Most practice owners know their revenue, payroll, and bank balance. Far fewer can clearly answer how much the practice actually produced, whether owner compensation is appropriate, where the cash is going, or what the business may be worth.
Our Practice Financial Analysis (PFA) takes the records you already have: financial statements, tax returns, payroll, production, compensation, debt, and ownership information, and reorganizes them into a practical view of the practice. We calculate normalized earnings, owner compensation, cash flow, key expense relationships, benchmark comparisons, and estimated internal transfer and external sale value ranges.
The purpose is not to hand you another report. It is to help you make better decisions. We use the analysis to evaluate compensation, distributions, staffing, pricing, debt, expansion, partner buy-ins, succession, sale readiness, retirement-plan design, and how the practice fits into your personal financial plan.
Practice owners usually come to us because their financial statements are not answering a specific question, or because they need to make a decision and want to understand the full financial picture first.
We trace the difference between reported profit and actual cash by accounting for debt principal payments, equipment and facility spending, owner distributions, working-capital changes, and other uses of cash that do not appear on the P&L.
See where the cash goesWe separate compensation for clinical work and management, rent, distributions, practice profit, and value retained in the business. This shows what you are being paid for the work you do and what the practice is producing because you own it.
See how we break down owner economicsBefore hiring, expanding, adding a partner, planning succession, or preparing for a sale, we look at normalized earnings, sustainable cash flow, staffing costs, debt capacity, benchmark context, and practice value.
See what the practice can supportAt that point, it is no longer only about what the practice is worth. We look at cash at closing, deferred or contingent value, seller-note or rollover risk, and how the employment, real estate, working-capital, and tax terms affect the overall outcome.
See how we review an LOI and the full transactionWe review the P&L, balance sheet, tax returns, payroll, production, debt, and owner activity together. The goal is to understand where the cash is going, what the owner is being paid for their work, what the practice is producing because they own it, and what the business can reasonably support next.
We start with net income from the P&L and compare the current and prior balance sheets. That lets us account for debt principal payments, equipment and facility spending, owner distributions, working-capital changes, and other cash movements. We then build a cash flow statement that shows where cash went and why the bank balance increased or decreased.
Trinity’s equine and companion animal benchmark research includes capital expenditures, debt service, and owner distributions as percentages of EBITDA. We use the rounded reference points as context, not targets.
The comparison can help show whether cash is being used differently because of reinvestment, debt reduction, owner withdrawals, or an operating issue that deserves attention.
The PFA separates what the owner earns for working in the practice from the return created by ownership. That distinction matters when evaluating compensation, distributions, partner arrangements, succession, and personal wealth.
Identify compensation tied to the owner’s day-to-day role rather than treating every dollar received as practice profit.
Determine what the practice produces after the owners are paid appropriately for their work.
Account for the other ways ownership may create value, especially in a multi-owner practice or when real estate is involved.
Revenue alone does not show whether the practice can afford another veterinarian, a facility, additional debt, an ownership transition, or larger distributions. We test the decision against sustainable earnings, cash flow, and the owner’s wider plan.
Test added payroll, benefits, expected production, ramp-up time, and the effect on existing owners and staff.
Evaluate equipment, construction, occupancy, financing, working capital, and the revenue assumptions required to support the commitment.
Connect compensation, distributions, normalized earnings, practice value, debt, and ownership terms before setting the structure.
Determine how much cash can leave the practice without limiting operations, debt service, reinvestment, or future flexibility.
Identify earnings, owner dependence, documentation, cash flow, and operational issues that may affect readiness or value.
Evaluate how much wealth the practice needs to create and how the decision affects retirement, taxes, liquidity, and financial independence.
The analysis may support moving forward, waiting, changing the structure, reducing the commitment, or improving specific areas before proceeding.
Buyer terms, formal transaction work, legal documents, tax opinions, or detailed personal planning may require a separate engagement or another professional.
You receive the workbook, supporting analysis, and review conversation needed to understand what the numbers mean, not just a completed spreadsheet.
Revenue, major expense, balance-sheet, and profitability trends organized across the available review period.
Net income reconciled with debt principal, capital spending, distributions, working capital, and the change in cash.
Clinical and management compensation, distributions, retained earnings, rent, and the financial benefit of ownership.
EBITDA, possible adjustments, expense relationships, and relevant veterinary comparisons reviewed in context.
Estimated internal transfer and external sale value ranges based on available information and stated assumptions.
Issues that deserve attention from the owner, Trinity, CPA, bookkeeper, attorney, or another professional.
A walkthrough focused on what the analysis means and how the findings affect the owner’s current decisions.
Access to Trinity for questions related to the completed PFA, subject to the agreed engagement scope.
Scope depends on the number of entities and locations, years and quality of information, practice type, and the questions the analysis needs to answer.
Buyer negotiations, transaction representation, formal valuation, or broader personal planning may require the appropriate professional or a separate engagement.
The PFA is strongest when the owner’s financial records, accounting support, tax advice, and planning questions work together.
The exact scope depends on the practice and the information available, but the engagement generally follows four steps.
Clarify the owner’s decision, practice structure, entities, locations, review period, and the issues the PFA needs to address.
Collect financial statements, payroll, production, debt, and supporting information, then identify gaps or classification questions.
Build the cash flow statement, separate owner economics, normalize earnings, apply benchmark context, and test practice-value assumptions.
Walk through the analysis, assign open questions, and determine which actions belong inside the PFA support period or require a separate service.
You do not need to organize a complete financial package before reaching out. The first conversation determines whether a PFA is the right starting point and what information would make it useful.
Timing depends on the scope and the records available. Not sure whether the PFA is the right starting point? Use the first call to identify the financial question and the most appropriate next scope.
Schedule a Practice Analysis CallThe information depends on the scope. It commonly includes P&L statements, balance sheets, payroll and owner-compensation information, production reports when relevant, debt schedules, equipment or capital-spending information, and supporting tax or accounting schedules. The records do not need to be complete before the first call.
The fee is quoted after Trinity understands the practice type, number of entities and locations, years and quality of information, questions the analysis needs to answer, and expected follow-up support. The scope and fee are confirmed before work begins.
Timing depends on the scope and the information available. Multiple entities, inconsistent classifications, missing schedules, or questions that require coordination with the bookkeeper or CPA can extend the review. The expected sequence is confirmed when the engagement is proposed.
Bookkeepers maintain the accounting records, and CPAs provide tax advice and tax preparation. Trinity uses the available information to interpret profitability, owner economics, cash flow, normalized earnings, benchmarks, and planning implications. The PFA does not replace either professional.
A PFA may include estimated internal transfer and external sale value ranges based on available financial information, normalized earnings, and stated assumptions. The ranges are intended to support planning decisions and are not a formal appraisal or guarantee of transaction value.
Yes, when appropriate and authorized by the owner. Coordination can help resolve coding questions, obtain supporting schedules, review compensation or tax assumptions, and clarify which professional should address each open issue.
Yes. The PFA can help the owner understand normalized earnings, owner compensation, cash flow, documentation, practice value, and financial issues that may affect readiness. If a buyer or LOI is already involved, the immediate work may need to shift to transaction-specific analysis and should be scoped accordingly.
Trinity works with veterinary practice owners across the United States, including small animal, equine, mixed animal, specialty, emergency, mobile, and multi-location practices. The scope is adapted to the practice structure, available records, and decision being evaluated.
Start with the records you have, the financial question that remains unanswered, and the decision the analysis needs to support.