Veterinary clinic chart of accounts
A vet clinic is paid at the counter, sometimes by pet insurers, and through deposits for booked surgery, and it uses up drugs and supplies treating animals as well as selling products. These accounts add those parts of a clinic's books to the general chart.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
What this industry adds
- Some pet insurers pay the clinic directly for part of a client's treatment. Pet insurer claims awaiting payment holds that part until the insurer pays, while the client pays their own share.
- Deposits taken when surgery is booked are tracked in Surgery deposits received until they are set against the final invoice.
- Drugs, fluids, sutures and dressings used up on patients go to Drugs and supplies used in treatment. Products clients buy at the front desk to take home stay with the general Inventory and Cost of goods sold accounts.
- Outside providers have accounts of their own: External pathology and imaging fees for laboratories and radiologists, Pet cremation services for crematorium bills, and Locum vet fees for contract vets who fill in during absences or busy periods.
- Sharps and clinical waste collection, and the fees to register the clinic's vets, are kept in Clinical waste disposal and Veterinary board registration fees.
Download the chart
The general accounts and this industry's accounts in one CSV file, in code order, which opens in any spreadsheet program.
Download the CSV fileThe accounts this chart adds
| Code | Account name | Type | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1500 | Pet insurer claims awaiting payment | Asset | The part of a client's treatment invoice that a pet insurer is paying the clinic directly and has not yet paid |
| 2-1300 | Surgery deposits received | Liability | Deposits clients have paid ahead of booked surgery and procedures that haven't been done yet |
| 5-1100 | Drugs and supplies used in treatment | Expense | Anaesthetics, fluids, sutures, dressings, syringes and other supplies used up in consults and surgery rather than sold to clients |
| 5-1200 | External pathology and imaging fees | Expense | Invoices from outside laboratories and radiologists for tests and reports on samples and images the clinic sends them |
| 5-1300 | Pet cremation services | Expense | Crematorium invoices for cremations the clinic arranges for clients' pets |
| 5-1400 | Locum vet fees | Expense | Invoices from locum vets engaged as contractors to cover absences or busy periods |
| 6-2100 | Clinical waste disposal | Expense | Collection and disposal of sharps and clinical waste from the clinic |
| 6-2110 | Veterinary board registration fees | Expense | Fees the clinic pays to veterinary boards to register its vets |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
What goes in each column
- Code: A number that sorts the account into its group: 1 for assets, 2 for liabilities, 3 for equity, 4 for income, and 5 and 6 for expenses.
- Account name: The name that appears in your books and reports.
- Type: Asset, Liability, Equity, Income or Expense, which decides whether the account appears on the balance sheet or the profit and loss statement.
- What goes in it: The transactions to record against the account.
How to use it
- When a pet insurer is paying part of an invoice, post that part to Pet insurer claims awaiting payment with the claim reference, and clear it when the insurer's payment shows up in the bank feed.
- Record each surgery deposit against the client and the booked procedure in Surgery deposits received, so it can be found when the final invoice is raised.
- Split each wholesaler invoice between stock for sale and Drugs and supplies used in treatment, so the treatment account holds what is used on patients and the stock accounts hold what is sold.
- Check pathology, imaging and crematorium bills against each supplier's statement before they are paid.
- These accounts are for the clinic's own money. Ask your accountant which other accounts the practice's structure needs, and how surgery deposits should be treated.
The chart is a CSV file, which opens in a spreadsheet program. It is not set up for importing directly into any particular accounting software, so check the format your software expects before you load the accounts into it.
Related pages
Related terms
Sources
- Key financial terms
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 9 July 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
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