Is your practice having amid life crisis?

Originally published in OVMA Focus Magazine March/April 2026

BY GREG TONER

Somewhere between 10 and 20 years of ownership, many veterinarians wake up to a strange feeling. The practice is still busy, the phone still rings and your appointment calendar still fills. But the excitement that once pushed you through long days has settled into something flatter, heavier and harder to name. You’re not unhappy. You’re not burned out. You’re just … stuck.

If this sounds familiar, your practice may be entering what I call its midlife crisis—a perfectly normal, predictable stage that many businesses reach, even thriving ones. This crisis doesn’t show up as a dramatic event. It shows up as a whisper: a sense that the practice doesn’t need you in the same ways that it once did.

But here’s the encouraging truth: a midlife crisis isn’t a warning sign of decline. It’s a sign of maturity and an invitation to design the next decade of your veterinary practice with intention rather than momentum.

In the early years, adrenaline and improvisation take you far. You take on every new client, build your reputation and survive with sheer willpower. You wear every hat, solve every problem and build a loyal community around you.

But eventually, success brings complexity. More clients mean more staff, and more staff mean more leadership. More services mean more structure—the practice grows up and the systems that once supported it begin to strain. You might find yourself missing the simple intensity of the early days.

That’s when owners start noticing the early signals of their practice’s midlife crisis. The symptoms are subtle but consistent: you feel disconnected from the financial performance of your practice (whether good or bad), there may be tension between team roles, or an uneasy sense that you’re carrying more tasks that feel uncomfortable. What’s really happening is that the business has outgrown its early-stage habits.

A mature practice simply cannot operate on the same informal workflows and heroic effort that sustained it in its youth. And that realization often catches owners off guard.

Common themes are: “We’re doing fine, but there are so many balls to juggle.” Or “I’m working hard, but I feel the practice could be doing better.” Or the most common: “I feel like I’m solving the same problems all the time.”

This repeating cycle is often the first true signal that the practice is at a crossroads. Not a crisis in the dramatic sense, but a turning point.

Getting pets in the door is the hardest (and first) challenge in running a practice. Once you’ve conquered that, whether formally or informally, it’s time to move on to the next challenge: systematizing what works and building processes for what’s broken.

A quick “vitals check” often confirms what the owner is sensing. Every practice owner is unique, so their practices will develop different obstacles. Looking at your practice’s financials, along with practice data, will help provide clues to those obstacles.

Is non-DVM labour growing faster than revenues? Maybe a lack of formal processes is making it hard for your team to work efficiently as your practice gets busier, causing you to backfill that inefficiency with more staff.

Are lab and dental revenues growing inconsistently as you add more veterinarians to your practice? Maybe those new vets aren’t following the same process in the exam room and flagging the same issues for follow-up, resulting in gaps in care.

Do you find that surgery days are less efficient as you add more surgery days to your week? Maybe your DVM and non-DVM staff could benefit from some additional training to help them be more confident and efficient when in surgery.

These aren’t problems. These are opportunities.

Reaching this stage means your practice is finally stable, experienced and successful enough to reinvent itself, and to reinvent your position in the practice. Where do you want to focus: appointments, surgery, administration?

A midlife crisis is the most valuable inflection point in a practice’s lifetime. It’s the moment where the business signals that it’s ready for stronger systems, better team alignment, updated service offerings, and a healthier relationship between the practice and the owner where the owner can define their role.

Practices that embrace this phase often emerge more profitable, more efficient and more enjoyable to own than they ever were in the early years. They move from reactive success to intentional success.

So, if you’re noticing the whispers of midlife in your own practice, get excited. You’re not stuck. You’re simply entering the stage where your practice asks to grow again, with clearer structure, renewed purpose and the leadership you’re now ready to provide.

We’ll continue to explore that evolution, but for now, the most important step is recognizing the transition. A midlife crisis isn’t a failure; it’s a beginning.

Greg Toner, CPA, CA, TEP, CLU, is principal at VetCPA.

Reprinted from the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association’s Focus magazine www.ovma.org

Beyond profit and loss

Why veterinary clinics need to watch cash flow

Originally published in OVMA Focus Magazine November/December 2025

BY GREG TONER

Most veterinary practice owners are comfortable looking at a profit and loss (P&L) statement to see how their business is performing. On the surface, it seems straightforward: if revenue is higher than expenses, the practice is profitable. But profitability on paper doesn’t always mean cash in the bank. That’s where the cash flow statement comes in. This is a financial report that tells a deeper story about the health of your practice.

What is a cash flow statement?

The cash flow statement tracks how actual money moves into and out of your business over a given period. It’s typically divided into three sections:

1. OPERATING ACTIVITIES: Cash from the day-to-day running of the clinic, including client payments, payroll, rent, utilities, drugs and supplies.

2. INVESTING ACTIVITIES: Cash used for or earned from buying and selling long-term assets such as medical equipment, vehicles or renovations.

