Starting up a business?

05.04.2017 So you’ve always dreamed of starting up your own practice, but are unsure of the different options? We have summarised the main types of veterinary business model for those considering starting up their own practice Independent ownership The traditional method of owning a veterinary practice is independent ownership, or forming a partnership with a group of people. Acting as a sole trader is easier to set up, however you own all business assets personally, meaning you are liable for all its debts. In layman’s terms – if you do not pay your bills, the debt collectors will come knocking. You also may find it harder to access finance meaning funding for the initial set up may be difficult. If you have a group of people willing to work together to grow a business, you could set up a partnership. This is often easier in terms of workload and you get to share skills and ideas – good if you have different interests however can cause problems if personalities clash. Profits are shared according to predetermined percentages. Partners are taxed on their share of the profits but are jointly liable for the debts. Alternatively you could set up a company which is a separate entity from you (a shareholder). This means the company has separate finances from your personal ones, meaning your personal assets are safe should your company go bankrupt. The company pays tax on its profits and the shareholders pay tax on their dividend income. All companies have to be registered with Companies House and are required to register with HMRC for corporation tax. The benefits of setting up independently is that you get to keep the profits of your business. You will also have control over your business, and where you wish it to go. However, the initial start-up costs may be high and you also have to manage marketing, IT and HR yourself. This could be made easier and cheaper with Provet Cloud – we offer free training sessions of our system to help you find your feet. Our system is easy to use, and is all cloud based meaning that hardware costs can be kept to a minimum. In 1998 new legislation allowed non-veterinary ownership of practices, this allowed the development of “corporate” style practices which have rapidly grown in numbers. These take the form of consolidators, such as Independent Vet Care (IVC) and CVS who buy existing practices. Alternatively joint venture projects with companies such as Vets4Pets can help you set up your own practice. Joint Ventures e.g. Vets4Pets, Medivet These are becoming increasingly popular across the UK with different businesses running slightly different models. For the initial investment needed to start up a practice, some of them require a smaller amount, which they will then match and arrange a bank loan for the remainder. Your investment will then be repaid tax-free after the practices bank loans are paid off. You then continue to pay 10-15% of your turnover in return for centralised admin, HR, marketing and IT. Other companies work in a more traditional partnership model. They will put in 50% of the investment, are liable for 50% of the debts and in turn share the profits instead of taking a percentage of the turnover. The benefits of entering into a Joint Venture Partnership mean you are part of a bigger company and often clinical support is easy to find. The initial cost of building the practice and setting it up is offset and often marketing is done nationally. However, it means you will not get to keep all your profits and you may not have autonomy within your practice. Whichever way you decide to set up your own practice, it can be a highly rewarding and exciting journey. One which Provet Cloud is perfectly suited to help you with. Give us a call today or check out our website www.provet.info to see how we could help grow your new business.