Hire a VA · Veterinary VA
Veterinary virtual assistant: cost per call, per appointment and per month
$6.50–$10.00 an hour · $1,040–$1,600 a month full-time
That's the agency example below for a dedicated veterinary VA working only for you: no recruitment or setup fee, billed monthly for hours worked. Part-time (80 hours) comes to $520–$800 a month.
On this page
- Three receipts for the same front desk
- The line a veterinary VA never crosses
- Price per task
- Cost per appointment
- Calculator: clinical hours back at front-desk prices
- Urgent calls: the script, as a table
- Three practices, worked through
- A full-time week, priced by block
- Pet-insurance paperwork, priced per claim
- Client and patient records: who sees what
- The software bill: separate lines
- The extras on both sides
- How the agency example bills
- A 30-minute test before you hire
- The first month
- How to hire one here
- Questions about the cost
Three receipts for the same front desk
Most clinics compare a remote assistant with one of two people: the receptionist they would hire, or the technician who ends up answering the phone when the front desk is short. US government pay data has a job title for both. Each slip prices a full-time employee at the national median, then adds what an employer pays on top of the wage.
Published by Outsourcing Insider, a VA MASTERS company. The agency slip uses VA MASTERS' published veterinary VA rates, shown because they're public; other agencies' prices vary. About us
Front-desk receptionist, US
Receptionist, full-time, per month
- Median pay ($38,010 a year)a$3,168
- Paid leave1$265
- Supplemental pay (overtime, bonuses)1$141
- Health and other insurance1$269
- Retirement plans1$98.32
- Payroll taxes and required insurance1$338
Monthly total$4,279
Per year$51,347
- Can check patients in at the counter and take payment in person; a VA can't.
- Benefit costs are the average for private employers with 1–49 workers; your own package may differ.
Veterinary technician on the phones, US
Veterinary technologists and technicians, full-time
- Median pay ($47,380 a year)a$3,948
- Paid leave1$330
- Supplemental pay (overtime, bonuses)1$176
- Health and other insurance1$336
- Retirement plans1$123
- Payroll taxes and required insurance1$421
Monthly total$5,334
Per year$64,005
- About $30.78 an hour loaded (monthly total ÷ 173 hours): the price of every hour a tech spends on admin.
Veterinary VA, agency example Parent company
VA MASTERS, Administrative & Operations Support
- 160 hours at $6.50–$10.00$1,040–$1,600
- Recruitment or setup fee$0
Monthly total$1,040–$1,600
Per year$12,480–$19,200
- Card or PayPal payments add 4%; USD bank transfer has no fee.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 median pay: receptionists $38,010 a year ($18.27 an hour); veterinary technologists and technicians $47,380 ($22.78). Checked Nov 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026, Table 6. Checked Oct 2026.
- SHRM, 'SHRM Releases 2025 Benchmarking Reports' press release (Oct 15, 2025). Checked Oct 2026.
- Agency example: VA MASTERS pricing page, checked Oct 2026.
For context, the same handbook puts veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers at a median of $38,150 a year ($18.34 an hour). A remote assistant doesn't replace any of these people in the building: nobody remote can hold a cat for a blood draw or check a dog in at the counter. What it replaces is the screen and phone work that fills their day between patients.
The line a veterinary VA never crosses
Write this table into the VA's first-day guide, word for word.
| The VA does | Your clinical team does |
|---|---|
| Books, moves and confirms appointments by your rules | Decides how urgent a case is and whether a pet needs to be seen today |
| Reads your written urgent-call script and transfers or gives the emergency hospital's number | Triages any sick or injured animal |
| Takes refill requests and puts them in the vet's queue | Approves or declines every refill and prescription |
| Books a results call with the vet or tech | Reads and explains lab results to the owner |
| Files records, chases records from other clinics, prepares claim paperwork for signature | Writes medical notes, signs forms, keeps controlled-drug logs |
| Sends the aftercare sheet your vet wrote | Gives any medical advice, including "is this normal?" |
Price per task
The VA's cost is the rate times the minutes. The minutes below are example assumptions for a VA who already knows your software; time your own first two weeks and replace them.