3. FINANCING ACTIVITIES: Cash movements related to debt and equity such as loan proceeds, loan repayments, or owner contributions and withdrawals.

While the P&L shows whether you’re “profitable,” the cash flow statement shows whether you have the liquidity to meet your obligations, pay staff and invest in growth.

Why cash flow matters in veterinary medicine

Veterinary practices often face unique challenges that make cash flow management critical. These include:

• CLIENT PAYMENTS

Even when invoices are issued promptly, payments can lag. If clients delay payment, cash can tighten unexpectedly.

• SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS

Many clinics see peaks during parasite prevention season or dental health month, followed by quieter stretches. Without planning, these fluctuations can leave the practice cash-strapped between busy periods. Practice owners need to save the excess revenue from peak months to carry their businesses through slower times of the year.

• BIG EQUIPMENT PURCHASES

Practices rely heavily on expensive technology. Upgrading to perform laparoscopic surgery or buying a new digital X-ray machine can be great for you and your staff to provide better care, but it also creates a sudden cash drain. To smooth out the cash flow from these bigger purchases, practice owners should consider financing these purchases with new debt or leasing the equipment.

• DEBT SERVICING

Speaking of debt, many clinic owners carry loans from acquiring their practice, expanding facilities or purchasing equipment. Principal repayments don’t appear as expenses on a P&L, but they will still use part of the cash that your practice generates.

• DELAYED BILLING

Most drug distribution companies offer delayed billing at certain times of the year. It’s great to have product to sell before you’ve paid for it, but it’s important to have the discipline to set the funds aside to cover the payment when the delayed bill is due.

• HARMONIZED SALES TAX

One of the biggest issues that a practice can encounter is spending the harmonized sales tax (HST) it collects. HST collected isn’t on your P&L as income. It accumulates in the practice’s bank account, and it’s added as an offsetting liability to the balance sheet until it is paid off.

Isn’t a cash-basis P&L the same thing?

This is a common misconception. If your practice uses cash-based bookkeeping, your P&L does record revenue when it’s received and expenses when paid. In simple situations, such as a small clinic with no loans, no large purchases and minimal owner withdrawals, the cash-based P&L and the cash flow statement may look nearly identical. But as soon as you add debt, capital investments or owner activity, the two reports diverge. Here’s why:

• A bank loan received won’t appear as income on your P&L.

• Principal repayments won’t appear as expenses (only the interest portion does).

• Large equipment purchases won’t appear as expenses either—they’re treated as assets.

This means your P&L might show a strong profit, while your bank balance is shrinking. The cash flow statement exposes these gaps, showing where the money really went.

Capital expenses

Capital expenses are one of the most significant reasons why cash flow statements matter. Consider a scenario with revenue of $120,000, operating expenses of $80,000 and a capital purchase of a $50,000 digital X-ray machine. On the cash-basis P&L, your clinic shows a profit of $40,000 ($120,000 minus $80,000). That looks like a good month. But the cash flow statement tells a different story, with operating cash flow of $40,000, investing cash flow of -$50,000 and net cash flow of -$10,000. In reality, your practice spent $10,000 more than it brought in. Without seeing this picture, you might mistakenly assume you had funds available for distributions or new hires.

For veterinary practice owners, the cash flow statement answers practical, day-to-day business questions such as:

• Can I afford to hire another associate or technician?

• Do I have enough of a buffer to replace an X-ray machine?

• Is it safe to take a dividend this quarter?

• If revenue dips for two months, will I still be able to cover payroll and rent?

These are the kinds of decisions that make or break the financial stability of a clinic. A healthy P&L alone doesn’t provide enough information to answer them.

Making cash flow work for you

Monitoring cash flow doesn’t have to be complicated. Many bookkeeping tools integrate with accounting systems to produce reports automatically. A few practical steps include reviewing cash flow monthly, building reserves during peak months and planning for capital purchases.

For veterinarians, the P&L shows profitability, but the cash flow statement shows sustainability. Cash pays staff, keeps the lights on and funds growth. Ignoring cash flow can lead to nasty surprises, even in a profitable practice.

By incorporating cash flow review into your regular financial routine, you gain a more accurate picture of your practice’s financial health. This clarity allows you to make better business decisions, reduce stress and focus on what really matters: providing excellent care to patients and clients.

Greg Toner, CPA, CA, TEP, CLU, is principal at VetCPA.

Reprinted from the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association’s Focus magazine www.ovma.org

Three types of veterinarians who should start a practice

Originally published in OVMA Focus Magazine September/October 2025

BY GREG TONER

In university, a mentor gave me some advice that I’ve shared freely since then: there’s no perfect time to have a baby or start a business. After living through having babies and starting a business, I’ve learned that she was right. Timing is far less important than acting. And you’ll inevitably figure out how to make it work.

I work with a lot of veterinarians, and I talk to five to 10 veterinarians from across Canada every day. Most are practice owners, but some are considering practice ownership and others have no interest in ownership.

