The 4 most time-draining tasks in a vet clinic—and how to automate them

Running a veterinary clinic means juggling a dozen different hats every day. Even just little administrative tasks can pile up and steal precious time away from patient care.

Here’s a breakdown of the four biggest time sinks—appointment scheduling, medication refill calls, billing inquiries, and after-hours triage—and exactly how to automate each so you can give your team back hours every week.

1. Appointment scheduling: from endless back-and-forth to click-and-book

Why it eats time: Manually juggling calendars and phone calls is like playing whack-a-mole with client requests. You’re constantly checking staff availability, switching screens between your practice management software and your phone system, and then confirming via email or voicemail. This cycle can eat up several hours every week—time that could be spent on patient consults or staff training.

Automation solution: Online booking widget

• Implement a booking widget on your website that syncs in real time with your practice management software.
• Let clients see available slots and self-book routine visits or vaccinations.
• Use rules (e.g., block lunch hours, limit same-day bookings) to prevent conflicts.

Popular tools

• Vetstoria: Integrates directly with AVImark and ImproMed; $349/mo entry plan; drag-and-drop calendar view.
• Calendly: Free plan for basic bookings, paid from $12/user; sleek UI but requires Zapier for PIMS sync.
• SimplyBook.me: Starts free up to 50 bookings/mo, then $9.90–$59.90/mo; built-in payment support but steeper learning curve.

Practical tip: Choose a tool that sends automatic reminders by text or email 24 hours before the appointment. You’ll reduce no-shows and avoid last-minute reschedules without lifting a finger.

2. Medication refill calls: turning hold music into a portal

Why it eats time: Every day, you and your receptionists field dozens of calls—“Can I get Fluffy’s thyroid meds refilled?” Tracking prescriptions, pulling up patient files, and then logging refill dates manually can add up to a full afternoon’s worth of busywork. Clinics using refill portals report processing 80% of medication requests without staff intervention, saving 30 minutes daily per veterinarian.

Automation solution: Secure refill portal

• Offer a web-based refill request form where clients enter pet details and medication information.
• Integrate it with your PIMS so requests land directly in your vet tech’s queue.
• Automate status updates: “Your refill is ready,” or “Prescription has been sent to your pharmacy.”

Popular tools

• Vetspire: Built for clinics on Vetspire PIMS; automatically logs refill history but only works on Vetspire.
• PetDesk: Free tier for refills + reminders; paid plans add two-way chat and bulk messaging; great for pet health engagement but higher tiers can get pricey.

Practical tip: Add a checkbox to the portal asking clients if they need food, supplements, or an upcoming appointment reminder, then bundle those tasks together in one workflow.

3. Billing inquiries: from paper statements to automated reminders

Why it eats time: Chasing down outstanding balances, printing invoices, and answering “Why is my balance different this month?” calls takes up a surprising chunk of admin hours. Every overdue invoice often leads to at least one follow-up call or email.

Automation solution: Automated payment reminders

• Set up scheduled emails or texts that go out when an invoice is generated, one week before it’s due, and on the due date.
• Include a secure payment link so clients can click once to pay.
• Tie it to your accounting software so paid invoices automatically clear from the reminder schedule.

Popular tools

• VetBilling: Integrated with leading PIMS; automatic recurring invoices but limited customization on emails.
• Stripe: No monthly fee, 0.5% on invoices paid via Dashboard (plus standard processing); full customization but requires manual PIMS integration.
• Petly: Bundled wellness plans + autopay; excellent for memberships but overkill if you only need one-off invoices. Interface preview

Practical tip: Offer autopay for clients on monthly wellness plans. It cuts down billing questions and smooths your cash flow.

4. After-hours triage: from voicemail to AI-powered answering

Why it eats time: After closing, you still worry about the phone ringing—muffled sobs, anxious owners in distress, or simple “Is the office open tomorrow?” questions. Someone on call spends precious evening or weekend hours just listening and deciding what needs your direct attention.

Automation solution: Veterinary answering service or AI answering service

• Deploy an AI receptionist trained on veterinary triage scripts that can ask key questions (“Is your pet breathing normally?” “Can they stand?” “When did symptoms start?”).
• The AI sends you a call summary via text or email, with a suggested urgency level.
• If a case is non-urgent, it can answer questions about your practices and services, and even help schedule an appointment for the next business day.

Popular tools

• Smith.ai: $292/mo for 30 calls of live-agent + AI; customizable scripts but minimum monthly spend.
• AnswerForce: 24/7 human-AI hybrid service; reliable but can feel less “instant” than pure AI.
• Upfirst: $24.95/mo for starter plans; designed for small business. AI-only triage with that can help take detailed messages, call forwarding service, and assist with scheduling scheduling.

Practical tip: Record a brief greeting and common FAQs (“Our emergency number is…,” “Office hours…,” “How to prepare for your visit…”) so the AI can handle routine calls without bothering you.

Wrapping up

Every week, these four tasks can easily consume a full day—or more—of your team’s time. By layering in tools like online booking widgets, secure refill portals, automated billing reminders, and AI-powered after hours answering service, you’re not just cutting down on busywork. You’re freeing up veterinarians and staff to focus on what matters most: patient care and client relationships.

Give one of these automation solutions a try this month. Start small—maybe implement the refill portal first—and you’ll quickly see how even a modest time savings compounds across your clinic’s schedule. Reclaiming those hours isn’t just convenient—it’s transformative.