Bookkeeping and Accounting for Veterinarians and Animal Hospitals
Bookkeeping and accounting for solo and multi-doctor veterinary practices nationwide, supervised by PizzelloCPA, PLLC. Pharmacy and inventory tracking, multi-revenue-stream P&L, equipment depreciation, AVMA-benchmarked S-Corp comp, and partner accounting. From $199/mo.
Vet Practices Have Real Inventory and Most Bookkeepers Miss It
Vet medicine is unusual among service practices because you carry real inventory. Pharmacy. Surgical supplies. Food. Retail. The cost of goods sold is a real number that affects your tax bill, and most generic bookkeepers either ignore it or get it wrong by treating purchases as expenses the day they hit the credit card statement.
Beyond inventory, your practice has multiple distinct revenue streams (medical services, boarding, grooming, retail, ambulatory, lab markups) that each have different margins. Equipment purchases run six figures and deserve tax-strategy thought. Multi-doctor practices need partner-account discipline that solo bookkeepers rarely build into their workflow.
We built our workflow around how vet practices actually operate. Every veterinary client gets inventory tracking, multi-stream P&L, AVMA-benchmarked reasonable comp, and CPA oversight from PizzelloCPA, PLLC on the moves that move the tax bill.
Veterinarians We Serve
One-DVM clinics, with or without boarding and grooming.
Group practices with associate DVMs, partner draws, and shift-based comp.
Small animal plus large animal, ambulatory work, and farm calls.
Equine, dermatology, ophthalmology, oncology, and other specialty referral practices.
House-call practices, hospice, and mobile spay-neuter clinics.
After-hours emergency clinics and 24/7 hospitals with shift schedules.
What We Handle That Generic Bookkeepers Miss
Inventory and Pharmacy Tracking
Unlike most service businesses, vet practices carry real inventory: pharmacy, surgical supplies, food, and retail items. Cost of goods sold is a real number that affects your tax bill. We track inventory cleanly and reconcile against what your practice management system says you sold.
Multi-Revenue-Stream Tracking
Medical services, boarding, grooming, retail, ambulatory, and reference lab markups all carry different margins. Lumping them together obscures what is actually profitable. We split them by department in your chart of accounts so you finally see the real economics of each part of your practice.
Equipment Depreciation and Section 179
X-ray machines, dental units, anesthesia, ultrasound, surgical lasers, and IDEXX in-house labs are major capital investments with multiple tax-treatment options. We track them properly, and PizzelloCPA, PLLC, our affiliated CPA firm, handles the Section 179 versus bonus depreciation versus MACRS choices (or we coordinate with your own CPA) that meaningfully change your tax bill.
DEA-Controlled Drug Accounting
Controlled substances need separate financial tracking that matches your DEA logs. We keep the financial side aligned so DEA inspections do not surface bookkeeping inconsistencies on top of compliance ones.
Reasonable Comp Benchmarked for DVMs
Veterinary services are SSTB so the QBI deduction phases out fast. Reasonable compensation set too low is the most common audit trigger we see in DVM S-Corps. We benchmark against AVMA wage data and BLS by geography, not guesswork.
Associate DVM, 1099 Relief, and Partner Draws
Associate vets, 1099 relief vets, and ownership transitions all create classification and accounting questions. Multi-doctor practices live or die on clean partner accounting. We track draws, capital contributions, and buy-ins precisely so K-1s come out right at year end.
Pet Insurance Reimbursement, Tracked
Pet insurance is growing rapidly and most practices have not updated their books to track it cleanly. We separate insurance reimbursement from owner direct-pay so you know which clients actually have coverage and how it affects your AR aging.
Your Practice Software, Connected
Cornerstone, AVImark, ezyVet, IDEXX Cornerstone, ImproMed, and similar platforms. We pull the financial data into QuickBooks Online cleanly so your practice management system stays the system of record for medical records, and QBO stays the system of record for finance.
