The Market Town Vet, a companion animal practice in Oswestry and Shrewsbury, understood the value of offering online payment options. However, they faced obstacles to client engagement with their former method. Needing a more efficient process, the team turned to Merlin’s online payment offering.

Challenge: Poor pet owner responsiveness

The main challenges The Market Town Vet faced with their former method of collecting online payments were poor client communication options and payments not being automatically reconciled against invoices.

They previously used a veterinary software platform that allowed them to collect payments via a veterinary client communications app or via WhatsApp messages using Stripe. “It was usable, it wasn’t particularly good,” says Rob Tulloch, BVM&S, Owner and Lead Vet. Inside the app, users would see a red dot, indicating there was a message waiting for them. That message would include a payment request.

One of the difficulties with this product tied into people’s hesitancy to respond to messages from unknown numbers. Pet owners who didn’t have the client communications app would instead get notified via WhatsApp. Rob explains, “That's why I got such poor engagement. They don't look at the message because it's not from a known name." And he is not wrong. 32 percent of UK residents won’t answer a call from an unknown caller.

The Market Town Vet's success rate with online payment links depended a lot on the clients. For example, in a situation where the practice had let the pet owner know the amount due and then sent a payment link for ease of use, it was more likely to result in the account being settled quickly. “They were already engaged,” Rob points out, “since we were having a conversation about money that's outstanding after the insurance claim.”

Yet pet owners who are not expecting a payment message in WhatsApp were less likely to open the message. The same goes for those owing more substantial amounts of money.

Online payment success depends on two factors: 1) Clients must accept that you're sending them requests for money and 2) They must actually pay the amount due.

From the practice’s perspective, the other drawback with their former method was lack of integration. Sure, they could collect payments, but that money was not reflected in their internal systems. “We would have to go and search for it and then record it in the client account as paid, so it  generated more work,” Rob admits.

Action: Switch to Merlin for reconcilability

“The main reason we took the product on is because it's self-reconciled,” says Rob. Once the client makes a payment, their record in Merlin is automatically updated, which saves us a lot of time having to record payments manually.  Most other online payment providers don’t offer that continuity.

Learning Merlin’s online payment system was simple, recalls Rob. It’s easy to train colleagues and has reproducibility, making it a smart choice for scaling across the practice and introducing to pet owners.

To send a payment link, the staff can copy and paste into their own WhatsApp message or create an email. Merlin offers preloaded templates to save time or the option to write your own for more nuanced or specific messaging. The communications are flexible, depending on a practice’s need.

Results: Building trust and cash flow

From a client communications perspective, Merlin’s system solves the challenge of ignored messages. Payment requests come from The Market Town Vet. Pet owners recognise the number as the same one from which they get appointment reminders and other messages about their pets. They are more likely to open them—the first steps towards paying.

The whole process is designed to be flexible for clients. Rob says, “It works very well from a debt collection perspective. The person doesn't have to engage with you in person. Doesn't have to make the walk of shame coming back into the business.”  With the technology of Merlin online payments, the clinic can send emails or SMS messages. There is no potential awkwardness of a phone call discussing debts.

The Market Town Vet uses online payments often when collecting larger sums. They will create a payment plan, as it’s easier to get six payments of £150 than a £900 lump sum. The clinic will make a recurring reminder to send out a message requesting payment. The pet owner gets into the habit of paying each month. Rob acknowledges, “It takes longer to get your debt down, but you do get it as opposed to getting nothing.”

He continues, “It does help cash flow, but is hard to quantify.” With routine visits, the system is useful for collecting payments prior to treatments. After processing a pet insurance claim, the practice easily sends the link for the amount still owed. They stay top of mind with pet owners and accounts are settled sooner.

After switching to Merlin’s integrated online payment links,   The Market Town Vet achieved both practice efficiencies and pet owner engagement, a winning situation for veterinary staff, clients, and the animals they care for.