Vet practice KPIs: 12 numbers to watch monthly

Most practice managers already have more reports than they can read. The practice-management software (PIMS) can produce hundreds of them. What's usually missing is a short list of numbers reviewed every month, in the same order, against last year and against the industry. This guide gives you that list: 12 KPIs, how to calculate each from data you already have, and where to find a free national benchmark when one exists.

Benchmarks below come from the free Veterinary Industry Tracker run by the AVMA and Vetsource. We only show figures we could link to. Where no reliable public benchmark exists, we say so: compare against your own trend.

Why 12, and why monthly

Weekly numbers are noisy, and quarterly reviews find problems too late. A monthly review of a fixed set of numbers catches a trend after two or three months, which is early enough to act. Keep it to one page. If a number never changes a decision, drop it.

Context matters right now. Across the 6,372 practices in the tracker, visits were down 2.0% and revenue up 3.4% over the last 12 months, and the average practice did about $2.2 million in revenue and 9.6K visits over that period (Vetsource Veterinary Analytics, Oct 20, 2026). In other words, the typical practice is growing revenue through price, not volume. Your KPIs should tell you whether that's true for you, too.

The revenue KPIs

1. Revenue, year over year

How: this month's gross revenue ÷ the same month last year − 1. Also track the trailing 12 months, which smooths out holidays and calendar quirks. Benchmark: the tracker publishes weekly and 12-month year-over-year revenue for the industry. In the week of Oct 11 to 17, 2026, revenue was up 1.3% year over year; over 12 months it was up 3.4% (Vetsource). The AVMA hosts the live dashboard (AVMA Veterinary Industry Tracker).

2. Visits (invoices), year over year

How: count of completed patient visits this month vs the same month last year. Use the same definition every month, for example invoices with an exam or a procedure, and exclude retail-only invoices if you can. Benchmark: −3.0% for the week of Oct 11 to 17, 2026, and −2.0% over 12 months (Vetsource). Broker Ackerman Group expects 2026 to be the fifth straight year of 2% to 3% invoice declines (Ackerman Group Q3 2026, PDF).

3. Average revenue per visit

How: revenue ÷ visits for the month. If revenue is up but visits are down, this is where the growth is coming from. Benchmark: the tracker's 12-month averages imply roughly $230 per visit for the typical practice (calc: $2.2M ÷ 9.6K visits, both rounded, so treat it as approximate) (Vetsource). For context on price, the BLS consumer price index for veterinarian services rose 4.6% in the 12 months to September 2026 (BLS CPI-U, veterinarian services; Vet Rounds calc). If your revenue per visit is rising much faster than that, check whether the mix is shifting toward sicker patients or whether wellness visits are falling away.

4. Services vs products revenue

How: split revenue into professional services (exams, diagnostics, surgery, dentistry, hospitalization) and products (medications, parasiticides, food, retail). Track each year over year. Benchmark: for the week of Oct 11 to 17, 2026, services were up 2.6% and products down 3.8% year over year (Vetsource). Falling product revenue usually means clients are buying elsewhere. Our guide on raising prices without losing clients covers pricing products against what clients can see online.

5. Parasiticide months dispensed

How: total months of heartworm and flea/tick protection dispensed (doses × months per dose), year over year. This is a good proxy for preventive-care compliance and for how much of it is leaking to online pharmacies. Benchmark: heartworm −10.0% and flea/tick −9.8% year over year in the week of Oct 11 to 17, 2026 (Vetsource).

Get the business of vet practice in five minutes, every Monday.Free. Unsubscribe any time. We never sell or share your email.

Subscribe free

The client KPIs

6. New patients per month

How: patients with a first-ever visit this month. Split puppies and kittens from adult transfers if your PIMS allows it. Benchmark: a Vetsource white paper, Where are the pandemic puppies and kittens?, found new puppy and kitten patients peaked in 2021 and were down nearly 10% year over year as of May 2026 (Vetsource; Vetsource weekly summary, Oct 20, 2026). If your new-patient line is flat, you may be doing better than the market.

