01 · Executive summary

Hartwell Lane Veterinary Practice is a well-established 12-person independent practice with a strong clinical reputation, but operational friction caused by a legacy practice management system, no-show rates costing approximately £800/month, and approximately 16 hours per week of administrative work that could be substantially reduced through targeted automation.

The single highest-value starting point is automated appointment reminders, addressing the no-show issue you flagged as your most pressing weekly frustration, with minimal disruption to existing workflows.

02 · What we heard

• No-shows costing ~£800/month. Approximately 8–10 missed appointments per week, mostly first-time clients booking online, with no automated reminders. “It’s the single most annoying thing about my week — I lose count of how many empty slots we get.”
• Insurance claims eating 4 hours a week. Each claim is entered by hand into a different insurer’s portal, with frequent re-submissions for missing details.
• Reception overwhelmed by triage calls. An estimated 20+ calls a day, each needing urgency checks and routing, often interrupting other work.

Why this one first

It tackles the problem you described as your most pressing, needs no change to how the team works today, and if it doesn’t deliver it can be removed in an afternoon.