Navigate to: Client Profile or Patient Profile > Wellness Plans tab
We have temporarily paused Wellness Plan activations.
What You Need to Know
Enrollment is not official until the client signs.
The enrollment date recorded in Shepherd is the date the client signs, even if a different start date was selected. The plan is not active until the client approves.
Canceling an enrollment is immediate and permanent.
The patient loses access to remaining plan-covered services the moment a plan is canceled. This cannot be undone, though usage history remains visible in the chart and reporting.
Plan items that are $0.00 will appear at $0.00 on visit invoices — this is expected, not an error.
Items marked as Free within the plan are covered by the plan price the client paid at enrollment. A visit invoice totaling $0.00 because all services used were Free plan items can be checked out normally without additional payment.
You can correct enrollment pricing without canceling the plan.
Users with the Wellness Plan Enrollment Pricing (Update) permission can reopen an enrollment invoice to adjust the plan fee or enrollment fee after the fact. Canceling is not required to fix a pricing mistake or apply a one-off discount.
Enrolling a Patient
Users with the Wellness Plan Enrollment permission can enroll patients from either the client profile or the patient profile. Wellness plans are associated with patients, but enrollment can be initiated from either location.
Open the client profile or patient profile.
Select the Wellness Plans tab.
Select Enroll.
If enrolling from the client profile, choose the patient.
Choose a Wellness Plan.
Species-specific plans are only visible for eligible patients.
If the patient is already enrolled in a plan, that enrollment must be completed or canceled before a new one can be started.
Choose a start date. Start dates cannot be set in the past.
Review the included items and payment overview.
For Renewing Plans, adding a payment method at enrollment is optional. Decide how the client will pay before proceeding:
| Card added at enrollment | No card at enrollment |
Charged on approval | Yes — full plan price immediately | Nothing charged; plan activates |
Renewals | Charged automatically each renewal | New invoice created each term; practice collects |
A yellow warning box appears at the card step confirming that adding a card charges the full plan price immediately on approval. Read it before proceeding.
To charge the full plan price today: Add the card and continue.
To set up installment or recurring billing: Leave the card empty. Complete enrollment, then set up a Recurring Payment Plan separately and add the card there.
9. If your production settings require it, select a production user. The production user selected here receives credit for the enrollment fee and plan price only. Products and services used during future visits under the plan are assigned a production user individually at the time they are rendered.
10. Request a client signature in person, or send an eSignature request by email.
11. After the client approves, confirm enrollment.
Enrollment is not official until the client signs. The recorded enrollment date is the date the client signs, regardless of the start date selected.
After enrollment, an invoice is created for the plan price and any enrollment fee. If a payment method was added at enrollment, the invoice is set to Checked Out and the full plan price is charged on approval. If no payment method was added, the plan activates and the invoice remains outstanding for the practice to collect separately. The plan appears in the patient chart with enrollment and payment status visible in the Wellness Plans tab.
Enrollment Indicators
After a patient is enrolled, Shepherd displays indicators throughout the patient chart and scheduling workflow so your team can spot enrollment status and flag payment issues at a glance.
Patient profile
A Wellness Plan badge appears beneath the patient name showing the plan name and end or renewal date. A warning indicator appears if there is a payment issue.
Client profile
A Wellness Plan badge beneath the client name opens a dropdown listing all wellness plans across the client's patients and any recurring payments, each with an end or renewal date. A warning indicator appears if any plan or payment has an issue.
SOAP
A badge near the patient header shows the patient is enrolled. Hover to see the plan name and renew or end date. Click the badge to open a drawer with plan details and remaining usage quantities, including any configured substitutions. A warning indicator appears if payment has failed.
Appointments and scheduling
Enrolled patients show a wellness plan indicator in the patient picker when creating or editing an appointment. Calendar and list views show the indicator next to enrolled patient names.
Using Plan Items During a Visit
When an enrolled patient is in SOAP, plan details and remaining quantities for included items are visible within the visit. When a plan item is added, Shepherd automatically tracks usage against the plan's remaining quantity.
Plan items appear in a Plan Items sub-tab within the Estimates and Treatment sections in SOAP, separate from non-plan items.
Items marked as Free within the plan appear at $0.00 on the visit invoice. This is expected — the client paid the plan price at enrollment, which covers those services. If all items used during a visit are Free plan items, the invoice will total $0.00 and can be checked out without collecting additional payment. Items with a non-zero plan price will appear at that price on the invoice.
Keep in mind the following restrictions on plan items during a visit:
Discounts may be disabled for plan items.
Price edits may be disabled for plan items.
Client & Patient Discounts may not apply to plan items, except in Membership Mode plans where patient discounts are applied automatically.
Medication refills are not available for wellness plan items.
The Wellness Plans tab shows the retail value of items used for the patient's plan — useful for demonstrating plan value to clients or calculating owed or refundable amounts in the event of a cancellation.
Managing Enrollments
To manage a patient's enrollment, go to the client profile or patient profile and open the Wellness Plans tab. On the client profile, the list may include enrollments for multiple patients. On the patient profile, it shows only that patient's plans, including active and historical enrollments.
Viewing usage details
Expand a plan row to view item-level usage detail:
Product or service name
Quantity included in the plan
Quantity used
Quantity remaining
Substitutes, if configured
Adjusting remaining usage
If your role includes wellness plan enrollment permissions, an edit option may appear next to remaining usage quantities. Remaining quantities can only be reduced — they cannot be increased. Unlimited items cannot be adjusted. Shepherd displays a warning before saving because this action cannot be reversed.
Editing Enrollment Pricing
Users with the Wellness Plan Enrollment Pricing (Update) permission can adjust the plan fee or enrollment fee on an existing enrollment without canceling the plan. This supports pricing corrections, one-off discounts, and fee waivers.
