How to choose practice software for a new veterinary clinic

Why a start-up chooses differently

An established clinic chooses software to escape something. A start-up chooses it to build something, with no records to convert, no product list to clean and no staff who learned the old way. That makes the first choice both easier and heavier: easier because the migration is empty, heavier because the system you pick becomes the workflow everyone learns. Practitioners who have switched describe six to twelve months from first thought to go-live, about 40 hours of training, and a stretch when every task takes three times as long.[22] A start-up gets to skip all of that exactly once.

A disclosure before the rest: Bittsi sells practice software, and where the same question applies to our own terms, this guide says what our answer is. Judge every vendor, including us, by the written answers, not the demo.

Who you are buying from

The practice-software market is smaller and more concentrated than the number of logos suggests, and most of the largest vendors are diagnostics or distribution companies first. IDEXX, the reference-laboratory and analyzer company, owns four systems: the cloud products ezyVet, Animana and IDEXX Neo, and the on-premises Cornerstone;[1] its cloud platforms passed 10,000 locations in 2025 and two thirds of its installed base is now cloud.[2][3] Covetrus, the distributor behind AVImark and ImproMed in the last published industry survey,[10] has been private since 2022,[4] and in February 2026 announced a merger with MWI Animal Health that still awaits regulatory approval.[5] Mars, which owns Antech and Heska, describes its diagnostics business as including practice information management software.[6][7] Chewy bought the maker of the Rhapsody system in 2022.[8]

Around them sit independents of varying size: Provet, Digitail (which raised $23 million in late 2025),[9] Shepherd, Instinct, Vetspire, VETport, Onward, DaySmart and others, and newer entrants such as Bittsi. The only cross-vendor table ever published in the US trade press listed 25 products in 2021, with installed bases self-reported by the companies and, in the magazine's own words, not independently verified.[10] Nobody publishes a current market share. What you can verify is who owns the vendor, because that decides what else they want to sell you.

The bundle question

When the software vendor is also your laboratory, the software may not be priced on its own. IDEXX's program puts it plainly: analyzers, imaging and practice software at no up-front cost against a growth commitment, with software subscriptions counting toward the commitment and every test counting too, whether run in-house or sent to the reference lab.[29] That can be a good deal for a busy hospital. For a start-up whose test volume is a projection, the question to ask is what happens to the software price and the equipment if the volume comes in under the commitment, and whether you can change laboratories without changing software.

Cloud or server

No neutral source publishes a market-wide split between cloud and on-premises systems; the 2021 survey listed a handful of server-only products, and the largest vendor now reports two thirds of its own base in the cloud.[3][10] For a new clinic the default is cloud: no server to buy or back up, access from home and from a phone, updates without a site visit, and a laptop that can be replaced at a store. The trade-off is that the clinic depends on its connection. One cloud vendor's own guidance asks small practices for at least 20 Mbps down and a wired network for the workstations that matter.[43] Budget the second internet line; it is cheaper than a day without charts.

Your data, in law and in the contract

What the law says

The medical record is the property of the practice, and the veterinarian must provide copies or summaries when a client asks; originals are kept for the period the state requires.[11] That period is three years after the last visit in California, Texas, Florida and New York,[12][13][15][16] Texas requires copies within 15 business days and forbids withholding them,[14] Florida forbids conditioning them on payment of a fee,[15] and California gives the client a summary within five days and assigns laboratory data to the facility that ordered it.[12] None of this binds your software vendor. It binds you, which is why the export clause matters.

What the contracts say

VIN News put the industry position in one sentence: companies are not obligated to provide practice data in a standard format, because there are no generally accepted standards for how a practice system stores it, unlike human medicine, where federal rules require records to move between programs.[17] The people interviewed named the two fields most likely to break in a conversion, the product list and the accounts receivable, and, to be fair to the vendors, none could describe a case where a company actually held data hostage; several said it can feel that way.[17]

The clauses themselves range widely. One archived edition of ezyVet's terms prepared data for transfer on ten business days' written notice, exported in a format the vendor specified, within 30 days.[18] Covetrus's Data Vault terms said access to stored data may be permanently terminated at cancellation.[19] Vetspire's current terms warn that conversion may not be possible or may be limited and make data quality the customer's sole responsibility.[20] Instinct's subscription terms for its reference product disclaim any obligation to maintain, store or make customer data available.[21] None of these is a scandal; each is a term you should know before you sign. Bittsi's answer: your data is exported on request in standard open formats, at no charge, at any time, including the product list and the receivables.

The contract terms that matter

Published prices in 2026 include DaySmart from $123 a month,[26] ezyVet from $260.50 with a six-month initial term and a three-month rolling contract after it, implementation priced separately,[24] Onward from $300,[25] and Provet at $99 per veterinarian plus a $249 platform fee with support staff free and most practices live in 8 to 12 weeks.[23] Several vendors publish no price at all. VETport states there is no minimum contract and no long-term option;[27] Vetspire renews month to month at then-current fees on 30 days' notice, makes fees non-refundable, and charges $1,000 for each rescheduled implementation.[20] IDEXX's master terms make fees subject to change as published, with no notice period stated, and let either side terminate on 30 days' notice.[28] In the 2021 survey, several vendors waived a migration fee in exchange for a one- or three-year agreement,[10] which is a term commitment in a different coat.

