4 Efficient Remote Payment Methods for Your Vet Clinic

Veterinary care has seen a remarkable transformation driven by various services to meet patients' expanding needs beyond routine checkups or surgery. Many clinics offer telehealth appointments, curbside pick-up/drop-off, grooming services, daycare, prescription programs, wellness plans, and more. 

Getting paid for these services requires different solutions than those supported at your clinic’s reception counter. Here are four ways to implement efficient and secure remote payments.

1. Use Digital Invoices to Collect Remote Payments

   The rise of curbside drop-off and pick-up means clients are not in the office to pay for services. Digital invoices are a quick and easy way for customers to pay for goods and services using their mobile phone or PC. Staff create an invoice by entering the amount due, associating it with a customer’s file, and emailing a request for approval and payment. 

   Customers appreciate the convenience of digital invoices since they are faster and more secure than reading card numbers over the phone. A typical transaction goes like this: 1) the client receives an email with a request to pay the amount due; 2) they enter payment details into a simple form; 3) they press “pay” to send it along for processing.

2. Set up Automated Recurring Payments

   Securely capturing and storing payment information associated with patient records makes it easy to collect one-time, installment or recurring payments for services such as prescriptions, doggy daycare and wellness plans. With the ability to store clients’ cards on file, scheduling a veterinary payment plan takes just a few clicks.

   Streamlining recurring payments boosts your cash flow by lowering days sales outstanding (DSO). Payment schedules can be customized to bill daily, weekly, monthly or annually. Set an end date for short-term payment plans or leave it blank for indefinite services.

   You’ve built a loyal clientele by being a trusted veterinary service provider that keeps furry family members healthy and happy. The last thing you want to do is put someone in a position to deny their beloved pet a much-needed surgery or treatment because they cannot afford to pay for it all at once. Offering the option of payment installments to cover the surgery removes a stress barrier and becomes a lifeline. You can set up a payment plan to automatically process payments based on an agreed-upon schedule.

3. Collect Payments From Your Website

   Turn your website into a convenient place for clients to pay for services from their desktop, phone or tablet. Hosted Checkout adds a simple “Pay Now” button to your website that directs customers to a secure billing page where they enter their payment information. You can give your clients the option to add items to a shopping cart or specify an amount to pay if they have outstanding balances.
   
   Hosted Checkout is an excellent option for customers that either (1) electronically pay an invoice for prescriptions or appointments or (2) make online appointments for things like grooming or doggy day care packages. Best of all, Hosted Checkout doesn’t require any website development skills or the purchase of third-party software, and the data collected remains outside of PCI scope.

4. Take Secure Phone Payments

   One of the most efficient ways to process telephone payments is through a cloud-hosted Virtual Terminal. You simply connect to a secure portal via your web browser, enter login credentials, and type in card data. After the transaction is run, a receipt is emailed to the client to sign on their computer by mouse or smartphone with a finger. The signature is captured and automatically logged with client history in the Virtual Terminal, which allows you to locate a transaction if a customer questions a charge quickly.

   Be sure to enable Address Verification Service (AVS), a fraud-fighting measure supported by the card brands. While it’s likely that Fluffy’s mom is not a fraudster, running AVS lowers your credit card processing rates. The savings can add up (especially for expensive surgeries and treatments).

   Alternatively, you can use Secure Manual Key Entry if you have a Smart Terminal with that capability. This reduces PCI scope, translating to a much simpler PCI validation process for you.

   Having the right solutions and processes to support these new business models results in a better customer experience, faster cash flow, time and labor savings, and reduced fraud.

What has been the biggest strain on your vet practice when it comes to remote payments? Tell us in the comments below.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in January 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness and accuracy.