| Task | What's in it | Minutes (example) | Cost each |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking or rescheduling call | Find the right slot and appointment type, confirm the pet's details, note the reason in the owner's words, send the confirmation | 6 | $0.65–$1.00 |
| New client and patient setup | Client and pet records created, intake form sent and chased, previous clinic asked for records, first visit booked | 25 | $2.71–$4.17 |
| Records request from another clinic | Request sent, chased, received, attached to the right patient and flagged for the vet to review | 12 | $1.30–$2.00 |
| Reminder list, one day | Vaccine and wellness reminders checked, calls or messages for the ones your system missed, no-reply list for the team | 45 | $4.88–$7.50 |
| Pet-insurance claim paperwork | Invoice and the records the owner asked for gathered, the clinic part of the form filled for the vet's signature, sent, status logged | 15 | $1.63–$2.50 |
| Refill request, routed | Owner, pet and drug details taken, put in the vet's queue, owner told when to expect an answer. The vet decides | 4 | $0.43–$0.67 |
| Overdue balance follow-up | Statement, two reminders on your schedule, payment link from your system, outcome logged | 10 | $1.08–$1.67 |
| Referral coordination | Referral letter and records sent to the specialist, appointment confirmed, owner told, result filed when it comes back | 20 | $2.17–$3.33 |
| Boarding or grooming booking | Dates, vaccine status check against your rules, deposit by your policy, confirmation | 8 | $0.87–$1.33 |
Cost per appointment
Divide the monthly cost by the appointments the practice books. Volumes below are examples; use your own from the practice software's monthly report.
| Appointments a month | Full-time VA per appointment | Part-time VA per appointment | US receptionist per appointment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 | $2.60–$4.00 | $1.30–$2.00 | $10.70 |
| 800 | $1.30–$2.00 | $0.65–$1.00 | $5.35 |
| 1,200 | $0.87–$1.33 | $0.43–$0.67 | $3.57 |
| 2,000 | $0.52–$0.80 | $0.26–$0.40 | $2.14 |
Calculator: clinical hours back at front-desk prices
The biggest saving in most clinics isn't the receptionist's wage; it's the technician and veterinarian hours that leak into phones, reminders, records requests and claim forms. Count one week, then put the numbers in:
- Those hours today, per month–
- The same hours from a VA (agency example)–
- Difference per month–
Urgent calls: the script, as a table
Every practice that puts a remote person on the phone needs a written script for the calls that can't wait. Your veterinarians write it; the VA reads it. This costs nothing extra and protects the animal, the owner and the practice.
| The caller says | The VA does | The VA never does |
|---|---|---|
| Hit by a car, can't breathe, collapsed, bleeding, ate something toxic | Reads the urgent script: transfer to the clinic team during open hours, or the nearest emergency hospital's number; flags the call to the team at once | Asks questions to judge how serious it is |
| "Is this serious? Should I come in?" | Offers the first slot your rules allow, or transfers to a technician, as the script says | Answers yes or no |
| "Can I get more of his medication?" | Takes the details, puts the request in the vet's queue, says when to expect an answer | Promises the refill |
| "Are the blood test results back?" | Books a call with the vet or tech | Reads or explains results |
| End-of-life questions | Uses the practice's own gentle wording and booking protocol, passes to the team | Advises on whether it's time |
Three practices, worked through
Example practices with example volumes, priced with the agency example's rate:
Mobile or house-call vet
1 vet, ~150 visits a month
- 40 hours a month$260–$400
Per visit$1.73–$2.67
- Booking by area and day, route-friendly scheduling, reminders, invoices and records requests while the vet drives.
Single-vet clinic
~400 appointments a month
- 80 hours a month$520–$800
Per appointment$1.30–$2.00
- Lunch-hour and after-close phone cover, reminders, new client setup, overdue balances. The in-house receptionist keeps the counter.
Three-vet practice
~1,200 appointments a month
- 160 hours a month$1,040–$1,600
Per appointment$0.87–$1.33
- Overflow calls, reminders, insurance paperwork, referrals, boarding and grooming bookings, reviews.
