Choosing a PIMS for Your Startup Vet Clinic? Don’t Make These Mistakes.
Starting a veterinary clinic is exciting—but it comes with a lot of decisions. One of the most important is choosing your Practice Information Management System (PIMS). The right software can streamline workflows, save your team hours every week, and grow with your clinic. The wrong one can cause headaches, delays, and expensive software migrations.
Here’s a guide to help startup veterinary clinics avoid the top 10 PIMS mistakes—and find the system that actually works.
1. Focusing Only on Cost
It’s tempting to go with the cheapest option, but low upfront costs can hide limitations. Some budget PIMS may lack crucial features, integrations, or reliable support.
Veterinary clinic example: A startup clinic buys a low-cost PIMS to save $50/month, only to discover it can’t process recurring wellness plan payments. The CSRs end up manually tracking memberships, creating billing errors, and frustrating clients.
Tip: Choose software that offers real value, not just low cost. Saving your team time and reducing errors pays off faster than you think.
2. Choosing a Recognizable Brand Name
Big-name software feels safe, but it might not fit a small startup. Popular systems often come with extra features you don’t need—and higher costs.
Veterinary clinic example: The software’s parent company is a reputable diagnostics provider that includes the PIMS for free. It seems like a no-brainer—but once installed, you realize it was built by a company whose main business isn’t software. The user flows are complicated and outdated, making everyday tasks cumbersome and frustrating for your team.
Tip: Evaluate fit over fame. Pick software that matches your clinic’s workflows, not just a logo.
3. Overlooking CSR Workflows
CSRs handle appointments, billing, and client communication. If software slows them down, your clinic loses hours every week.
Clunky workflow example: A CSR must switch between three programs to schedule a surgery, send a confirmation text, and update the patient’s vaccination record. That takes 10 extra minutes per appointment.
Integrated workflow example: With a PIMS like NectarVet, scheduling, payments, and record updates happen in one place, saving time and reducing errors.
Tip: Ensure CSRs can complete common tasks in a single workflow, reducing mistakes and saving hours weekly.
4. Ignoring Training Needs
Startup teams are small and flexible, so easy onboarding is essential. Complicated software slows new hires and makes cross-training harder.
Veterinary clinic example: You need substitute vets to fill in occasionally, but they can’t figure out how to use the system. They end up taking paper notes during their shifts, which your staff must manually re-enter. Not only is this time-consuming, but sometimes handwriting is illegible, causing potential medical record issues.
Tip: Choose a PIMS that’s intuitive and easy to teach to both CSRs and technicians. Bonus: drag-and-drop scheduling or guided workflows make onboarding faster.
5. Not Considering Scalability
Your clinic will evolve. Some software can’t handle new services, additional staff, or expanded workflows.
Veterinary clinic example: You choose a software that’s missing “nice-to-have” features for your startup, like digital client intake forms. Once you start seeing a large volume of new patients, you need a separate add-on software to capture intake digitally—but it doesn’t integrate with your PIMS. Now you’re juggling multiple subscriptions and manual data transfers.
Tip: Look for scalable systems that grow with you—so you won’t need to switch later.
6. Overlooking Integrations
Lab results, inventory, and telemedicine tools are critical. Without integrations, your team wastes time on manual data entry.
Manual workflow example: Lab results arrive as PDFs, and the vet must manually enter bloodwork into each patient chart. Critical values risk being missed.
Integrated workflow example: Labs automatically update patient charts, alerting vets to critical values, and triggering follow-up reminders for CSRs.
Tip: Make a list of must-have integrations for your clinic (Idexx, Antech, VetCove) and prioritize PIMS that support them.
7. Choosing Software That Doesn’t Understand Veterinary Workflows
Generic software doesn’t always anticipate veterinary needs.
Veterinary clinic example: A general practice management tool tracks appointments but doesn’t handle multi-patient visits (e.g., a litter of puppies), or vaccination reminders for annual wellness visits, forcing the clinic to maintain parallel spreadsheets.
Tip: PIMS made by vets, for vets, like NectarVet, are built around real clinic workflows, saving time and headaches.
8. Picking a PIMS with Limited Support
Startups need fast answers. Software based overseas or without robust support can make it difficult to solve problems quickly.
Veterinary clinic example: A CSR can’t process a payment and waits two days for email support, delaying billing for multiple clients and creating cashflow issues.
Tip: Prioritize providers with reliable, accessible customer support, ideally familiar with veterinary clinics.
9. Not Trying Before Committing
Paper screenshots and feature lists don’t tell the whole story. Your team needs to test the software in real scenarios.
Veterinary clinic example: The software demo shows an easy scheduling interface, but in practice, double-booking prevention doesn’t work for emergency visits. Without a trial, the clinic buys software that causes constant scheduling conflicts.
Tip: Schedule a demo or trial. Ensure the software is user-friendly for both tech-savvy and non-technical staff.
10. Choosing Software That Isn’t Staying Competitive
Veterinary tech evolves fast. Software that isn’t regularly updated may leave you behind. AI features, automated reminders, and improved charting tools can save hours every week.
Veterinary clinic example: Other local clinics adopt automated reminder texts, reducing no-shows. Your clinic still relies on manual calls, increasing staff workload and lost revenue.
Tip: Pick a PIMS that is actively improving and staying current with modern veterinary needs.
How to Choose the Right PIMS for Your Startup Clinic
Here’s a quick checklist for startup veterinary clinics looking for the best PIMS:
- Offers value, not just low cost
- Matches your clinic’s specific workflow
- Streamlines CSR and staff tasks
- Scalable for growth
- Integrates with labs, inventory, and other tools
- Backed by accessible support
- Easy to learn for new staff
- Regularly updated with new features
Choosing the right PIMS early sets your clinic up for long-term success. Spend time exploring demos, asking questions, and thinking about how your software will grow with your practice—it’s an investment that pays off every day.
For startup clinics looking for a PIMS built from the ground up for veterinarians, check out NectarVet.
