How Plateau Veterinary Hospital Simplified Client Payments With Scratch

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Practice teams need veterinary payment processing platforms that are easy for both staff and clients to use. For the team at Plateau Veterinary Hospital in Bend, Oregon, recurring payment processing issues and limited card acceptance were starting to frustrate staff and create a negative experience for their clients. 

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After switching to Scratch Checkout™, the team streamlined payment processing, gained greater visibility into transactions, reduced operational costs, and improved the client experience.

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When Payment Problems Become Practice Problems 

Kali Houston, Practice Manager at Plateau Veterinary Hospital, has been in practice for over eight years, so she has seen her fair share of frustrating veterinary payment software issues. And their previous partner was no exception. “We had consistent issues with customer service, both trying to get a hold of someone, as well as the quality of the support we received,” explained Kali.

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She added that the most frustrating issue was that every problem required troubleshooting, and getting support wasn’t an easy process. “Multiple people had to be contacted, even for simple answers, being unable to get a hold of a single resource to get those problems solved in a timely manner was very frustrating for both our administrative staff, as well as our support staff that were dealing one-on-one with the clients,” she explained. 

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Another frustration was that Plateau Veterinary couldn’t accept certain credit cards. When one client couldn’t pay for services with their new credit card, the practice team repeatedly contacted their payment processing provider in an attempt to override the restriction.

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“We contacted multiple times trying to get this change to happen,” explained Kali. “We were not able to get a hold of anybody, and when we finally did, they had no idea what we were talking about, and had no idea how to fix the problem or what we were referring to.” 

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Despite the client’s patience, in the end, they had to visit an ATM and withdraw cash to complete the transaction. At this point, it was clear that Kali and the team at Plateau Veterinary needed a better long-term veterinary payment solution.

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Improved Veterinary Practice Efficiency with Reduced Operating Costs and a Better Client Experience

Since implementing Scratch Checkout, Plateau Veterinary has reduced operating costs while also making payment collection easier for staff and more convenient for clients. 

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“Scratch Checkout has significantly lowered our operational costs, and their customer service is far better than what we had with our prior processor. Next-day deposits and text-to-pay have made a real difference, and it's been a great partnership,” said Kali. 

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Text-to-pay for veterinary practices can transform checkout, and for Plateau Veterinary this feature has been particularly valuable. “The text payments at no additional charge have been a life changer for us, especially with our surgical procedures,” said Kali. Because invoices can be finalized and sent before pets are ready to be picked up, the practice team can focus on discharge instructions and medication, rather than asking clients who are concerned about their pet and want to get them home to settle their bill.

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The ability to accept all forms of credit cards, including those the practice once had to turn away, has also eliminated a source of friction for both staff and pet owners. “We don’t have to tell someone ‘Sorry, we don’t accept that form of payment,’ and then having to re-plan how they’re going to pay for the care of their pet,” explained Kali. 

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Giving Practice Staff Faster Access to the Information They Need

The Plateau Veterinary team made the switch to Scratch, and they haven’t looked back. “Scratch has resolved a lot of problems for us, especially with intervention required by the management team,” said Kali. 

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One of the biggest improvements has been the ability for practice staff to quickly confirm transaction details through the Scratch dashboard. Previously, questions about payment status meant staff had to contact the payment processor for help, which involved multiple sign-ins, and only senior practice staff had access to that information. This led to delays since front-desk staff had to wait for a manager to become available.  

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With the Scratch Checkout dashboard, all staff who take payments can confirm that a transaction went through at any time, without having to wait for a senior member of staff or spend time phoning customer support trying to get help.

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Veterinary Payment Processing That Supports Your Practice

For Plateau Veterinary, switching to Scratch Checkout delivered more than a new payment processor. It gave practice staff faster access to the information they need, helped reduce operating costs, and created a smoother payment experience for clients.

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With responsive support, next-day deposits, text-to-pay functionality, and the ability to accept all major credit cards, the team can spend less time managing transactions and more time on patient care. As Kali put it: “I would recommend Scratch to any private practice looking to cut operational costs and provide payment processing that's super easy for both the staff to do as well as the clients.”

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