A full-time week, priced by block
Where 40 hours of a full-time veterinary VA typically go, and what each block costs at $6.50–$10.00 an hour. Illustrative split; your call volume decides the real one.
| Block | Hours a week | Cost a week | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phones and booking | 14 | $91.00–$140 | Calls answered, overflow and lunch hour covered |
| Reminders and confirmations | 7 | $45.50–$70.00 | Fewer no-shows, overdue vaccines followed up |
| Client messages and inbox | 6 | $39.00–$60.00 | Same-day replies from approved templates |
| Records and new clients | 5 | $32.50–$50.00 | Histories in before the first visit |
| Billing and insurance paperwork | 5 | $32.50–$50.00 | Balances chased, claim forms ready to sign |
| Referrals, reviews, weekly report | 3 | $19.50–$30.00 | Specialists booked, numbers on Friday |
Pet-insurance paperwork, priced per claim
Pet owners usually file their own claims, but they ask the clinic for invoices, medical records and the clinic's part of the claim form, and some practices send claims for them as a service. That paperwork lands on whoever is free, often a technician. At an example 15 minutes per claim, the VA's cost is $1.63–$2.50 a claim; 60 claims a month take 15 hours, or $97.50–$150. The same 15 hours at the technician's loaded rate cost about $462.
What the VA doesn't do: tell an owner what their policy covers or whether a claim will be paid. That is between the owner and the insurer. The VA sends the documents, logs the date and follows up on the clinic's side.
Client and patient records: who sees what
A VA works inside your practice software with its own login. Your practice decides who sees what. Practical steps that cost nothing:
- A named user account with only the permissions the role needs; no shared passwords. Our guide on giving a VA access to accounts walks through it.
- Two-factor login wherever your software offers it, and records kept in your systems, not in email or chat.
- Your own confidentiality agreement, signed before the first login, and access removed the day the role ends.
- No access to controlled-drug logs or prescribing screens at all.
Rules on veterinary records and who may receive them vary by state. Ask your state veterinary board what applies to your practice; this page is not legal advice.
The software bill: separate lines
The hourly rate covers the person, not the software. Practice management systems (AVImark, Cornerstone, ezyVet, IDEXX Neo and others), reminder and two-way messaging tools, your phone system and your payment terminal bill you per plan, per user or per transaction, whoever does the work. A VA who already knows your practice software sits higher in the rate range, and starts faster.
The extras on both sides
| Cost | In-house receptionist | Veterinary VA |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring | Ads, interviews, weeks of your time | No recruitment fee; you interview a shortlist |
| Desk and equipment | You provide | The VA's own setup |
| Software seat | Usually one more | Usually one more |
| Phone line | The front-desk phone | An extension on your phone system |
| Sick days and holidays | Paid, and the desk is empty | Billed for hours worked only; agree cover in advance |
| If it doesn't work out | A new hiring round | 30-day trial, then 30 days' notice; replacement at no extra cost (agency example) |
How the agency example bills
- Billed monthly after the work, for hours worked only
- Nothing to pay before you choose your hire
- 30-day trial with each new hire: end it right away, no notice
- After the trial, 30 days' written notice
- Replacement at no extra cost
- A one-time advance payment once you choose your hire, credited against your first invoices and refundable
- Recruitment, placement or setup fee: None
- Bank transfer in USD: No processing fee
- Credit card or PayPal: 4% processing fee
A 30-minute test before you hire
- Booking (10 minutes): five requests (a vaccine visit, a limping dog, a new kitten, a boarding stay, a reschedule) against a sample day's calendar. Do they pick the right appointment types and leave the limping dog to the script?
- Script (5 minutes): a caller says their dog ate chocolate an hour ago. Do they read the urgent script and stop, or start judging the case?
- Writing (10 minutes): an overdue-balance reminder and a reply to an owner whose pet just died asking about the final invoice. Look for warmth and short, plain sentences.
- Records (5 minutes): three patient records with planted errors: wrong weight unit, a duplicate client, a missing vaccine date. How many do they find?
The first month
| Week | Veterinary VA | You |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Learns the software in a test login; listens to calls | Logins, phone extension, urgent-call script, the line table above |
| 2 | Reminders, confirmations and the inbox | Read every outgoing message for a few days |
| 3 | Takes overflow and lunch-hour calls | Review ten calls against the script |
| 4 | Records, insurance paperwork, balances; first weekly report | Agree targets: answer rate, reminder reach, overdue balances |
How to hire a veterinary VA here
Requests from this site go to our recruiting partner, the agency in the example above, at $6.50–$10.00 an hour:
- Tell us the job: practice type, software, hours to cover and the tasks from this page.
- Meet a shortlist: candidates with front-desk, healthcare admin or customer service backgrounds, usually in about 2 business days.