I talk to many practice owners about their bad days, but there are generally more good days than bad. I generally find that there are three things that drive happiness in practice ownership for veterinarians, and it closely aligns with the three types of veterinarians who I think should seriously consider starting a practice.

1. The specialist

The specialist craves professional autonomy and clinical freedom. They love being able to provide the best possible care, and they take great joy in seeing complex cases and sharing that knowledge and expertise with others. Their practice is seen by other veterinarians as a resource they can lean on when things get hard. They love being the person the industry can turn to when the medicine gets complex. The specialist’s practice is spotless and operates with surgical precision. Although there’s less case volume than other practices, the specialty service their clients seek is highly valued.

2. The entrepreneur

The entrepreneur loves the business of veterinary medicine. They’re a veterinarian first and can jump into any part of their practice, and they take great satisfaction in building something bigger than themselves. As one part of their practice starts running consistently and operating profitably, they move on to the next step to keep growing. The entrepreneur’s practice is humming, everyone is in the right place, doing the right thing, and doing it on time. Their practice runs efficiently and provides predictable experiences for both their staff and clients.

3. The caretaker

The caretaker takes great pleasure in being a key member of their community. They have an enormous heart, and they take pride in looking after the pets in their community and being relied on to help when they’re in need. They provide a great place to work for their staff and view them as an extension of their family.

The caretaker’s practice is a warm place with friendly staff. Their approach to making their staff feel valued translates to staff making all their clients feel valued. This veterinarian has been an anchor to their community for over two decades and will continue to practice there as long as they can.

Practice ownership is just starting to evolve. Fewer clinics have chaotic schedules, and work is much more predictable for practice owners and their staff. The common thread for how the specialist, the entrepreneur and the caretaker approach practicing veterinary medicine is that the care for animals entering their practice is their north star - they want to make sure that they and their practice are the best that they can be.

Do you see some of yourself in one of these personas? Maybe practice ownership is for you. There will be hard days, but it will drive a sense of fulfillment that makes it all worth it.

Greg Toner, CPA, CA, TEP, CLU, is principal at VetCPA.

Reprinted from the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association’s Focus magazine www.ovma.org

The most practical way to improve practice efficiency

Originally published in OVMA Focus Magazine July/August 2025

BY GREG TONER

At a high level, there are three ways to maintain the viability of a veterinary practice when faced with increasing costs: raise your prices, see more clients or be more efficient.

Over the last year, pet owners have become increasingly price sensitive, so raising prices is a challenge. Seeing more clients isn’t always feasible— at the time of writing, we’re seeing a softening of demand for veterinary care in many markets across Canada.

So, what’s left? Be more efficient. How? With better standard operating procedures (SOPs) and actively work to make them better.

SOPs provide a roadmap for consistency, efficiency and quality, serving as the backbone for any successful practice. They outline the best-known methods to accomplish specific tasks, ensuring that all staff are aligned in their approach, and they work seamlessly together to support the rest of the team in providing care to the pets and pet owners that you’re serving.

SOPs bring consistency to practice operations. When everyone in the organization follows the same processes, the output is more predictable and reliable. This means that the practice owner, manager or veterinarians won’t get pulled into every case or issue with a mild case of ambiguity. Without standard procedures, performance can be highly variable, leading to mistakes, inefficiencies and customer dissatisfaction.

They also streamline workflows by eliminating guesswork. Employees know exactly what steps to follow, which reduces the time spent figuring out how to complete a task. This improved clarity increases productivity and allows practices to operate more efficiently. Additionally, when processes are standardized, it becomes easier to identify and eliminate bottlenecks, further boosting overall performance. Organizations that prioritize efficient procedures often find they can do more with fewer resources, improving their bottom line.

Standard operating procedures are valuable when it comes to training new employees. Clear, well-documented SOPs enable faster onboarding because new hires can quickly understand what’s expected of them. Rather than relying on ad-hoc explanations from colleagues, which may vary greatly, new employees have a consistent, reliable source of information to guide their actions. This helps reduce the learning curve and ensures that new team members integrate into the organization smoothly and effectively.

They also lay the foundation for continuous improvement initiatives. By documenting the current best way of doing things, businesses have a benchmark to measure against when seeking enhancements. SOPs can be reviewed and updated regularly based on new learnings, feedback and changing environments. This systematic approach to refinement ensures that the organization evolves intelligently rather than chaotically.

There are many headwinds in the veterinary industry, and practices need to adapt to remain viable businesses. The most feasible way to do that in the current climate is to improve efficiency. Review your SOPs, update those that are out of date, and make sure your whole team is on board. It might be uncomfortable at first, but when everyone knows what they’re supposed to do and what they can expect from the rest of the team, practices run smoother.

Greg Toner, CPA, CA, TEP, CLU, is principal at VetCPA.

Reprinted from the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association’s Focus magazine www.ovma.org