Keep Shepherd. Add the link that gets the plan approved and paid.
VetApprove is not another practice management system and never asks for your Shepherd password. It handles one step: the link that turns a recommended procedure into a signed plan with a deposit already in your bank.
- Free
- during the beta, for the whole clinic, whatever the number of veterinarians
- Direct
- deposits land in your own Stripe. We take nothing on the deposit, Stripe's fees apply
- ≈ 30 s
- to file a signed plan back into your software
Stays where it is
Shepherd
- The medical record and the treatment plan you build during the exam.
- Invoicing, inventory and your Shepherd reporting.
- Scheduling and communication.
What VetApprove adds
The link that gets the yes
- A priced plan the owner reads on their phone: included, recommended, optional. The total updates as they tick.
- A finger signature and a deposit paid in the same page, in about twenty seconds.
- Email reminders on day 1 and day 3, a balance reminder the day before, then expiry on the date you set.
- A sealed record: timestamp, IP, device, the hash of the accepted content, proof the link was opened. The PDF is rendered from it.
How they meet
Copy in, paste back
When the plan is signed, you get an email with a sealed PDF and one CSV line. Paste the CSV line into the Shepherd estimate or invoice, attach the sealed PDF to the visit. About thirty seconds, no API key, no integration for anyone to approve.
What Shepherd already offers
Shepherd Veterinary Software, Cloud practice management software built around the medical record and the treatment plan.
Shepherd is a cloud practice software (PIMS). Aggregators list $299 per month for one veterinarian plus $99 per additional veterinarian; the vendor's own pricing page returns a 404, so treat those figures as not verified. Like the other full systems we read, estimates, signatures and payments exist as separate places in the software; we did not find a single client link carrying all three, sent before the appointment. If Shepherd ships that, tell us and we will correct this page the same week.
We would rather you keep your money than buy a duplicate. If the flow above already exists in your setup, say so and we will write it here.
Price: free for every clinic during the beta (United States), no card on file; pricing later is one flat plan per clinic, announced at least 30 days ahead. No setup fee, no contract. We take nothing on the deposit, Stripe's fees apply. Deposits are collected by your clinic through its own Stripe account (Stripe Connect); VetApprove is not a payment processor. Signatures are simple electronic signatures with an audit trail. No compliance or certification claim. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners. VetApprove is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
How a clinic actually runs this
- 01
Cost the plan in Shepherd
Nothing changes: the exam, the record and the pricing stay in Shepherd, exactly as your team does it today.
- 02
Build the estimate in two minutes
Start from a starter template you can edit (dental, spay, TPLO, imaging, emergency deposit), adjust the lines, mark each one included, recommended or optional, set the deposit and an expiry date.
- 03
Send one link
By email. The owner opens it on their phone (no account, no app), picks options, signs and pays the deposit into your clinic's Stripe account.
- 04
File it back into Shepherd
The signed record lands in your workspace: download the sealed PDF and the one-line CSV. Paste the line into the Shepherd estimate, attach the PDF to the visit. About thirty seconds.
Questions clinics ask.
Does VetApprove replace Shepherd?
No, and it could not. VetApprove has no medical record, no inventory, no schedule. It does one thing: the link that gets a priced plan approved, signed and paid before the procedure.
How much extra work is it per estimate?
About two minutes to build the plan from a template and send it, and about thirty seconds to file the result back into Shepherd when it comes back signed.
What if the owner never signs?
Reminders go out on day 1 and day 3, then the estimate expires on the date you set. Your dashboard lists every unsigned plan so the front desk knows exactly who to call, instead of guessing.
Other practice software
Open your workspace. It takes one email.
Tell us about the clinic and we send your sign-in link right away. No password, no card, nothing to install. Your first estimate can go out today.
