Full 📅, No 💵

“I don’t understand where the money is going.”

A practice owner said that to me while looking at a completely full schedule.

They’re booked out for days, the team is moving nonstop, and phones are ringing all day.

By every outward sign, the practice looked healthy.

But at the end of the month, once bills are paid and supplies and drugs purchased, there’s barely anything left.

They’ve been telling themself:

If we’re this busy, we must be fine.

But busyness isn’t the same as profitability.

And that busyness usually hides problems like:

• Strong revenue, but little owner take-home

• Constant cash flow pressure when it’s time to cover payroll, bills, or distributions

• No clear plan for reinvesting in the practice, even with money coming in

A well-managed general practice, after everyone has been paid, including yourself, should be around 12% profitability; a really stable profitability will be about 15%.

If you don’t know your number, that’s the first problem.

If you do know it, and it’s low, then something is off.

If you want a simple place to start finding it, run a quick fee analysis.

Starting with my Spay Fee Calculator, to see where your spay procedure stands.