Packages Starting at $199/mo
Every package includes a dedicated bookkeeper, monthly reports, CPA oversight (PizzelloCPA, PLLC), and tax-ready books.
Solo DVM, clean books, inventory, multi-stream P&L
Multi-doctor, partner accounts, equipment depreciation
Hospitals, multi-entity, live dashboard, advisory
Common Questions
Do you understand veterinary inventory accounting?
Yes. Pharmacy, surgical, food, and retail inventory all need to be tracked with cost of goods sold flowing through to your P&L. We reconcile inventory against your practice management system monthly so what you bought, what you sold, and what is on the shelf all match.
How do you handle multi-doctor practices with associate vets?
We track associate compensation, production-based pay, partner draws, and buy-ins in detail. Multi-doctor practices have unique accounting around shift work, ProSal arrangements, and partner equity, and we set the chart of accounts up to capture all of it.
Do you work with veterinary practices outside North Carolina?
Yes. We are a fully remote firm and support veterinary practices nationwide, from New Jersey to California. Your practice management system and QuickBooks Online carry the whole workflow, so geography never limits the engagement.
Do you integrate with Cornerstone, AVImark, or ezyVet?
Yes. We pull the financial data (charges, payments, inventory consumption) from your practice management system into QuickBooks Online. Your PMS stays the system of record for medical records and inventory; QBO is the system of record for finance.
Should my veterinary practice elect S-Corp status?
Almost always once profit clears about $80,000 for a solo, sooner for multi-doctor practices. Veterinary services are an SSTB so the QBI deduction phases out quickly, but the self-employment tax savings on owner draws are usually significant. We benchmark reasonable comp against AVMA data during onboarding.
How do you handle pet insurance reimbursement?
We track reimbursement separately from direct pay so you can see which procedures and which clients are tied to insurance. As pet insurance grows, this gets more important for understanding your true AR aging and collections.
Do you handle controlled substance accounting?
We handle the financial side. We do not maintain DEA logs (that is your responsibility), but we keep your books aligned with your reported drug purchases and ensure financial records are consistent with what would be reviewed during a DEA inspection.
Can you handle equipment depreciation for IDEXX in-house labs and imaging?
Yes. We track fixed assets and depreciation schedules in your books, and PizzelloCPA, PLLC, our affiliated CPA firm, sets the optimal tax treatment for each major purchase. The Section 179 versus bonus depreciation versus MACRS decision often has five-figure tax implications.
What does pricing look like for a solo DVM practice?
Solo vet practices usually start at our $199/mo Starter tier. Multi-doctor hospitals or practices with heavy inventory and boarding usually land in Grow ($349/mo) or Surge (custom). Every engagement includes CPA oversight from PizzelloCPA, PLLC.
Cited authorities and resources
We benchmark our work against primary sources, not opinion. Some of the references we coordinate with for veterinarians engagements:
- • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics for reasonable-compensation benchmarks.
- • IRS Form 2553 for S-Corp election timing and eligibility.
- • IRS Section 199A (QBI) guidance for the SSTB phaseout that applies to most private practices.
- • IRS Publication 946 for depreciation, Section 179, and bonus depreciation choices on practice equipment.
- • HHS HIPAA for Professionals for the workflow expectations on practices that touch PHI.
S-Corp planning, reasonable-comp analysis, and tax-strategy coordination are included in our engagement. For legal questions, we coordinate with your attorney.
Guides from our blog for veterinarians
Veterinary pharmacy and inventory accounting · Multi-doctor practice accounting
Not a veterinarian?
We serve the full private practice ecosystem. Therapists, Optometrists & Ophthalmologists, Nurse Practitioners, and more.
Books built around how a vet practice actually works
Book a free 30-minute consult. Bring a recent month's deposits and your inventory setup. We'll tell you what's working and where the tax dollars are leaking.
Book Your Free ConsultOr call us: 855.297.BOOK (2665)