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Release Notes | August 13, 2025

New integrations, reporting tools, payment features, security updates, and improvements to Forms, Pet Portal, and TranscribeAI workflows.

Updated yesterday

✨New Integrations & Data Connections

PetDesk - Now Live!

Shepherd User Exclusive: Purchase PetDesk Communications and/or Direct Booking by October 31 and receive your first six months free.

Simplify your clinic with PetDesk’s user-friendly client engagement tools and enhance client experiences with North America's #1 pet app and multi-channel messaging. Eliminate double data entry and reduce front-desk workload by automating tedious tasks (like sending reminders) - Boost admin efficiency, reclaim your time and delight your clients with the combined strength of Shepherd and PetDesk.

PetDesk Direct Booking features are still in closed beta - but a public launch is coming soon!

🚀 New Features & Capabilities!

Clinic Login IP Address Restrictions

Shepherd now supports IP address restrictions for clinic logins, letting managers control access by limiting it to approved IPs. This feature enhances security by blocking unauthorized attempts, sending optional email alerts, and logging unauthorized login attempts for review. Clinics must use a static IP to enable this feature. Users granted remote access permissions will still be able to access Shepherd remotely. IP restriction management is available under Admin settings for users with the appropriate permissions. Group account support is coming soon.

⚙️How to Enable IP Restrictions

Head to Admin → User → User Security to configure your approved IP addresses and strengthen your login protection.

Payments | Multi-Location Shared Payment Transfers

You can now enable a new setting within the Group Platform that allows payments to be shared across locations. Payment transfer can occur during invoice and payment acceptance, or later from a credit balance.


To use this feature, your group account must be configured to share both clients and patients across locations.

  • When transfers occur, they are recorded as Payment Transfer entries in reporting and payment interfaces, with clear “to” and “from” location identifiers

  • The original payment remains recorded under its actual payment type

  • If the setting is disabled, funds remain location specific and any transferring of payments requires manual configuration and processing.

  • We've improved client balance visibility in shared client and patient configurations to ensure you can easily recognize location originations for any balances

This feature gives your team greater flexibility when managing payments across multi-location practices.


​🛠️ Existing Feature Updates!

Appointment Reminder Emails | Customizable Subject Line

You can now customize subject lines in appointment reminder emails:

  • Add a custom subject line to any reminder template

  • Use merge variables for personalization

  • If left blank, the system will use the default date/time subject

Appointment Status Colors Applied to Today’s Appts

Color badges in the Dashboard → Today’s Appointments tab now match the system-wide appointment status color scheme, including the new Late status.

Forms | “Patient ID” Renamed to “Patient API ID”

To reduce confusion when creating forms, the Patient ID variable is now labeled Patient API ID.

This change makes it clear that the field refers to the patient’s API identifier used in certain integrations. The functionality remains the same.

Pet Portal | Login Enhancements

The Pet Portal login process is now more intuitive and flexible - making it easier for clients to access their accounts without errors.

What’s improved:

  • Partial name recognition - Clients can enter just a first or last name (e.g., "Bella" or "Thompson") and still be recognized

  • Prefix and suffix support - Handles titles like “Dr. Jane Smith” or “John Smith Jr.”

  • Flexible name combinations - Recognizes shared owners listed in various ways, such as:

    • John and Jane Smith

    • John & Jane Smith

    • John, Jane Smith

We’ve also added validation for co-owner information to better support shared accounts - reducing login friction and helping clients get in on the first try.

Read Only | Increased Visibility to Client Information

Need additional client details while in Read-Only Mode? You can now view client address info directly under the client’s name in the Clients & Patients section.

  • Partially visible by default

  • Full name, email, phone, and address shown on hover

This makes it easier to contact clients even when the full system isn’t available.

Reporting | Estimate Declined Items Tracking

You can now track declined items from estimates in a dedicated tab - helping you:

  • Spot trends

  • Identify frequently declined services

  • Adjust offerings to improve acceptance rates

Find the Estimate Report under the Reporting tab.

Reporting | Summary Report Revenue by Category Returns!

Revenue by Product Category is back in addition to client-level viewing. Thanks for your patience as we improved this report for better insights.

TranscribeAI | Exit Warning for Active Recordings

To help protect your work, you'll now see a warning if you try to leave the SOAP page while a TranscribeAI recording is in progress.

  • If you navigate away within Shepherd, a confirmation modal will alert you that leaving will stop the recording

  • You can choose to stay on the page or leave anyway

  • If you choose to leave, the action is recorded in the SOAP Activity History

  • If you refresh or close the browser tab, your browser will show a standard confirmation prompt

  • If no recording is active, you'll move between pages as usual

This update helps prevent accidental recording loss during live exams and ensures any exits are clearly documented.


🤖 OpenAPI Updates

🆕 Here's What's New

OpenAPI | SOAP Imaging Notes Writeback Endpoint

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