How to Choose the Right PIMS When Opening Your First Veterinary Clinic
Opening a veterinary clinic is an exciting venture—but the first year comes with unique challenges. From attracting clients to managing patient care and overseeing your team, startup clinic owners often feel overwhelmed. Your practice management software (PIMS) can simplify workflows, improve communication, and reduce administrative tasks, giving you more time to focus on patient care and growing your practice. Choosing the right PIMS from the start can boost efficiency, improve client satisfaction, and help your team handle increasing patient volumes.
In this quick guide, we’ll walk you through how to choose the right PIMS for your veterinary clinic, including matching software to your clinic type and identifying essential features for startup clinics. For a more comprehensive overview of launching your clinic, see our full guide, Launching a Veterinary Clinic? How to Choose the Best PIMS for Startup Clinics.
Why Clinic Type Matters for Software Needs
Every veterinary clinic operates differently. Understanding your clinic type helps you select software that truly supports your workflows:
- General Practice Clinics: Neighborhood clinics offering wellness exams, vaccinations, diagnostics, minor surgeries, and sometimes boarding services. These clinics benefit from easy scheduling, automated reminders, and integrated billing.
- Mobile Clinics: Home visits, pop-ups, or community outreach programs require cloud access, flexible scheduling, and remote documentation capabilities.
- Specialty Clinics: Dermatology, orthopedics, oncology, and exotic pet practices need advanced diagnostic integration and support for long-term treatment plans.
- Emergency & Critical Care Clinics: After-hours or urgent care centers need real-time access to patient records, lab results, and imaging to manage STAT cases and deliver fast, accurate care.
- Acquired Clinics: Clinics purchased from previous owners may require workflow adjustments and patient record migration, influencing software choice.
- Multi-location / Corporate Clinics: Veterinary groups with two or more sites need shared patient & client records, standardized workflows, and coordinated staff across locations. If you plan on expanding to other locations in the future, you should future-proof your software by choosing a software that also has multi-location functionality.
Technology Needs for Startup Clinics
A startup clinic’s technology needs depend on factors like team size, services offered, and patient volume. Choose a PIMS that provides all the essential features from day one, while remaining scalable so you can add functionality as your clinic grows. The right system can simplify first-year challenges—such as client management, STAT cases, billing, and staff onboarding. Planning ahead for your future needs is especially important, since data migration can be cumbersome and time-consuming.
Below are features to consider as a startup:
Communication Tools
- VoIP & integrated messaging: Keep your team and clients connected efficiently.
- AI-assisted call summaries and SOAP notes: Save time, reduce errors, and speed up documentation.
- Task boards, shift planning, and automated reminders: Ensure coverage and prevent missed appointments.
Documentation & Integrations
- Centralized patient records: Improve collaboration and reduce miscommunication.
- Core lab, diagnostics, and payment integrations: Increase workflow efficiency.
- Advanced integrations (imaging, specialty labs): Support specialty care or high-volume workflows.
Remote Access & Flexibility
- Cloud-based software: Allows mobile teams or off-site staff to access records, schedule appointments, and communicate with clients from anywhere.
First-Year Challenges Made Easier with NectarVet
The first year of a startup clinic can be overwhelming—managing client volume, urgent cases, staff onboarding, and billing. NectarVet is a great choice for independent clinics because it can help make these challenges manageable from day one:
Key Features for Startup Clinics
- Easy to Use: Intuitive workflows for fast staff onboarding.
- AI-Powered Tools: NectarNotes (AI SOAP notes), Ask Coco (AI assistant), and automated reporting reduce administrative work.
- Integrated Payments: Automated billing and remote payment links help prevent missed charges.
- Seamless Integrations: IDEXX, Zoetis, Antech, imaging, inventory, and phone systems all work together.
With these features, NectarVet helps startup clinics streamline operations, reduce stress, and focus on patient care.
Learn more about the NectarVet Startup Program →
Key Takeaways
- Consider your clinic type: Every clinic has unique workflows—choose software that addresses your specific challenges.
- Streamline operations: Features like AI-assisted documentation, integrated messaging, and task management reduce administrative work, saving time and money.
- Plan for growth: Choose scalable software that can grow with your clinic—data migration is a pain, so thinking ahead will save headaches.
- Focus on patient care: Automating routine tasks lets your team spend more time delivering quality care.
Conclusion
Selecting the right PIMS is critical for startup veterinary clinics. NectarVet offers modular, flexible software designed with new clinics in mind, allowing you to start with the features you need and upgrade as your clinic grows.
With NectarVet, your clinic can stay efficient, organized, and focused on delivering excellent patient care from day one.
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