Bittsi's terms, for comparison: month to month, no setup fee, import and training included, and on the New Practice Program no charge until your opening date. Ask every vendor for the same five things in writing: the minimum term, the renewal, the notice period for price changes, what implementation costs, and what an exit costs.

Labs, analyzers and integrations

IDEXX publishes a list of fifteen practice systems its products integrate with;[30] Zoetis tells buyers to ask their software vendor whether it is FUSE-enabled, and notes its connectivity can run standalone;[31] Antech publishes no comparable list. None of the three states publicly whether integration carries a fee, so treat integration cost as unstated until a vendor puts it in writing. The questions: which reference laboratory and which in-house analyzers connect, in both directions, at what fee, and who fixes it when it stops.

Payments

Most practice systems now sell integrated card processing, and the price of it hides in the rate structure. Credit interchange, the part that goes to the card-issuing bank, generally runs 1 to 3 percent of the purchase, and smaller merchants usually receive a blended flat rate rather than a cost-plus one.[33] Debit interchange for large issuers is capped at $0.21 plus 0.05 percent plus a one-cent fraud adjustment.[32] Surcharging credit cards is capped at the merchant's own rate or 3 percent, whichever is lower, is not allowed on debit, and cannot exceed 4 percent in any state.[34][35] One veterinary vendor publishes its rate, 2.79 percent plus $0.25 per charge.[36]

Ask for the effective rate on a sample month of your own projected mix, whether the software price depends on using the vendor's processor, and what the terminal costs. Our answers: interchange-plus pricing with the statement to show it, a free terminal, and yes, the Standard rate depends on Bittsi Pay being primary.

Client communication and compliance

Three quarters of practices have a practice management system, 59.9 percent use client-communication software that integrates with it, and only 33.4 percent offer online scheduling, the second least adopted technology the AVMA measured; the same report names online scheduling and automated reminders as the first automation a practice should adopt.[37] The reason is old and well documented: in AAHA's compliance study of more than 1,400 pets across 240 practices, much non-compliance occurred because no recommendation was made, and only 35 percent of pets with moderate dental disease had received a cleaning.[38] Reminders and booking are not features on a list. They are the difference between a recommendation made and a recommendation followed.

• Online booking with real appointment types, on the website and the Google Business Profile.
• Two-way text, with reminders that carry the booking link and land in the chart.
• Estimates the client sees before the work, and declined care that becomes a dated follow-up.
• A client app or portal only if the clinic will actually answer inside it.

AI, honestly

Adoption is real. A survey of 3,968 veterinary professionals found 39.2 percent using AI tools in their setting,[39] and a 2026 peer-reviewed survey of internal-medicine specialists found 42 percent in the US, with generative language models and AI scribes the most common tools.[40] The same study reports no figure for time saved, and neither does any other peer-reviewed veterinary source. Every minutes-per-patient claim in this market, including ours, is a vendor claim to be tested in your own exam room.

The state boards have started to speak. The AAVSB's guidance says licensees must understand the risks and limits of AI, maintain transparency about its use, safeguard client data, and obtain informed consent when appropriate.[41] So the questions for any scribe are where the audio goes, how long it is kept, whether it trains anyone's models, and whether the veterinarian signs the note. Bittsi Scribe's answers are on its page; hold ours to the same standard.

The questions to ask in writing

AAHA's own checklist names six factors: ease of use, customization, integration, mobile access, customer support and pricing structure, with the note that AAHA endorses no brand.[42] Add the ones the contracts above make necessary.

• Term and renewal. Minimum term, renewal mechanics, notice period, and what a price increase requires.
• Exit. Export formats, timing, cost, and whether the product list and receivables come with it.
• Dependencies. Whether the price depends on a lab commitment, a processor or an add-on.
• Integrations. Which labs and analyzers, both directions, at what fee.
• Implementation. Weeks to go-live, hours of training, who builds the catalog and the templates.
• Support. Hours, channel, and who answers: a queue or a person.
• AI and data. Where audio and records are stored, retention, model training, and who signs.
• Billing start. The date the first invoice arrives, relative to the day you open.

Where first-time buyers get it wrong

• Buying the demo. The demo is the best day the software will ever have. Ask for a trial with your own fee schedule loaded.
• Signing the bundle without the downside case. Know what the software costs if the test volume misses.[29]
• Assuming your data comes back. No law requires a standard export.[17] The contract does, or it does not.
• Accepting a waived migration fee as free. It usually buys a term.[10]
• Paying for the software while the building is empty. Ask when billing starts.
• Choosing on AI claims. Adoption is documented; time savings are not.[40] Test it yourself.