Achieving profitability as a dental practice owner requires a combination of strategic planning, operational efficiency and financial awareness.
Working closely with a service providing accounting for dentists is the most effective way to achieve sustainable profitability; their powerful strategies can boost your bottom line and drive your practice towards lasting success. But how exactly?
Here are eight smart strategies for maximizing your dental practice’s profitability:
- Track the right KPIs
Key performance indicators can show you just how healthy your practice is financially, and how operationally efficient it is. Regularly tracking and reviewing critical metrics such as collections rate, production by provider, patient retention and rates of hygiene re-appointments, helps you spot trends and make decisions that are more informed.
- Make scheduling streamlined
Every dentist knows how much an empty chair can cost them, but by optimizing the flow of patients through streamlined scheduling, you can easily be more efficient, and ultimately, more profitable.
Start every day with a team talk about the upcoming schedule, and use the time to tackle any potential hurdles. Try not to overbook, and ensure that clinical professionals are ready to receive patients to cut down on delays.
- Increase the rate of acceptance for treatments
This is one of the quickest ways to increase revenue, and by educating your patients about treatments that might benefit them, addressing their concerns, and offering payment options that are flexible, you can enhance the rate of treatment acceptance.
- Keep overhead costs under control
Vital to profitability, expenses must be monitored closely and managed effectively. Regularly review what you’re paying your team, how much you’re spending on supplies and equipment, and try to identify opportunities to lower your overheads without compromising on quality.
Teaming up with a dental accountant is a great way to find money-saving areas within your dental practice.
- Shift your focus to preventative care
Helping to promote the health of your patients, and keep revenue streaming in, preventative care should always be a focus for dental practitioners. By encouraging patients to attend regular checkups, investing in tools such as those that send out automated appointment reminders, and keeping your practice hygienically clean, you can build upon patient loyalty, and sustainable profitability.
- Make the patient experience better
By ensuring that your practice has a welcoming vibe, wait times are kept to a minimum, and communication between provider and patient is of a high standard, you can make patients feel as if they want to come back. With a bit of luck, they may even recommend your practice to friends and family.
- Leverage tax planning
Although many business owners prefer not to talk taxes, planning them wisely can be an incredibly powerful tool for reducing liabilities and enhancing profitability. Talking to a tax expert with industry experience is vital for making the most of deductions and credits that you may be eligible for, and keeps you compliant, too.
- Invest in training and education
Your entire team benefits from continuous learning, and by helping them keep up with advancements and changes in the industry through training courses, you can provide patients with an even higher standard of care, and improve the efficiency of your practice’s operations.
With tax-savvy strategies given to you by dental office accounting, and consistent efforts to keep your practice running efficiently, you can position your dental practice for the kind of growth that builds and builds.
Profitability may well be within your reach, but not without a little effort on your part. Fortunately, these 8 strategies are a great place to start, and from there, the only way is up!