How to Choose a PIMS You Won't Regret in Year Five

The first three steps of the 11-step evaluation I run with practices that hire me, taught live in 75 minutes. Leave with your verdict confirmed, what's broken written down, and your requirements list started.

Thursday, November 12 at 1:00 PM ET

75 minutes

Can't make it live? Register anyway and I'll send you the recording.

What you'll leave with

Your Switch Risk verdict confirmed, and the first thing to do whether you scored Rushed, Exposed, or Ready.
What's actually broken, written down in terms a vendor can't talk around.
The start of a weighted requirements list your partners will sign off on.

ATTEND LIVE AND GET THE COMPLETE KIT

The PIMS Evaluation Kit, free, for everyone who stays to the end

This is the full playbook my consulting clients work from. I give it away at the workshop because a bad PIMS switch can be devastating, and no practice should have to pay to avoid one.

1The 11-Chapter PIMS Evaluation GuideThe complete selection process, from 'we're switching' to the final signature.
2The Weighted Vendor Scoring MatrixA spreadsheet that turns gut feel into a score you can defend to your partners.
3Demo Questions That Expose Real FitMake vendors show your workflows instead of their highlight reel.
4Reference Call QuestionsThe questions a hand-picked happy customer won't volunteer answers to.
5Pricing and Total Cost QuestionsImplementation, migration, training, and add-ons, before they show up on an invoice.
6Contract and Data Exit QuestionsProtect your data and your exit before your signature makes them the vendor's.

Sent the same evening to everyone who attends live. Registrants who miss it get the recording and an invitation to the next session.

What we'll cover, and what we won't get to

Steps 1 to 3 are taught in full. Steps 4 to 11 are shown so you can see the size of the job ahead.

Before you shop

1 Confirm the decision and the real timelineTaught live
2 Define what's actually brokenTaught live
3 Build your requirementsTaught live

Evaluate honestly

4 Weighted scoring
5 Realistic demos
6 Reference calls that matter

Protect the investment

7 Total cost of ownership
8 Data ownership and exit terms
9 Contract red flags

Commit with confidence

10 Transition planning
11 Making the final call

Two ways to choose a PIMS

Most practices shop. The ones who never regret it evaluate.

The usual way

Watch a few demos and go with the one that felt best
Call the references the vendor hands you
Compare monthly subscription prices and nothing else
Sign the contract as written
Discover the gaps six months after go-live

With the evaluation process

Decide first whether to fix your current system or replace it
Score every vendor against weighted requirements you set
Run demos on your real workflows, with your questions
Compare true total cost of ownership, not just the sticker price
Catch data ownership and exit-term red flags before you sign

Who it's for

For you if

You own a practice and the PIMS decision lands on your desk.
You're the practice or hospital manager asked to run the evaluation.
You're being forced off your current system, or you've outgrown it, and you're switching in the next 12 months.

Not for you if

You want someone to tell you which brand to buy. I don't recommend vendors.
You've already signed a new contract.
You're a software vendor looking for the playbook.

Who built this

I've spent 35 years building and selling software, the last decade in veterinary, including as co-founder of Pawbly and CEO of VitusVet. I know how demos are scripted and how contracts are written because I've been on that side of the table.

Today I run VetSoftwareHub, an independent directory of 300+ veterinary solutions. I co-author the Companion Animal Veterinary Software Guide, write the Software Sense column for Today's Veterinary Business, and my book, The PIMS Playbook, comes out in January 2027.

My independence pledge

No referral fees.
No affiliate deals.
No vendor equity.
No vendor advisory work.

No vendor has ever paid to influence what's in this scorecard.

Adam Wysocki, Founder, VetSoftwareHub

FAQ

Is it really free?

Yes. No credit card, no trial. You'll get the workshop, the kit if you attend live, and occasional emails from me about choosing and implementing software. Unsubscribe in one click.

Will I be pitched?

Briefly, and I'll tell you when it's coming. The teaching stands on its own. In the last ten minutes I explain how I work with practices that want me to run the full process with them. If that's not you, you'll still leave with the kit and three steps done.

What if I can't attend live?

Register anyway. Every registrant gets the recording. The kit goes to people who attend live, because that's what makes the live session worth showing up for.

How long is it?

75 minutes. About 60 of teaching, 15 of questions.

Seventy-five minutes now, or ten years of workarounds.

Thursday, November 12 at 1:00 PM ET. 75 minutes.