7. Active patients and lapsed patients

How: active = patients seen at least once in the last 12 months (pick 12 or 18 months and never change it). Lapsed = previously active patients with no visit in the window. Track both counts monthly. Why it matters: with fewer new pets coming in, keeping existing patients is the cheapest growth available. A monthly lapsed-patient list worked by the front desk is the simplest fix. Clinical recall intervals are your medical team's decision.

8. Appointment no-shows

How: no-shows ÷ booked appointments for the month. Count late cancellations separately. Benchmark: we have not found a reliable, current public benchmark for vet clinics, so compare against your own trend. A rising rate is often the first sign a reminder sequence has broken.

The cost and capacity KPIs

9. Payroll as a share of revenue

How: total staff payroll, including payroll taxes and benefits, ÷ revenue. Report owner-DVM pay at a market rate, separately from owner profit, so the number is comparable year to year. Benchmark: no free, current public benchmark we trust. Track your own trend, and look at what roles cost locally. Our vet tech salary guide has the latest BLS pay data for techs, assistants and veterinarians.

10. Cost of goods sold (COGS) as a share of revenue

How: drug, supply and product purchases (adjusted for inventory change if you count it) ÷ revenue. Review your top 25 items by spend each quarter. Why it matters: when product revenue is falling, a stable COGS percentage can hide shrinking margins on what you still sell.

11. Revenue per full-time DVM

How: revenue ÷ full-time-equivalent veterinarians (count part-timers by hours). Pair it with visits per DVM to see whether a doctor is short on appointments or short on time. Why it matters: it's the number that tells you when to hire, and buyers look at doctor productivity and DVM team stability. Ackerman Group describes practices with stable DVM teams and room to grow as the ones seeing the highest multiples (Ackerman Group Q2 2026).

12. EBITDA, trailing 12 months

How: profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, with one-time items and owner perks removed. This is the number a buyer will value your practice on. Why it matters: even if you never plan to sell, it is the cleanest single measure of operating health. Our guide to vet practice valuation explains normalized EBITDA and current multiples.

How to run the monthly review

Pull the same reports on the same day each month, for example the third business day, from the PIMS and your accounting software.
Put the 12 numbers on one page, with this month, the same month last year, the trailing 12 months, and the national benchmark where one exists.
Mark anything that moved two months in a row. One bad month is noise. Two is a pattern.
Pick one or two actions, with an owner and a date, and check them next month.
Share a short version with the team. Front-desk staff move visits, compliance and no-shows more than anyone.

The AVMA also offers free practice tools, including a profit-and-loss calculator and a market-share estimator, on its veterinary economics page (AVMA). If you're hiring to fix a capacity problem, you can post the job free on Rounds Jobs.

FAQ

What KPIs should a veterinary practice track?

Track a short list monthly: revenue and visits year over year, average revenue per visit, services vs products revenue, parasiticide months dispensed, new patients, active and lapsed patients, no-shows, payroll and cost of goods as a share of revenue, revenue per full-time DVM, and trailing 12-month EBITDA.

What is the average revenue per visit at a vet practice?

Using the Vetsource/AVMA tracker's 12-month averages of about $2.2 million in revenue and 9.6K visits per practice, revenue per visit works out to roughly $230 (Vet Rounds calculation on rounded figures). Your own number depends on your services and case mix.

Are vet visits going down?

Yes, on average. The Vetsource/AVMA tracker showed visits down 2.0% over the 12 months to mid-October 2026, and down 3.0% year over year in the week of Oct 11 to 17, 2026, while revenue rose 3.4% over 12 months.

Where can I find free veterinary practice benchmarks?

The Veterinary Industry Tracker, run by the AVMA and Vetsource, is free on the AVMA website and is updated daily with revenue and visit trends from thousands of practices. Vetsource also publishes a free weekly summary.

How often should a practice manager review KPIs?

Monthly works for most practices. Weekly numbers are noisy and quarterly reviews catch problems late. Review the same short list each month and act on anything that moves two months in a row.

Want the numbers that move every week? They’re in the Monday brief.Free. Unsubscribe any time. We never sell or share your email.