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Course progress1 / 90 days
Module 1Day 1 of 90Live edition

Day 1

Module 1 | Focus: The Five Baseline Categories

Most veterinary clinic owners operate on gut feel. They sense things are going okay, or maybe they feel a pinch, but they cannot point to specific numbers that confirm either instinct. Day One demands brutal honesty.

Today's objective is establishing your quantitative baseline across every dimension that matters. You cannot improve what you refuse to measure, and you cannot set meaningful 90-day targets without knowing today's reality.

The Five Baseline Categories

Begin by pulling the following data from your practice management software for the trailing 12 months:

1. Revenue Baseline

  • Total gross revenue by month for the last 12 months
  • Revenue broken down by category: exams, vaccines, surgery, dentistry, diagnostics, pharmacy/products, other
  • Revenue per veterinarian per month
  • Revenue per square foot of facility

2. Client Baseline

  • Active client count (seen in last 18 months)
  • New clients per month
  • Client retention rate (clients seen this year who were also seen last year)
  • Average transactions per active client per year

3. Operational Baseline

  • Average appointment slots filled per veterinarian per day
  • No-show and late cancellation rate
  • Average wait time from check-in to exam
  • Phone answer rate and average hold time

4. Financial Health Baseline

  • Cost of goods sold as percentage of revenue
  • Payroll as percentage of revenue
  • Rent/occupancy costs as percentage of revenue
  • Net profit margin (before owner compensation)

5. Team Baseline

  • Number of full-time equivalent staff per veterinarian
  • Employee turnover rate in the last 12 months
  • Average tenure of current team members
  • Number of team members with specialized certifications

How to Gather This Data

If your practice management software is modern (e.g., eVetPractice, Vetstoria, Hippo Manager, or Avimark), most of these reports exist natively. Run them. Export to spreadsheet. If your software is older, you may need to manually calculate some figures. Do the work anyway. Every minute spent gathering this data pays dividends throughout the 90-day sprint.

The Baseline Worksheet

Transfer your findings into the Day 1 Worksheet. This single document becomes the reference point against which all progress is measured. Be honest. Inflating numbers today only robs you of satisfaction when you genuinely improve them.

Today's Action Steps

  1. Pull 12-month revenue report from practice management software
  2. Calculate active client count and retention rate
  3. Document operational metrics (fill rate, no-shows, wait times)
  4. Compile P&L data for cost structure analysis
  5. Complete Day 1 Baseline Worksheet with all findings

Key Takeaway

Your baseline numbers tell the truth your instincts cannot. Every improvement over the next 90 days will be measured against today's reality.

Worksheet References