Shepherd Review
Shepherd is a highly rated, veterinarian-founded cloud practice management system whose workflow-first SOAP record flows straight into the invoice, with Shepherd AI, two-way texting, a pet portal and transparent per-doctor pricing from $299 a month.
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The verdict
Shepherd reviews make it one of the best-rated veterinary practice management systems available: 4.7 out of 5 on Capterra, with ease of use at 4.9, customer service at 4.8 and 98 percent positive sentiment. Founded in 2016 by veterinarian Dr. Cindy Barnes and part of Synergy Pet Group, it is built around a workflow-first SOAP record where treatments flow straight into the invoice, discharge instructions and inventory, plus Shepherd AI transcription and diagnostic tools, two-way texting, a pet portal, wellness plans and Shepherd Pay. Pricing is unusually transparent and charges only for doctors, from $299 a month with unlimited staff users. The catches are reports of outages after updates, inventory that some want stronger, and texting and data migration priced separately. For most practices that want fast, intuitive cloud software, it is a top pick.
Shepherd at a glance
| Vendor | Shepherd Veterinary Software (Synergy Pet Group) | Category | Veterinary practice management (PIMS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | practices that want a fast, intuitive, record-driven cloud PIMS | Starting price | From $299/mo |
| Free trial | Yes | Free plan | No |
| User rating | 4.7/5 (89 reviews) | Our score | 8.8/10 |
| Deployment | Cloud, browser-based | Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | United States (Synergy Pet Group) | Users | Unlimited staff users per plan |
See Shepherd in action
A quick look at the interface, so you know what you are getting before the trial.
What Shepherd does
The areas we lean on most in daily use, and how Shepherd handles each.
Workflow-first SOAP record
Treatments documented in the record flow into the invoice, discharge instructions, reminders and inventory.
Shepherd AI
Embedded transcription into the SOAP note, discharge drafts, patient history summaries, DDx support and dosage help.
Scheduling & whiteboard
Appointment scheduling, a whiteboard, tasks and forms to keep the team in sync.
Invoicing & Shepherd Pay
Charge capture from the record plus integrated payments that also cut $50 a month off the subscription.
Two-way texting
SMS and MMS texting with clients, priced at $99 per 5,000 messages.
Pet parent portal & reminders
Owners see records and reminders without calling, and reminders go out on schedule.
Wellness plans & inventory
Customizable wellness plans and inventory that updates as care is recorded.
Reporting & multi-location
Reporting for growing practices, with multi-site pricing for groups.
How Shepherd works day to day
Shepherd veterinary software is a cloud-based practice information management system built around one idea: the medical record should drive everything else. It was founded in 2016 by practicing veterinarian Dr. Cindy Barnes, is part of Synergy Pet Group, and markets itself as Second Nature Software, with features guided by a Director of Veterinary Medicine. Across Shepherd reviews it is one of the best-rated systems in the category, holding a 4.7 out of 5 on Capterra from close to 90 verified reviews, with ease of use at 4.9, customer service at 4.8, value for money at 4.7 and 98 percent positive sentiment.
At the center of Shepherd is its workflow-first SOAP medical record. As the doctor documents the visit, treatments flow straight into the invoice, discharge instructions are generated, reminders stay connected and inventory updates automatically, so the team is not re-entering charges at checkout. Shepherd's own summary is simple: if it is in the medical record, it is on the invoice. That design is why reviewers say they miss fewer charges and double-check less, and Shepherd says practices capture up to 17.3 percent more revenue, a vendor figure worth testing against your own invoices during a demo.
Shepherd AI adds optional, doctor-controlled tools inside the record. Embedded transcription listens to the appointment and logs the conversation into the SOAP note, it can draft discharge instructions and summarize patient history, and a diagnostic assistant can suggest a differential diagnosis list and help calculate drug dosages, all without leaving the medical record. Beyond the exam room, Shepherd veterinary software includes built-in two-way texting, a pet parent portal for records and reminders, automatic appointment reminders, wellness plans, integrated payments through Shepherd Pay, a whiteboard, tasks, forms and reporting for growing practices and multi-location groups. An open integration ecosystem connects labs, imaging, pharmacies and client financing, and AI scribes such as ScribbleVet, HappyDoc and CoVet also connect.
For veterinary teams, the day-to-day difference shows up in patient records management. Doctors document care once, in the SOAP note, and the patient record, invoice, reminders and discharge information all update from that single entry, so technicians and front desk teams are not chasing missing charges or re-typing information. Online tools extend that to clients: pet parents check records and reminders through the online portal, and teams handle two-way texting from the same system. Capterra reviewers rate its patient records management at 4.6, charting at 4.8 and billing and invoicing at 4.5, among the highest feature scores of any veterinary practice management software.