Open the client profile or patient profile and select the Wellness Plans tab.
Locate the enrollment and select the pencil icon next to the plan name. The icon is only visible to users with the required permission. Tooltip reads: "Edit Enrollment Pricing."
In the Edit Wellness Plan drawer, review and update as needed:
End Date — editable
Plan Price — adjust using custom pricing or apply a discount, including reducing to $0.00 to waive entirely
Enrollment Fee — adjust using custom pricing or apply a discount, including reducing to $0.00 to waive entirely
Start Date, taxes, Due on Enrollment, and surcharge (if applicable) — display only, not editable
Select Save.
The plan fee and enrollment fee rows cannot be removed from the invoice — they can only be zeroed out or fully discounted. The enrollment invoice itself cannot be deleted.
If a payment already exists on the enrollment invoice, it must be voided before pricing can be adjusted. Adjusted amounts that would otherwise generate a cash refund are applied to the client's credit balance instead.
All pricing edits are tracked in the invoice activity log.
When all plan items are used
A plan does not automatically cancel when all included items have been used. The enrollment remains active until the plan period ends or it is manually canceled. This ensures billing and access are handled according to your practice's cancellation policy.
Actions on an enrollment
Depending on your role and the enrollment's status, you may be able to:
Edit the payment method on file
Correct enrollment pricing (plan fee or enrollment fee) — requires Wellness Plan Enrollment Pricing (Update) permission
Cancel the enrollment
Download enrollment documentation
If the wellness plan is financed through recurring payments, only the payment method can be updated on an active recurring plan. Payment dates and billing schedule cannot be edited — if schedule changes are needed, the recurring payment plan must be canceled and recreated. See Editing and canceling plans in the Recurring Payment Plans article for instructions.
Before canceling, consider whether cancellation is actually needed:
Pricing error — Correct the enrollment pricing directly instead of canceling. See Editing Enrollment Pricing above.
Plan is paid in full but the patient still has unused items — The patient can continue using remaining items until the plan expires. When transitioning to a new plan, either enroll them in a new plan at expiration, or enroll them now and edit the end date to match the current plan's expiration.
Need to change recurring payment dates — Cancel and recreate the recurring payment plan. Dates cannot be edited on an active recurring plan.
When you cancel a plan, future billing stops immediately and the patient loses access to remaining plan-covered services. The cancellation cannot be undone. If a pricing error occurred, enrollment pricing can be corrected without canceling — see Editing Enrollment Pricing above.
Post-Cancellation Invoice Adjustments
Canceling a plan stops future billing and removes the patient's access to remaining plan benefits, but it does not automatically reverse or remove the original Wellness Plan invoice charges. Wellness Plans cannot be returned like standard products or services — they function more like an agreement or contract.
To issue a refund after cancellation, the original invoice must be adjusted directly. Choose one of the following methods:
Discount the Wellness Plan line item on the original invoice
Correct the price on the Wellness Plan line item
Add an account adjustment product (such as a "Wellness Plan - Account Adjustment" item) to the invoice with a discount applied
The invoice must be reopened to Active status before any of these adjustments can be made. Once the adjustment is reflected, a negative outstanding balance will appear on the invoice. From there, a refund can be issued to the original payment method or applied to the client's credit balance.
Enrollment and payment statuses
Enrollment status reflects the plan lifecycle:
Active — The plan is currently running.
Expired — The plan period has ended.
Canceled — The plan was manually canceled.
Payment status reflects the current billing state:
Current — Payments are up to date.
Paid in Full — The plan has been fully paid (applies to one-time payment plans).
Overdue — One or more payment attempts have failed.
Canceled — Billing has been stopped.
Refunded — A refund has been issued.
The enrollment invoice is automatically set to Checked Out at the time of enrollment. Users with the Wellness Plan Enrollment Pricing (Update) permission can move it back to Active or Charges Complete to make pricing corrections. If the invoice balance reaches $0.00 after an adjustment, its status updates to Paid in Full.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can a patient be enrolled in more than one wellness plan at a time?
A patient can only be enrolled in one active wellness plan at a time. The current enrollment must be completed or canceled before a new plan can be started for that patient.
Why is the enrollment date different from the start date I selected?
The official enrollment date is the date the client signs, regardless of what start date was selected during setup.
Why does the visit invoice show $0.00 after I added plan items?
When all services added during a visit are Free plan items, the invoice totals $0.00. This is correct — those services are covered by the plan price the client already paid at enrollment. A $0.00 visit invoice for Free plan items can be checked out normally. If the total is unexpected, confirm the correct items were selected from the Plan Items sub-tab and that those items are marked as Free in the plan configuration.
What happens when all plan items are used?
The plan does not automatically cancel. The enrollment remains active until the plan period ends or the plan is manually canceled. This ensures billing and access are handled according to your cancellation policy.
What happens when I cancel an enrollment?
Canceling immediately stops future billing and removes the patient's access to remaining plan-covered services. The cancellation cannot be undone. Usage history remains visible in the patient chart and in reporting.
Can plan items be refilled as medications?
Medication refills are not available for wellness plan items. Medications included in a wellness plan must be added through the Plan Items sub-tab during a visit, not through a standard refill.
Why isn't the client's discount applying to plan items?
Client & Patient Discounts do not automatically apply to items in a traditional wellness plan. For Membership Mode plans, patient-level discounts are applied automatically to eligible services — this is handled through the plan itself.
Where can I see a plan's payment status?
Payment status is visible in the Wellness Plans tab on the client profile and patient profile. It also appears in the Usage and Enrollment tab within the plan's detail view at Admin > Wellness Plans.