The first step in your Group configuration is to agree on a few Admin settings that will dictate how your multiple clinics interact.
NOTE: These settings cannot be modified after initial creation - so you'll want to ensure these are thoughtfully selected to best fit and meet your ideal configuration now and in the future.
Group Platform vs Individual Clinics
When set up as a group with multi-clinic access, you will have a group platform as well as individual clinic access for each location.
The group platform allows owners and management to access all clinics from one platform, manage overall group settings such as shared products and pricing, and run reports for all or select clinics.
Share Messaging
When shared messaging (SMS) is enabled, the message center will be located on the group platform rather than in each individual clinic. This scenario is commonly used if a group has a "call center" where one location is answering the phone and receiving messages for all locations.
SMS Available Time
If a shared message center is enabled, the group platform has settings to determine available hours for messages and an auto-response that is sent out if a client sends a message outside of available hours.
Share Products and Reminders
Sharing products allows for managing available products, services, and bundles at a group level so all of the available items are the same across all clinics. When products are shared, reminder templates must also be shared on a group level.
NOTE: If enabled, any changes to products and reminders at the group level will impact all clinics. Individual clinics cannot edit, add, or delete products/services, or client reminders for their practice settings.
Individual clinics can however deactivate products/services and bundles that are not applicable or used at that clinic and create internal bundles as well. Products may also be marked as taxable or not within each clinic.
Learn more about products in our Products and Services Overview and more about reminders in our Product Reminders guide.
Inventory
Inventory is always managed on a clinic level and not a group level. This means inventory items and purchase orders are created within each clinic. Users with group platform access can easily access individual clinics to help manage or process inventory from other clinics as needed.
Share Product Pricing
To enable shared pricing, you must share products as well. Enabling shared product pricing will allow for product and service pricing to be managed at the group level, and prevent individual locations from modifying or defining any pricing at the clinic level. Any pricing changes at the group level will impact all locations.
NOTE: With shared pricing, if an individual clinic receives an inventory item at a higher cost, there is a prompt to increase product pricing for all clinics to help ensure all clinics are charging the new price even before receiving the inventory item at a higher cost.
Share Pet Portal
Share a central Pet Portal and one custom URL that is accessible to all clients across all locations. Clients may request appointments, view pet profiles, and see upcoming appointments on the Pet Portal and will have the option to select their preferred clinic/location when submitting an appointment request. Note: Rx Refill requests can only be requested from the original prescribing clinic.
Learn more about the pet portal in our Pet Owner Portal Overview guide.
Share Clients and Patients
When clients and patients are shared, all clinics will have visibility to the same shared client and patient data. If enabled, clients and patients can be viewed, created, modified, deleted/inactivated by any location. This allows for each clinic to see the most recent patient history without having to send any records back and forth.
A few notes about shared clients and patients:
When SOAPs are created for patients, they can only be edited by the clinic that created the SOAP although other clinics will have view-only access.
When a new client is created, they will be assigned a home clinic in the account where they were created. This is used for tracking things like new clients per clinic.
Share Tasks
Sharing tasks allows for the management of non-treatment-related duties across all locations. If enabled, tasks can be created, viewed, and modified by all locations, but tasks can only be assigned to users designated to the clinic assigned to the task. Note: sharing clients and patients is required in order to share tasks.
Learn more about tasks in our Task Overview guide.
Share Forms
Sharing forms allows for form templates to be created and managed from a group level. If enabled, form templates can only be created and modified at the group level for all clinics. Individual clinics may archive a form if it is not used at that clinic.
Learn more about forms in our Forms guide.
Share Shepherd Pay
When shared Shepherd Pay is enabled, a single Shepherd Pay account is jointly utilized across all clinics. All clinics would experience the same batch event(s), all transactions are logged within a single account, and all deposits are made to a single bank account.
Learn more about Shepherd Pay in our Shepherd Pay guide.
Share Referral Source
Sharing client referral sources allows for the management of referral sources at a group level through a singular list. If enabled, client referral sources can only be created, modified, and inactivated at the group level for all clinics.
Learn more about referral sources in our Clinic Settings guide.
Share Client Discounts
When shared client discounts is enabled, discounts for client profiles are managed at the group level through a singular list. If enabled, client discounts can only be created, modified, and inactivated at the group level for all locations.
Learn more about Client Discounts in our Clinic Settings guide.