Just one thing: Create your end-of-day scorecard

Lately, the AVMA has seen an uptick in members asking about industry economic trends, especially about whether what individuals are seeing in their own practices—like slower visits and revenue—is happening elsewhere, too.

The short answer? Yes.

While each market has its own nuances, national data show that both traffic into veterinary practices and client spending have softened. Compared to the peak of 2021, many clinics are seeing more open time on their schedules.

In the medium to long term, demand for veterinary services is expected to continue rising. But that doesn’t shield us from short-term fluctuations, or from the evolving expectations of pet owners. 

We can, however, arm ourselves with tools to help identify and manage these changes. A simple habit—like reviewing an end-of-day scorecard—can give you a quick pulse check on your practice, help you spot emerging trends, and guide your focus for improvement.

It only takes 15 minutes

This week’s challenge: Take 15 minutes to create a simple scorecard with just a few key metrics you can easily review at the end of each day. Keep it straightforward and actionable—just enough to stay connected to your practice’s health. And be sure to note the data sources for each metric; that will help you use the scorecard daily, and help your practice manager or someone else fill in the daily details when you’re not there.

Here’s an example:

• Number of visits (end-of-day PIMS report)
• Daily revenue (end-of-day PIMS report)
• Whether each team member took a lunch break (appointment schedule)

These three quick checks combine operational, financial, and team wellbeing insights. Tracking them daily will give you a broad-spectrum view of what’s happening in the clinic. 

Making it a habit

Your daily scorecard review should take no more than 3 minutes. The lower the friction, the more likely it is to become a sustainable habit. And over time, this simple habit can help you stay grounded, informed, and responsive. After all, what you do every day is far more powerful than what you do once in a while.

And who knows? By making metric tracking approachable, you might find that you spark a deeper curiosity and enthusiasm for your practice data.

Find more insights into how regular monitoring supports practice health in this CE webinar on AVMA Axon®: Using data to measure and improve practice health.