PaySec + ImproMed: Zero Processing Fees for Veterinary Practices
How vet clinics using Covetrus ImproMed are eliminating credit card processing fees with PaySec's Network Offset Pricing.
Veterinary practices face a financial reality that most pet owners never see. Behind the exam rooms and treatment areas, practice owners are managing drug costs, staffing expenses, equipment investments, facility overhead, and the constant pressure of rising operational costs. In this environment, every unnecessary expense matters, and credit card processing fees are one of the most persistent drains on veterinary revenue.
ImproMed, now part of Covetrus, is a comprehensive veterinary practice management system that thousands of clinics rely on daily. It handles clinical records, billing, inventory management, client communication, and appointment scheduling. ImproMed has been a trusted name in veterinary software for decades, and practices that use it have built their workflows around its capabilities.
The one thing ImproMed cannot do is eliminate the 2.5 to 3 percent that your payment processor takes from every client card payment. On a practice collecting $65,000 per month, that is nearly $20,000 per year going to the processor instead of back into the practice. PaySec's integration with ImproMed changes that equation entirely through Network Offset Pricing.
What Is the PaySec + ImproMed Integration?
PaySec connects to ImproMed's payment processing workflow through a bridge integration. When your front desk team creates an invoice in ImproMed after a patient visit and initiates the payment, the PaySec terminal displays two prices to the client: the base cash price and the card price, which includes a small offset covering the cost of card processing. The client chooses their preferred payment method, the transaction completes, and the payment posts back to the patient and client record in ImproMed automatically.
Network Offset Pricing (NOP) is legal in all 50 states and fully compliant with Visa, Mastercard, and all other major card network rules. It is not a surcharge. It is a transparent dual pricing model that gives clients a choice and keeps the practice's revenue intact.
The Real Cost of Processing Fees for Veterinary Practices
Veterinary practices process a wide range of transaction amounts, from $35 wellness exam copays to $5,000 emergency surgeries. Processing fees apply to every single transaction, and they add up across a month of appointments.
| Practice Profile | Monthly Collections | Processing Rate | Annual Fees Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small animal clinic | $45,000 | 2.5% | $13,500 |
| Mixed practice | $65,000 | 2.5% | $19,500 |
| Multi-doctor hospital | $110,000 | 2.5% | $33,000 |
| Specialty / emergency | $200,000 | 2.5% | $60,000 |
For a multi-doctor hospital, $33,000 per year in processing fees is the equivalent of a veterinary technician's full salary. For a specialty or emergency practice, $60,000 is a down payment on major diagnostic equipment like a CT scanner or ultrasound unit. This is money that could be directly reinvested in patient care.
How Network Offset Pricing Works with ImproMed
Here is a typical checkout scenario. A client brings their cat in for a dental cleaning and two extractions. The total invoice is $480. At the PaySec terminal:
| Payment Method | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cash or check | $480.00 |
| Credit card | $499.20 |
The client chooses their method. The practice receives the full $480 for the procedure regardless of how the client pays. No fee is deducted from the deposit.
Here is how NOP applies across common veterinary services:
| Service | Cash/Check Price | Card Price |
|---|---|---|
| Wellness exam | $55.00 | $57.20 |
| Vaccination package | $180.00 | $187.20 |
| Spay (dog) | $400.00 | $416.00 |
| Dental cleaning | $350.00 | $364.00 |
| Emergency visit | $250.00 | $260.00 |
| Orthopedic surgery | $3,500.00 | $3,640.00 |
| Prescription food (monthly) | $75.00 | $78.00 |
On a single orthopedic surgery, the practice saves $87.50 in processing fees. Across a year of surgeries, dentals, exams, and pharmacy sales, the total savings transform the practice's financial picture.
Integration Features
- Direct ImproMed posting: Payments flow from the PaySec terminal back to the patient and client record in ImproMed without manual data entry
- End-of-day reconciliation: PaySec settlements match ImproMed end-of-day reports for clean, auditable financial records
- All revenue streams covered: Exams, surgeries, dentals, pharmacy sales, prescription diets, boarding, grooming, and retail products all process at zero cost
- Online payment portal: Outstanding balances can be collected through a PaySec-powered portal with dual pricing, so clients paying from home also generate zero-fee revenue
- Multi-location support: Practices with multiple clinics can deploy PaySec across all locations with consolidated reporting
- PCI Level 1 compliant: The highest standard of payment card data security
- HIPAA compliant: Business Associate Agreement (BAA) available
- No contracts, no minimums: No long-term processor commitment required
Who Benefits Most?
The PaySec + ImproMed integration is designed for any veterinary practice that wants to stop giving away a percentage of every client payment to a processor. It delivers the most value to:
- Small animal clinics processing steady card volume from a loyal client base of repeat visitors
- Mixed practices handling both companion animal and large animal services across a diverse revenue base
- Multi-doctor hospitals where combined provider volume drives monthly collections into six figures
- Specialty and emergency practices processing high-value procedures where individual transaction fees can reach $50 to $150 per case
- Practices with strong ancillary revenue from boarding, grooming, pharmacy, and retail that adds card volume beyond clinical services
Getting Started
- Contact PaySec for a veterinary merchant account. Approval typically takes 3 to 5 business days with no contracts and no minimums.
- Install the PaySec bridge with ImproMed. PaySec connects to ImproMed's payment workflow so transactions flow through NOP-enabled processing.
- Deploy the NOP terminal at checkout. A pre-configured terminal displays dual pricing to clients at the point of payment.
- Process your first client payment at zero cost. From the very first transaction, you keep 100 percent of the invoice amount.
ImproMed has been helping veterinary practices manage their operations for decades. PaySec adds the one thing ImproMed could never provide on its own: payment processing that does not take a percentage of every dollar your practice earns.
PaySec + ImproMed: the established veterinary practice management system paired with modern zero-fee payment processing.