Practice Assessment

Who needs a practice assessment anyway?

The answer to that question is ‘We all do’!

Ever heard of ‘working ON your business not IN your business’?

For all but the most enlightened of us, sadly, our working lives become focused on the day to day things (like practicing veterinary science – right?) We forget to look outside our practices for direction and when we do, we often fail to see things objectively as an outsider would.

The future

The standard of practice is ever rising; becoming more sophisticated and technology driven. We are already seeing a new force on the Australian scene – the Corporate practice which I am sure will take practice to the next level, given time. So what does all this mean? It means that individual practices will need to practice smarter and will need to stay in touch with the profession just to keep up.

Assessment benefits

Enter ValuVet – in our rounds of valuing practices (yes, we see the whole spectrum), we obtain an intimate view of the workings of each practice: their strong points, their weak points, their opportunities and their threats. After 500 valuations, we have acquired some excellent benchmarks by which to measure practice performance. In fact, over 80% of the practices we value also ask us to submit a practice assessment report.

Our reports are used for the following reasons:

As a blueprint for future strategic direction when bringing in a partner
As part of a regular business health check (how are we going?)
To maximize the value of a practice in the event of a sale
To assist in the sale of the practice to a buyer by illustrating the opportunities that the practice holds
To serve as a benchmark against the industry norms

What is involved

A practice assessment involves a visit to the practice; an extensive interview with the principals; an interview with the staff and a thorough examination of the practice protocols and records (a list of data required is available on request). All information is collated and a full written report is returned, outlining all areas of strategic importance and most importantly, the main areas of opportunity which need to be actioned for the practice to move forward.

Assessment frequency

How often should a practice be assessed? We suggest a minimum of 3 yearly for mature practices but annually for startup enterprises and practices in a high growth phase.

Not good at following through or just too busy? We can help with our practice monitoring service. For a modest fee, we can set you up so that we can track your progress from month to month; year to year to keep you on target and make sure your practice goals are being met. (See our practice management monitoring service)

Assessment value

How much does a practice assessment cost?

The aim of this service is to provide the means for an immediate improvement in practice profitability so in most cases, practices can recoup the cost of our services in a short space of time. Cost is on application and will vary a little depending on the size and complexity of the practice. ValuVet’s guarantee is that if we cannot assist a practice in generating many times our fee then we are not doing our job.

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to discuss the benefits of having a practice assessment.