in place who have never seen the practice's finances nor do they know how much the team members they are managing are compensated - yet they are called managers. Sharing financial information with your managers is imperative. How can they know where to lead and guide your practice financially if they do not know where your practice is? Obviously, because of the delicate and confidential nature of your financial information, you should have them sign a confidentiality agreement or contract that restricts them from inappropriately sharing this information. In order for your manager to effectively hone in on opportunities to increase your income and control your expenses, they have to know where your practice is.

As far as your team members, I also recommend sharing limited financial information with them. However, it is important that money is not the root of these conversations. Engage your team in such a way that they understand that as long as the patient's best interest comes first, everything else will come together. Provide them with information that allows them to understand the basics. Yes, the practice may appear to have substantial amounts of revenue coming in, but there are also substantial overhead costs to support your practice. If they see only one part of the puzzle, they can easily come to the conclusion that the practice owner is reaping major financial benefits when they or the practice are not.

One approach to sharing financial information with team members is by using pie charts and graphs. If you are uncomfortable sharing dollar figures, this will allow you to use percentages. In addition to sharing this basic information, inform them about industry benchmarks and how they can help the practice stay within the recommended range in respect to expenses and, hopefully, to exceed the income benchmarks by providing high quality, consistent and comprehensive care to your patients and clients. By doing so, not only do the patient, client, practice and practice owner benefit from this approach, but so will your team.

Do your team members know the number of new clients each full-time equivalent veterinarian should be averaging per month at your practice? Do they know what your dental income is as a percent of gross revenue and if you are exceeding or falling short of the industry recommendations? Educate your team to what the benchmarks are, engage them in conversations regarding what needs to be done as far as meeting or exceeding those benchmarks, and just like having the best kind of client, you now will have the best kind of team - an educated and informed one.

Note: Industry benchmarks can be found at www.avma.org or www.vetecon.com.

Are You Using the Most Current
Form I-9?

by Sheila Grosdidier, BS, RVT

sheila

The US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has updated the expiration date on form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification Form).

The content of the form has not changed, only the expiration date has been adjusted. The new expiration date is June 2009. Beginning immediately, all employers are expected to use this new form for any newly hired employees. The link to this updated form is http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-9.pdf

Employers can expect the form to be updated again in one year when this expiration date expires.

Using QuickBooks Built-In
Calculator Tape

by Melody Mann Fox, CPA

The use of a calculator tape is available in all numeric fields in QuickBooks. This can be a time saver if you have to add multiple amounts together before entering. Once in the amount field, simply type in an Excel-like formula and QuickBooks will calculate the results automatically.

Click Here to read the entire tutorial, including a screen shot of an example.