In this digital era, veterinary practices are constantly adapting to meet the evolving needs and expectations of their clients.
Figure 1: referenced from our “Take your veterinary practice digital” eBook
One area where practices can significantly improve efficiency and enhance the client experience is through the implementation of online payment gateways.
By embracing this technology, practices can avoid manual payment processes. Thereby saving time, streamlining financial processes, and opening new revenue streams.
So, how can online payments positively impact your veterinary practice? Let’s dig into 5 key areas.
1. Offer convenient payment options
Clients expect convenience and flexibility when it comes to making payments, particularly younger generations. We know that a significant portion of Australian pet owners now fall under the age of 25.
Online payments offer easier ways for clients to pay online via an email sent from your Practice Management System (PMS), without the constraint of being physically present in the clinic during business hours. This is particularly useful for larger payments such as surgeries or deposits.
If your work often takes you outside the clinic, online payments are a great option – enabling you to accept payments in the field.
By providing more ways to pay, you can improve your practice’s cash flow and create a seamless payment experience for your clients. Whether your clients prefer to pay in person, online, or on the go, a digital payment option ensures that your clients can easily and conveniently settle their invoices.
2. Save time and streamline financial processes
Managing payments is a time-consuming task for veterinary professionals. However, with an online payment gateway that integrates into your PMS, you can automate and simplify financial processes by automatically reconciling invoices and processing settlements.
This allows you to access payment insights in one convenient location through an online payment provider. Most importantly, saving you time but also provides you with a comprehensive overview of your practice’s financial health.
3. Expedite payment requests
With management of online payments included in the PMS, this allows you to streamline your billing process and follow up on unpaid invoices efficiently.
This eliminates the need for your team to be manually calling clients and chasing payments. Nobody likes having an awkward conversation about an overdue payment.
For example, you can build a list of clients with an overdue balance and send them a payment reminder all at once through an email with a client-specific link to pay online their balance owing along with a statement.
This time saving action enables you to get paid faster, supporting a steady revenue stream for your practice – especially in difficult economic times when there are industry challenges with staffing, recruitment and wellbeing.
4. Ensure security and protect client data
With the recent cases in the news around data security and breached consumer information, your clients are more alert than ever before and expect their data to be secure.
To address this within the payments space, some providers offer tokenized payment processing, which means that your customers’ data is protected.
Tokenization replaces sensitive cardholder data with unique identification symbols, reducing the risk of fraud and maintaining payments compliance.
By implementing a secure payment gateway, you can provide peace of mind to your clients, knowing that their information is safe and protected. This helps enhance the trust in your practice when clients are reviewing their options and can improve your brand positioning.
5. Premium support and guidance
Managing payments should not be a source of stress for veterinary professionals – you want to be focusing your time on patient and client care. By partnering with an online payment gateway provider like Payrix, you gain access to premium support and guidance from a team of payment experts with an easy setup process.
These professionals offer assistance in navigating the payment landscape, resolving any issues that may arise, and optimising your payment processes. With reliable support at your disposal, you can focus on delivering exceptional veterinary care to your patients.
To learn more about online payments for your practice, talk to our team and we’ll be able to answer your questions.
Online payments for Covetrus Ascend
Online payments for VisionVPM