The problem
Health plan fees paid by standing order stop without warning when an owner changes bank, and someone has to spot it on the statement. If a practice has 250 pets on a $20£15€18A$29C$28 a month plan and 12 payments a month go missing and are only found weeks later, that's $239£180€214A$346C$338 a month of plan fees for care the practice is still giving, plus hours of checking.
What the AI does
GoCardless collects one-off, subscription, membership and installment payments from customers' bank accounts by Direct Debit, with no monthly subscription on its Standard, Advanced and Pro plans. The practice sets each plan up as a monthly subscription, owners sign up online, and GoCardless collects on the date set, so the practice no longer relies on each owner's standing order. On the Advanced plan, Success+ automatically retries failed payments. The plan's contents and price stay the practice's decision.
A worked example
A 2-vet practice in Norfolk has 250 pets on a $20£15€18A$29C$28 a month health plan paid by standing order. The practice manager moves members to GoCardless Advanced as each plan renews.
Before
About 12 missed payments a month, found late: $239£180€214A$346C$338 plus 4 hours a month checking statements
After
Most missed payments retried or followed up straight away; about 2 hours a month on plan admin
What it's worth
About $242£182€217A$349C$342 a month: if 10 of the 12 missed $20£15€18A$29C$28 payments are now collected, that's $200£150€179A$288C$282 of fees for plan care already being given, so counted in full, plus 2 hours of checking saved at an assumed $21£16€19A$31C$30 an hour ($43£32€38A$61C$60). GoCardless Advanced fees on 250 payments of $20£15€18A$29C$28 are about $129£97€115A$186C$182 a month (1.25% + 20p, about 39p each), plus VAT, which a VAT-registered practice can usually reclaim.
How to set it up
- Agree the plan's contents and price with the vets first; GoCardless only collects the money.
- Check GoCardless's pricing page: Advanced is 1.25% + 20p a payment, capped at $7£5€6A$10C$9 and Standard 1% + 20p, both excluding VAT.
- Set the plan up as a monthly subscription and send the sign-up link to new members and to existing ones at renewal.
- Write plan terms that say what's included, how to cancel and what happens if a payment fails.
- Each week, check failed and canceled payments in your GoCardless account and contact the owner before the pet's next plan visit.
What goes wrong
- A plan that promises to pay for unexpected illness or injury starts to look like insurance. Keep it to preventive care the practice provides, and take advice before adding anything else.
- Fees are per payment, so a cheap plan pays proportionally more: about 39p on a $20£15€18A$29C$28 payment is about 2.6%.
- Until every member has moved, you're checking standing orders and Direct Debits side by side.
- Owners' bank and contact details are personal data. Keep plan records in the practice system and GoCardless, not in a spreadsheet on someone's laptop.