- Choose and start: nothing is paid before you choose; billing is monthly, after the work, for hours worked.
The trade-offs: an agency costs more per hour than hiring a freelancer yourself, in exchange for screening, payroll handling and free replacement; the first weeks need your time for the script, system access and call reviews.
More: what a pharmacy VA costs, part-time vs full-time VA cost and outsourcing vs hiring in-house.
Questions people ask about the cost
How much does a veterinary virtual assistant cost?
In the agency example on this page (our parent company's published rates), a dedicated veterinary VA costs $6.50–$10 an hour: $260–$400 a month for 40 hours, $520–$800 for 80 hours and $1,040–$1,600 for 160 hours, with no recruitment or setup fee. Reminders and inbox work sit lower in the range; phones in your practice software from day one, insurance paperwork and several locations sit higher.
How does a VA compare with an in-house veterinary receptionist?
The US median pay for receptionists was $38,010 a year ($18.27 an hour) in May 2025, according to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. Payroll taxes and benefits come on top; the slip on this page adds them line by line from BLS employer cost data. A full-time VA in the agency example costs $12,480–$19,200 for 1,920 hours a year. A VA can't work the counter, so many clinics keep an in-house receptionist and move the phones, reminders and paperwork to the VA.
Why compare with a vet tech's pay?
Because in many clinics technicians cover the phones and paperwork when the front desk is short. BLS puts the median pay for veterinary technologists and technicians at $47,380 a year ($22.78 an hour) in May 2025 (Occupational Outlook Handbook). Every admin hour a tech spends is a clinical hour at that price; the calculator on this page shows what those hours cost against a VA's.
What does a VA cost per appointment?
Divide the monthly cost by your appointments. With example volumes: a full-time VA at $1,040–$1,600 a month costs $0.87–$1.33 per appointment at 1,200 appointments; a part-time VA at $520–$800 costs $1.30–$2.00 per appointment at 400. Use your own appointment count from your practice software.
Can a veterinary VA give advice or triage sick animals?
No. The VA never gives veterinary or medical advice and never judges how urgent a case is. Urgent calls follow a script your veterinarians write: transfer to the clinic team, or the nearest emergency hospital's number when you are closed. Questions like "is this normal?" go to a vet or technician.
Can a VA handle refill requests and lab results?
Only the admin part. The VA takes the refill details and puts the request in the veterinarian's queue; the vet approves or declines every refill and prescription. For lab results, the VA books a call with the vet or technician and never reads or explains results to the owner. Controlled-drug logs stay with your licensed staff.
Can a VA help with pet-insurance claims?
Yes, with the paperwork: gathering the invoice and records the owner asks for, filling the clinic's part of the claim form for the vet's signature, sending it and logging the date. At an example 15 minutes a claim that is $1.63–$2.50 of VA time. What a policy covers is between the owner and the insurer; the VA doesn't advise on it.
How are client and patient records kept private?
Your practice decides who sees what. Give the VA a named login with only the permissions the role needs, two-factor login where your software offers it, your own confidentiality agreement, and no access to prescribing screens or controlled-drug logs. Remove access the day the role ends. Rules on veterinary records vary by state, so ask your state veterinary board; this is not legal advice.
Does the hourly rate include our practice management software?
No. Your practice management system, reminder and messaging tools, phone system and payment terminal bill you per plan, per user or per transaction, whoever does the work. Check whether your plan charges for an extra staff login and a phone extension before you compare totals.
Are there extra fees on top of the hourly rate?
In the agency example there is no recruitment, placement or setup fee and no fee for USD bank transfers; card or PayPal payments carry a 4% processing fee. A one-time advance payment is due once you choose your hire, credited against your first invoices and refundable.
When do I pay, and can I cancel?
In the agency example, nothing is paid before you choose your hire, and billing is monthly after the work, for hours worked only. Each new hire has a 30-day trial you can end right away; after that, 30 days' written notice applies. A replacement is provided at no extra cost. First candidates usually arrive in about 2 business days.
Can a VA cover only lunch hours or after closing?
Yes. A VA's hour costs the same at noon or at 7 pm, so many clinics start part-time on the hours the phones go unanswered: the lunch hour, the morning rush and callbacks after closing. 80 hours a month costs $520–$800 in the agency example. Agree the hours and the urgent-call script before the first shift.