Accounts receivable over 60 days
The plainest sign that follow-up is reaching clients before balances become hard to collect.
Veterinary clinics · Invoicing and collections follow-up
Collect what clients owe without awkward phone calls
Most veterinary hospitals collect payment at checkout, but not everything settles that day. Clients ask to pay part now and part later, surgery deposits get missed, wellness plan payments fail when a card expires, and accounts that went to the hospital's in-house credit sit unpaid for months. Following up feels uncomfortable, so it often does not happen.
How it often works today
- Open balances from partial payments are tracked in the PIMS, but nobody follows up until the monthly statement goes out.
- Surgery and dental deposits are requested inconsistently, so some estimates turn into procedures with a large unpaid balance.
- Failed wellness plan payments go unnoticed for weeks, and the client keeps using services the hospital is not being paid for.
- The practice manager calls overdue accounts personally when there is time, which is rarely, so balances age quietly.
We would set up a steady, polite reminder process with text-to-pay links, deposit requests sent with estimates, and automatic notices when a wellness plan payment fails. A short weekly list goes to the practice manager for accounts that need a personal call. Decisions about payment plans, financing through CareCredit or Scratchpay, and write-offs stay with the hospital.
The improved workflow
Sort open balances
Group open balances by age, amount and whether the client has an upcoming appointment, so follow-up fits the situation instead of one letter for everyone.
Request deposits with estimates
Send treatment estimates for surgery and dentals with a deposit link and clear policy, reviewed by a CSR, so deposits are collected before the procedure day.
Send text-to-pay reminders
Send reminders at set intervals with a secure payment link, stopping as soon as payment arrives, using wording the practice manager approves.
Handle failed plan payments
When a wellness plan payment fails, send the client a notice to update their card and alert the front desk to check before the next visit.
Escalate to a short list
Accounts past a set age or amount go to a weekly list for the manager, with history shown, to decide on a call, payment plan or write-off.
How we deliver this: AI automation for small business or fractional CTO leadership, scoped in writing and run over 90 days. See pricing or the sample scope.
What we would measure
Deposit collection rate on estimates
Deposits reduce no-shows for procedures and large unpaid balances afterwards.
Failed wellness plan payments recovered
Each recovered payment protects plan revenue that would otherwise leak away.
Where people stay in control
- The practice manager approves all message wording, the reminder schedule and any decision on payment plans, write-offs or collections.
- Card payments run only through PCI-compliant processors; staff never take card numbers by text or email.
- Reminders are respectful and never imply that care will be withheld for an animal in need, consistent with the hospital's own policies.
Example
A practice with a growing in-house balance
For example, an illustrative two-location practice has let clients carry balances after large procedures, and the total has grown over two years. The manager sets text-to-pay reminders at 10, 30 and 50 days, adds deposit links to dental and surgery estimates, and turns on failed-payment notices for wellness plans. Accounts over a set amount go to a weekly list for a personal call or a referral to third-party financing. The team tracks aging monthly.
Tools typically involved
What the first 30 days look like
We would begin by pulling the aging report and a list of recent estimates, deposits and failed plan payments, then agree with the owner which balances to target first. By day 30 there would be approved reminder wording, a baseline and a pilot running on one segment.
Common questions
Will payment reminders hurt client relationships?
Clear, polite reminders usually feel better to clients than a surprise statement or an awkward call months later. The wording should be warm and simple, with an easy way to pay or ask a question. We would have the practice manager approve the messages and watch for complaints during the pilot.
Should we stop offering in-house payment plans?
That is a business decision for the owner, not a technology one. Many hospitals move larger balances to third-party financing such as CareCredit or Scratchpay and keep short in-house plans for long-standing clients. We can show you the aging data clearly so the decision is based on numbers rather than memory.
Can our PIMS send these reminders?
Some practice management systems and client communication tools support text-to-pay or payment links. We would check what yours supports before adding anything. Where reminders need a separate tool, payments should still post back to the client account automatically, so CSRs do not reconcile by hand.
The business case
Does it pay for itself?
Illustrative defaults for a veterinary clinic. Replace them with your numbers.
What this workflow costs today
a month in staff time, before any lost sales
Monthly fee + assumed tools +
Break-even: new clients a month (at first-year value)
Or: staff hours recovered and redeployed
Break-even additional revenue
Value of +1 point of win rate
First 90 days, service fee
Worth a closer lookTest the assumptions
Illustration only, not a forecast or guarantee. Recovered staff time becomes a cash saving only if spending actually declines or the time goes into paid work. Tool costs are an assumption; we replace every number here with yours before recommending a scope.
Invoicing and collections follow-up in other industries
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Invoicing and collections follow-up: full guide
Related guides
How to automate invoicing in QuickBooks OnlineDocument processing automation for service businessesHow to measure the ROI of AI and automationAI automation for small business: costs, limits and what pays back
Terms used here
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