RETAIL OPS

Go-o-o-o-o Team!

Besides the obvious staffers, a successful practice needs players in the backcourt

it’s certain that you can’t run an optical practice without some O’s, technicians, and front desk and billing personnel. But a team often goes beyond just the players on the court. There are support teams that may not be on the payroll full time, but who nevertheless play a role in every practice’s success. Who are they? What skills do they bring to the table? And what is the average cost of each? According to ECPs, the following are important people to their businesses.

ACCOUNTANT

Accountants are typically hired for large tasks like filing taxes, while daily bookkeeping is handled by optical staff. Accountants can be paid on an hourly basis, with rates varying according to the scope and immediacy of the work and the level of the accountant’s expertise. A fixed monthly rate can be negotiated, and accountants can tender estimates prior to tackling a task. Larger optical businesses are more apt to hire an accountant on a monthly basis, while smaller businesses hire accountants for specific tasks.

“Accountants are a means to an end: I need to file taxes,” says Brian C. Hayes, O.D., owner of Saline Optometry in Saline, MI. However, he notes: “We work with an out-of-town accountant, because your finances aren’t everyone else in town’s business.”

COST: $90-$400 AN HOUR FOR ACCOUNTING SERVICES, AND $30-$50 AN HOUR FOR BOOK-KEEPING SERVICES

MARKETING SPECIALIST

In addition to developing advertising and marketing campaigns, these professionals may also host workshops, conduct training, and manage a business’ social media, web design, and analytics. The more they do, the more they are engaged with the practice, the higher the price tag. The objective is to generate the most return on your investment with results like heightened public awareness, increase in number of patients, increase in revenue, and increase in staff knowledge and retention.

COST: $100-$150 PER HOUR, OR $2,000- $20,000 PER MONTH DEPENDING ON THE WORKLOAD

BUSINESS CONSULTANT

The consultant that syncs with your practice personality, troubleshoots, and brings in new ideas, is an essential practice partner.

“I’ve worked with a few different groups to try to find the right fit,” Dr. Hayes explains. “I’ve learned that right now what we need isn’t traditional marketing, but primarily search engine optimization, online review oversight, and appointment confirmation coordination, because there are so many ways to make appointments now.”

Knowing the optical market is need number one, but other requirements—such as sensitivity to the local market and individual clients—are also important.

“Most marketing groups push for two-for-one or other special deals as part of their bundle,” explains Dr. Hayes. “As a small, well-established practice, we want to differentiate our practice by not advertising deals and cheapies like everyone else.”

COST: AROUND $100 AN HOUR

CLEANING SERVICE

It may seem like a luxury, but even small locations benefit from a regular cleaning schedule. And there are different ways to work this as well.

“We had a cleaning service come in once a week, but now we utilize one of our staff members because they have a personal investment in it and see the details,” says Dr. Hayes.

COST: $125-$150 PER WEEK

COMPUTER/IT EXPERT

The office of Edwin Y. Endo, O.D., and Associates in Aiea, HI, relies on an outside computer IT specialist, according to Amy Endo, ophthalmic optician.

“They offer the expertise in situations we cannot correct through our practice management programs,” she says. “This reduces our office downtime and decreases additional workload stress.”

This is one team member you don’t want to skimp on. “We worked with someone who was 40 minutes away,” explains Dr. Hayes. “It may have been less expensive, but when we needed a timely response the distance worked against us. So now we work with someone local. There’s a higher cost, but if your computer system’s down, you’re losing money, so it’s worth it.”

COST: $50-$100 AN HOUR, DEPENDING ON IF IT’S ROUTINE COMPUTER MAINTENANCE OR AN EMERGENCY

CONSTRUCTION/ REPAIR

Owning the property means that if there’s a roof leak or electrical fritz, you pay. But even renters may incur some inside repair bills, depending on the lease. It’s imperative to “know a guy” who’s good at what he does, reasonable in his rates, and responsive to your emergency.

Of course, if you or someone on your staff is handy, you can save a dime or a dollar by doing some repairs yourself.

COST: THE RATE FOR PLUMBERS, ELECTRICIANS, AND OTHER BUILDING TRADES CAN DEPEND ON HOW DIFFICULT JOB IS. AT LEAST $40-$50 AN HOUR

LAWYER

Every practice should have a lawyer on retainer, because situations happen. They can consult on employment issues, business practices, and come in handy for chasing down unpaid accounts receivable. Costs for lawyers can vary, depending on their expertise/specialty, the case, how they handle it, and even where they are based. For example, rural lawyers may have an hourly fee of $100 to $200 per hour, while metro lawyers’ fees average around $200 to $400.

COST: $100-$1,000 AN HOUR OR MORE

One ECP, Many Hats

NIKKI PINO
CO-OWNER, AN OPTICAL GALLERIA, LLC, CENTREVILLE, MD

HER HATS:

LAWYER: “We convicted an employee for stealing. The state attorney’s office public defender represented us for free since it was a criminal case,” Pino says. She also did all the paperwork to file the company’s LLC and other legal documents and, when money’s owed, she tracks people down through filing $40 small claims in county court.

INTERNET WARRIOR: Three years of persistence—and scouring the Internet for a contact number for the president of the ad division—rendered Pino victorious in a Yellow Pages ad debacle. She used Rip-Off report and the FTC.

REPAIRWOMAN: “Heating bills had been astronomical, so I went into the attic to fix the HVAC [system],” Pino says. “The previous workers had duct taped a vent which rotted, so tubing wasn’t connected to the vent. I fixed it with fishing line which works and won’t rot.”

PRINTING/MAILING SERVICE

Some practices handle it (or a portion of it) themselves, some have switched from mail to Internet delivery, and others use printing and mailing services to handle client communications and community outreach.

“We do our own mailings because we have less standard mailing now that we use computer-generated communication like email,” says Dr. Hayes. “For more content-rich pieces, like our newsletter, we utilize software to produce it and then mail it ourselves.”

Other ECPs—especially those with multiple locations—choose to use a printing/mailing service to free up staff time, especially when there’s a large market to reach with bulk or multiple mailings.

Here’s one ECP’s cost for producing and mailing 10,146 mailers. Design, $180; printing, $1,260; tax, $118.80; mailing service, $507.30; postage, $2,642.04.

FINAL COST FOR TOTAL JOB: 10,146 PIECES; $4,708.14 (46 CENTS EACH)

— Karlen McLean