It also covers an unusually wide range of practice types. Shepherd lists general practice, emergency and urgent care, specialty and referral, mobile and house call, university teaching hospitals, corporate groups, vaccine clinics, hospice and euthanasia, rehabilitation, exotics and feline-only practices among its fits. Support comes from a clinically trained team that has worked in clinics, available through in-app chat, and onboarding is included to get staff confident before go-live.
The honest trade-offs in Shepherd reviews are few but real. The most common complaints concern system outages and downtime. Reviewers reported several multi-hour outages in February 2026; Shepherd confirmed four that quarter and attributes them to a third-party integration partner rather than its own platform, but for a busy clinic any downtime disrupts care, so ask what changed and what uptime has looked like since. Some reviewers want stronger inventory management, and a newer company means a smaller installed base than IDEXX or Covetrus. Texting and data migration are priced separately, so they need to be part of the comparison.
Shepherd pricing is one of the most transparent in veterinary software. Single-location practices pay only for doctor licenses, while technicians, client service staff and managers get unlimited logins at no extra cost. The first doctor is 349 dollars a month, or 299 with Shepherd Pay, doctors two and three are 99 dollars each, and every doctor after that is 49, so a three-doctor practice on Shepherd Pay pays 497 dollars a month. Unlimited relief vets are 99 dollars a month. Multi-location groups pay 249 dollars per location, or 199 with Shepherd Pay at every site, plus 99 dollars per doctor. Two-way texting is 99 dollars per 5,000 messages, and data migration is a one-time 2,475 dollars paid in full or 230 dollars a month for 12 months. Discounts include 50 dollars off monthly with Shepherd Pay, 50 percent off while enrolled in the Pet Assure network, 50 percent off for 12 months for qualifying new practices, and a flat 299 dollars a month for nonprofits. Capterra lists a free trial.
If Shepherd is not the right fit, the closest Shepherd alternatives are Digitail, another highly rated cloud system with strong client tools, ezyVet for larger multi-site and specialty hospitals, Instinct for treatment-sheet-driven emergency and specialty care, DaySmart Vet for a lower-cost start, and IDEXX Neo or Covetrus Pulse for practices tied to IDEXX or Covetrus diagnostics and pharmacy. Practices that want a local server should look at Avimark instead.
Across Shepherd reviews the verdict is consistent: for general practices, mobile vets, specialty and multi-location groups that want a fast, intuitive cloud system where the medical record drives the invoice, Shepherd veterinary software is one of the strongest choices available, with standout ratings, transparent per-doctor pricing and unlimited staff users. Ask about uptime and update practices, and budget for texting and migration.
Shepherd pros and cons
Pros
- Top-tier ratings: 4.9 ease of use, 4.8 customer service, 98 percent positive on Capterra
- Workflow-first SOAP record: what is in the record lands on the invoice
- Transparent pricing that charges only for doctors, with unlimited staff users
- Shepherd AI: embedded transcription, discharge drafts, record summaries and DDx support
- Built-in two-way texting, pet portal, reminders and wellness plans
- Clinically trained support via in-app chat, with onboarding included
Cons
- Reports of outages and downtime, especially right after updates
- Some reviewers want stronger inventory management
- Texting ($99 per 5,000 messages) and data migration ($2,475) are extra
- Smaller installed base than IDEXX or Covetrus systems
- Cloud only, so it needs a reliable internet connection
Who should use Shepherd, and who should skip it
A great fit if you
- You want a fast, intuitive cloud PIMS your team learns quickly
- You lose revenue to missed charges and want the record to drive the invoice
- You have many non-doctor staff and want unlimited users
- You run general, mobile, specialty, emergency or multi-location practice
- You want AI transcription and diagnostic help inside the record
Look elsewhere if you
- You need a local server for offline work (compare Avimark)
- Inventory is your most complex workflow
- You want texting and migration included in the base price
- You want the largest installed base and vendor footprint (compare IDEXX or Covetrus)
Is Shepherd right for your practice?
Here is how Shepherd fits each type of practice, and what to check for yours.
Shepherd for General practice
Small animal practices get a fast record-to-invoice workflow with unlimited staff users.
Shepherd for Mobile & house call
Cloud access and a pet portal suit vets who work on the road.
Shepherd for Emergency & specialty
Shepherd lists emergency, urgent care, specialty and referral hospitals among its fits.
