Independent practices find no-shows for appointments to be particularly irritating.  

This is even more problematic when other customers are finding it hard to book an available slot.

One solution is to request payment for the appointment at the time of booking.  This can be done very easily within the VetConsult dashboard by creating an invoice and sending via text or email.  

Once the appointment has been paid for it is far less likely that the customer will cancel.  However,  if they do need to reschedule at least you can make the slot available to other customers.

Another benefit to this approach is that the appointment side of things is paid for and the client only needs to pay additionally for any treatment or medication on the day, taking the sting out of the final payment.

As they have already used the software to pay the first bill, the second is even easier so they could pay it in the same way rather than waiting to use the card machine on reception.  (This will also make the transaction cheaper so it is a win, win!)

Did you know?  Veterinary appointment no shows can cost veterinary practices over £35k per vet per year.  Although no-shows may give welcome respite to those busy on the front line, this kind of loss can make a significant and unnecessary dent in profitability.