How Staffing Decisions Affect Your Payroll Most – Insights from Real Practice Data
Staffing isn’t just a line item on a spreadsheet. It directly influences your practice’s culture, capacity, and bottom line. The 2026 Veterinary Payroll Report reveals how common staffing patterns can unintentionally increase payroll pressure.
The Surprising Staffing Trends
The data shows that while support staff FTEs increased last year, DVM capacity stayed flat. That imbalance drives up payroll without generating matching revenue growth.
What Practices Often Miss
- Under-utilization of technicians leads to more hands on deck but fewer billable outcomes.
- Heavy reliance on relief veterinarians increases payroll cost per production unit.
Actionable Tips
- Evaluate role utilization monthly
- Set benchmarks for technician billable hours vs support hours
- Track relief DVM cost vs revenue contribution
What’s Next
Staffing isn’t about having more people. It’s about having the right people, in the right roles, with the right structure.
Get the full report here.