Shepherd for Multi-location groups
Per-location pricing and group reporting support growing practice groups.
Shepherd for New practices & nonprofits
Startups get 50 percent off for 12 months and nonprofits pay a flat $299 a month.
Shepherd scorecard
How Shepherd scored across our rubric. Every tool is measured on the same areas.
Shepherd pricing and plans
Real starting prices, dated and re-checked each pass. Shepherd pricing charges only for doctor licenses, with unlimited users for the rest of the team. The first doctor is $349 a month ($299 with Shepherd Pay), doctors two and three are $99 each and later doctors $49 each; multi-location groups pay $249 per location ($199 with Shepherd Pay) plus $99 per doctor. Texting is $99 per 5,000 messages and data migration is $2,475 one-time (or $230 a month for 12 months). Savings: Shepherd Pay, Pet Assure network (50 percent off while enrolled), new practices (50 percent off for 12 months), nonprofits flat $299 a month.
Shepherd integrations
Tools Shepherd connects with out of the box, so it fits the stack you already run.
Support, training and deployment
How you can reach the Shepherd team, how they onboard you, and where it runs.
Support
- In-app chat
- Phone
- Clinically trained support team
Training
- Onboarding included
- Documentation
- Videos
Deployment
- Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based
Typical customers
- General practices
- Mobile vets
- Specialty and emergency
- Multi-location groups
Shepherd alternatives
If Shepherd is not the fit, these are the closest tools we rank, in order.
ShepherdDigitailHow to test Shepherd before you commit
Every tool demos well. These are the checks that actually tell you whether Shepherd fits your practice, while the free trial is still running.
Run a real appointment end to end
- Use your own templates and one of your busiest appointment or session types
- Test it on the devices your staff actually use, not a demo laptop
- Move the result into the system you already use and time every step
- Add a second user and watch how the per-seat price moves
Watch for the catch
- Usage caps, credits or add-on fees that only show up on the invoice
- Features quietly locked to a higher tier than the one you tried
- Onboarding or data import sold as a paid add-on
- How hard it is to export your data if you decide to leave
Shepherd FAQ
How much does Shepherd veterinary software cost?
Shepherd pricing charges only for doctors. The first doctor is $349 a month, or $299 with Shepherd Pay, doctors two and three are $99 each and every doctor after that is $49, so three doctors on Shepherd Pay cost $497 a month. Multi-location groups pay $249 per location plus $99 per doctor. Texting is $99 per 5,000 messages and data migration is $2,475 one-time.
Does Shepherd charge per user?
No. Shepherd charges for doctor licenses only. Technicians, client service representatives, practice managers and every other team member get their own logins at no extra cost, and unlimited relief vets can be added for $99 a month.
What do Shepherd reviews say?
Shepherd holds a 4.7 out of 5 on Capterra from close to 90 reviews, with ease of use at 4.9, customer service at 4.8 and 98 percent positive sentiment. Reviewers praise how intuitive it is, the record-to-invoice workflow and the clinically trained support. The most common complaints are outages after updates and inventory management that some want stronger.
Who owns Shepherd?
Shepherd was founded in 2016 by practicing veterinarian Dr. Cindy Barnes and is part of Synergy Pet Group, the same group as the Pet Assure network. Its features are guided by a Director of Veterinary Medicine.
Does Shepherd have AI?
Yes. Shepherd AI includes embedded transcription that logs the appointment into the SOAP note, drafts discharge instructions and summarizes patient history, plus a diagnostic assistant for differential diagnosis lists and dosage calculations. The tools are optional and doctor-controlled, and they work inside the medical record.
What are the best Shepherd alternatives?
The closest Shepherd alternatives are Digitail for another highly rated cloud system with strong client tools, ezyVet for larger multi-site and specialty hospitals, Instinct for treatment-sheet-driven emergency and specialty care, DaySmart Vet for a lower-cost start, and IDEXX Neo or Covetrus Pulse for practices tied to those diagnostics and pharmacy ecosystems.
Does Shepherd have a free trial?
Capterra lists a free trial for Shepherd, and Shepherd also offers demos that walk through an appointment type your team handles every week before quoting your practice.
Is Shepherd good for multi-location groups?
Yes. Shepherd offers multi-site pricing at $249 per location, or $199 when every location uses Shepherd Pay, plus $99 per doctor, with reporting built for growing practices and groups. Larger groups get custom pricing.
Shepherd reviews from real users
Verified reviews from people running Shepherd in the field. Every review is read by our team before it goes live, so this is honest signal, not spam.
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