decavetDocumentation

Quick start: your first visit

A hands-on walkthrough — add a client and horse, schedule a call, record what you did, and bill it.

This is a guided tour. By the end you'll have moved a real (or practice) horse all the way through decavet: from a new client to a paid invoice. It takes about 15 minutes and teaches you the rhythm of the whole app.

We'll follow one example: Dana Miller, who owns a gelding named Thunder at Miller Farm.

Tip: If your practice isn't set up yet, do Set up your practice first. You can still follow along here with sample data and delete it afterward.

Step 1 — Add the client

  1. In the top navigation, click Contacts.
  2. Click New Contact.
  3. Leave the type as Individual, and enter the owner's name (Dana Miller).
  4. Add an email and a mobile number under Contact methods.
  5. Because this is someone you'll bill, the category is Client.
  6. Click Save.

You'll land on Dana's contact page. Full detail: Add a client.

Step 2 — Add the horse

  1. From Dana's contact page (or the Patients tab), click New Patient.
  2. Enter the name (Thunder), choose the species (Equine), and a breed if you know it.
  3. Set the sex — for horses decavet shows the equine words automatically (Stallion, Mare, Gelding, Spayed Mare).
  4. Make sure Dana is listed as the owner.
  5. Click Save.

Full detail: Add a patient.

Step 3 — Schedule the call

  1. Click Calendar in the top navigation.
  2. Click a time slot, or click New Appointment.
  3. Pick the date and time, the provider (the vet making the call), and the location (Miller Farm).
  4. Add a visit to the appointment for Thunder, and choose a visit type (for example, Lameness Exam).
  5. Click Save.

An appointment is the trip; a visit is what you do for one animal during that trip. One trip can hold several visits. See Appointments vs visits.

Step 4 — Record what you did

When you're at the barn (or afterward):

  1. Open the appointment from the calendar.
  2. On Thunder's visit, mark it In progress, then add what you did under Services.
  3. Click Add service, pick an item from your catalog (for example, Lameness Exam and Flexion test), and adjust the price or quantity if needed.
  4. Add clinical notes — internal notes stay private; client notes can appear on the invoice.
  5. Mark the visit Completed.

Full detail: Record services rendered.

Step 5 — Bill it

  1. From the appointment, click Create invoice.
  2. Review the lines, the client, the tax, and the due date.
  3. Click Create — you now have a draft invoice.
  4. Open the invoice and click Send to email it, or Print for a paper copy.

Full detail: Create an invoice.

Step 6 — Take a payment

  1. When Dana pays, open the invoice and click Record payment (or go to Payments → New Payment).
  2. Enter the amount and the method (cash, card, check, e-transfer).
  3. Save — the payment applies to the invoice and the balance updates.

Full detail: Record a payment.

You did it

You just ran the full loop: contact → patient → appointment → visit → invoice → payment. That loop is the heart of decavet, and almost everything else builds on it.

Next steps