When staffing is run out of chat groups and spreadsheets, trouble rarely shows up at the exam table. It shows up at month-end: who was on call, whose leave was approved, and how was the commission worked out? VetBis staff management keeps shift plans, leave requests and commission rules inside the clinic management software. This guide describes a setup you can apply with any tool.
Why shifts, leave and commission belong together
All three answer one question: is your team's time and effort on record? The shift plan shows who worked when, the leave log shows who was away, and commission shows how work contributed to clinic revenue. Kept in separate notebooks and messaging groups, they produce three versions of the truth, and someone always feels short-changed at month-end.
Keeping them in one place has three practical benefits:
- The appointment calendar and the shift plan draw on the same team, so nobody books a vet who is not working.
- Leave approvals leave a trail: who asked, when, and who approved.
- Commission rules are written in advance, so month-end is about reading the numbers, not negotiating them.
1. Building the shift plan
Start from demand, not preference
Look at your appointment history to see which days and hours are busy. A busiest-hours view in your reports gives you a starting point. Staff preferences come second.
Separate the roles
Every shift needs at least these roles covered:
| Role | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| Lead vet | Examinations, prescriptions, urgent decisions |
| Veterinary nurse / assistant | Patient prep, care of hospitalized animals |
| Reception / cashier | Greeting, scheduling, payments |
| On-call (if any) | After-hours emergencies and inpatients |
Use a weekly template
Do not plan from scratch each week. Build a standard template and record changes as exceptions. Include opening and closing hours, the on-call rotation, weekend cover and a rule for public holidays.
Publish early
Share the plan at least a week ahead. Decide in advance who approves swaps; if shift swaps are left to "sort it out between yourselves", they never reach the record.
| Veterinarian | Support staff | Reception | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Shift09:00–13:00 | Shift09:00–17:00 | Shift09:00–13:00 |
| 13:00 | On leave (approved)13:00–17:00 | Shift13:00–17:00 | |
| 17:00 | Cover shift17:00–19:00 |
Live flowCover is added 4 / 4
Steps
- 1The plan takes shapeRole-based shifts are laid out from a weekly template.
- 2A leave request arrivesThe vet's afternoon leave shows as pending.
- 3Leave is approvedThe approved leave is marked on the plan.
- 4Cover is addedThe gap is covered by an evening shift; the record stays ready for month-end.
Sample plan; commission rules are defined by the clinic.
2. Managing leave requests
A leave process has three steps: request, approval, and reflection on the calendar. The key point is that approved leave must show up in the shift plan, otherwise someone on leave still appears on the rota.
Checklist:
- Requests are written and dated; verbal requests leave no record.
- The approver is named (usually the clinic manager or lead vet).
- A minimum-staffing rule limits how many people can be away on the same date.
- The reason for a refusal stays on record.
- Statutory leave entitlements come from the employment contract and the applicable law, so confirm balances with your accountant before treating them as final.
A leave log in clinic software is an operational tracking tool. It does not replace payroll or the legal calculation of entitlements.
3. Setting up a commission scheme
Commission motivates people, and it also causes arguments. What reduces disputes is not a clever formula but a rule that is written down in advance and visible to everyone.
Questions to settle first
- What is commission based on: consultation revenue, procedures, product sales, all of them?
- Is the rate flat, or does it vary by service type?
- Is it calculated on money collected or on invoices issued? When payment is delayed, this changes the month-end figure.
- How are refunds and cancellations deducted?
- When a rule changes, are past periods affected?
The last question matters most. Keeping rules date-based prevents past periods from being recalculated with a new rate. In VetBis, commission rules are defined by date, a preview is run at the end of the period, and the period is then locked and approved.
Example rule table
The structure below is only an illustration; set the rates according to your own cost structure.
| Service group | Calculation base | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Consultations | Amount collected | Per clinic policy |
| Surgery / procedures | Amount collected | Per clinic policy |
| Product sales | Sale amount | Per clinic policy |
End-of-period flow
- The period ends and a preview is generated.
- The vet and the manager review the figures together; any objection is recorded.
- The period is locked and approved.
- If a locked period must change, the reason is written into the record.
Commission here is a management calculation. For salary, social security and tax, your accountant's calculation is the one that counts.
4. Team communication and tasks
A shift plan answers "who and when". It does not answer "who does what". Use task templates for opening checks (cash drawer, fridge temperature, sterilization), closing checks and recurring jobs. Keeping team messaging inside the clinic system also reduces the habit of moving patient details into personal chat groups, which helps both order and personal-data hygiene.
5. Multi-branch considerations
If staff work across several branches, the shift plan must show overlaps between branches, and commission should follow who generated revenue where. The multi-site clinic solution supports this with branch-based access and reporting.
Getting the team on board
Rules that are written down still fail if the team does not own them. Three habits help. First, talk to the team before you set the rules: asking for views on shift preferences and commission logic reduces objections later. Second, define a pilot period: run the new shift or commission scheme as a trial for a month and review it together at the end. Third, make exceptions visible: if someone has to step outside the plan, do it with manager approval and a record, so an exception does not harden into precedent.
A short month-end summary for the team (how many shifts were worked, how many leave days were used, status of the commission period) also strengthens the sense of transparency. Keep personal details such as salary and commission amounts between the individual and the authorised manager; what should be visible to everyone is the rule itself, not individual figures.
Implementation checklist
- Roles and minimum staffing per shift are written down
- A weekly shift template exists
- The plan is published at least a week ahead
- Leave request, approval and refusal flow is defined
- Commission rule is written, date-based and visible to all
- A period-end preview and approval step exists
- Payroll and statutory leave are handled separately with your accountant
FAQ
Does the software calculate commission automatically? Once a rule is defined, a preview is calculated for the period and the vet and manager approve it. The software produces a management figure; it does not replace payroll.
Does the leave log determine legal entitlements? No. It is for operational tracking; legal entitlements follow the employment contract and the law.
Does a solo practice need any of this? If you have an assistant or a receptionist, leave and task tracking is useful. Shifts and commission grow in importance with the team; the solo practice solution supports that gradual growth.
Next step
Settle the shift template and the commission rule on paper first, then move them into the system. You can explore staff management or try VetBis free for 7 days and set up your own team.