--- title: "Shepherd Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about Shepherd Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Veterinary products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/172485/Shepherd-App/" page_type: "product" language: "en" --- # Shepherd Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on August 20, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Shepherd ## What is Shepherd? Good software shouldn’t slow you down. It should feel like part of the team. Shepherd is second-nature, workflow-first practice information management software that runs in the background, keeping everything in sync while you move through the day. Built and overseen by veterinary professionals, it reflects how clinics actually operate. Features are guided by a Director of Veterinary Medicine — something no other PIMS has. As your team documents care, Shepherd connects the rest automatically, so there are fewer clicks, missed charges, and things to double-check. It’s intuitive enough to learn quickly, powerful enough to scale, and with vet experience at every level, it’s designed around how real practices operate (not how software thinks they should). When you need help, you’ll talk to a clinically trained support team that understands your day and responds fast. This is software that fits into your workflow. Not the other way around. ## What is Shepherd used for? [Veterinary](https://www.capterra.com/veterinary-software/) Recognitions Shortlist Overall rating Based on 87 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 99% Neutral 1% Negative 0% Starting price $299 Other, Per Month Free trial available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... - Veterinary / 2026 Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... ## Shepherd alternatives Highest Rated [4.9 (238)](https://www.capterra.com/p/234498/Instinct-EMR/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 99% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.6 (288)](https://www.capterra.com/p/133166/DaySmart-Vet/reviews/) Starting price $116.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 94% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.6 (278)](https://www.capterra.com/p/99977/ezyVet-Cloud-Vet-Software/reviews/) Starting price $260.50 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 95% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.7 (101)](https://www.capterra.com/p/167764/Digitail/reviews/) Starting price $289.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 94% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/172485/Shepherd-App/alternatives/) ## FAQs about Shepherd Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from Shepherd? Shepherd is most used by veterinarians, practice owners, and hospital leaders who need to streamline patient records, scheduling, and billing across busy clinics. Practice managers, office administrators, and client service teams rely on it to coordinate daily operations, while veterinary technicians use it to document care and support efficient treatment workflows. Answer based on 87 reviews Overview ### What company size and industries is Shepherd built for? Shepherd is for small veterinary clinics, with 100% of reviewers from small businesses and 97% in veterinary. It is built for veterinary practice owners and managers who want less admin and workflow-first software. A small share of reviewers also come from hospital and health care and computer and network security, and its main use case is veterinary. Answer based on 87 reviews Features and Usability ### What are the key features of Shepherd? Shepherd includes core veterinary practice features like EMR/EHR, SOAP notes, patient charting, appointment scheduling, and billing with invoicing. Reviewers also highlight differentiators such as customizable exam templates, integrated SMS reminders, task management, whiteboard views, and treatment workflows that capture charges directly from medical records. Answer based on 23 reviews Pricing ### How much does it cost and what fees or limitations are included? Shepherd starts at $299 per month for unlimited users, and a free trial is available. The plan includes charge capture, client communication, customizable forms, detailed reporting, digital whiteboard, inventory tracking, patient scheduling, practice management, and SOAP medical record workflow. Pricing feedback calls it a good value for the cost. Answer based on 2 reviews Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does Shepherd integrate with? Shepherd integrates with IDEXX Neo and Cubex Retail, and its catalog also includes AllyDVM, FetchIt, Greenline, Inventory Ally, PCM Integrations, Sunbit, Talkatoo, VetTalk, WaitWell, and Weave. These connections cover laboratory, retail, communication, scheduling, and payment-related workflows. Answer based on 10 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What training and onboarding options does Shepherd offer? Shepherd provides live online sessions, webinars, documentation, and videos to help teams get started. Live online sessions and webinars support guided instruction, while documentation and videos give self-paced reference material for setup and feature review. Answer based on 5 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does Shepherd offer? Shepherd provides Email/Help Desk, FAQ/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support, and Chat. Users describe customer support as responsive, helpful, and thorough, with smooth onboarding and attentive setup help. Some also note quick assistance and clear guidance during initial use, making support a positive part of the experience. Answer based on 5 reviews Features and Usability ### What features does Shepherd offer for veterinary practices? Shepherd offers an intuitive set of veterinary practice features that cover scheduling, SOAP records, invoicing, document handling, integrations, and task tracking. Many clinics like how connected the system feels and how often updates arrive, though some teams want more customization, better inventory tools, and faster AI refinement. Answer based on 23 reviews Features and Usability ### Is Shepherd easy to learn and use every day? Shepherd makes daily work easy to learn and easy to navigate for most veterinary teams. Small practices, startups, and clinics switching from older systems often mention quick onboarding, clear records, simple scheduling, and low training needs, though a few users still want easier ways to group and search information. Answer based on 18 reviews ## Features AI summary Based on 1,649 Veterinary reviews Capterra data shows that buyers of veterinary software rank the following features as their top priorities: - **Billing & Invoicing** (**60%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Patient Records Management** (**67%**) - **Charting** (**60%**) Shepherd supports all three of the features reviewers value most: **Billing & Invoicing**, **Patient Records Management**, and **Charting**. Together, these capabilities help veterinary practices manage financial workflows, keep complete and accurate patient histories, and document care clearly, allowing teams to run day-to-day operations more efficiently and support better treatment decisions. Billing & Invoicing 4.5 (50) 90.00% of 50 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Create, manage, and send invoices or bills to customers Patient Records Management 4.7 (55) 96.36% of 55 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Managing different types of patient records, including paper documents, digital files, billing information, and scheduling details Charting 4.8 (44) 95.45% of 44 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Manage patient documentation describing all clinical interactions, diagnoses, procedures, medications, etc. Prescription Processing 4.4 (42) 95.24% of 42 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Enables pharmacists to process single or multiple prescriptions simultaneously Appointment Scheduling 4.8 (56) 92.86% of 56 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Schedule appointments via a calendar Client Management 4.7 (40) 87.50% of 40 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Manage contact details and communication with clients Shepherd 40 features ### All Features - Accounting: Built-in accounting to manage ledger, accounts payable/receivable, financial reports, etc. - Activity Dashboard: Dashboard to view the status of ongoing processes, identify current incidents and track past activities - Alerts/Notifications: Alerts or notifications of various types such as pop-up messages, sounds, banners, or badges - API: Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases - Appointment Scheduling: Schedule appointments via a calendar - Billing & Invoicing: Create, manage, and send invoices or bills to customers - Calendar Management: Track and manage schedules and meetings via an integrated calendar - Charting: Manage patient documentation describing all clinical interactions, diagnoses, procedures, medications, etc. - Client Management: Manage contact details and communication with clients - Communication Management: Manage and track all internal and external communication conducted via calls, email, text, or chat - Confirmations/Reminders: Automated reminders and confirmations for booked appointments and events via text or email - Customer Database: A collection of customer information such as contact details, demographics, previous interactions, etc. - Data Import/Export: Import and export data to and from software applications - Document Management: Store, manage, and track all electronic documents in a centralized location - Document Storage: Store and organize documents in a centralized system - Electronic Payments: Electronically collect payments for goods or services - Electronic Signature: Digitally sign online documents - Email Reminders: Reminders sent via email - EMR/EHR: Create and securely store digital patient records - Historical Reporting: Information, data and reports that are being tracked over time - Imaging and X-rays: Visual representations or pictures of objects, structures, or internal body parts, often for diagnostic or analytical purposes - Inventory Management: Track and manage inventory levels to maintain proper supply - Invoice Management: Captures invoice data and maintains comprehensive records for auditing and reporting purposes - Live Chat: Ability to chat online in real time - Patient Intake: Patients can register for appointments in advance online - Patient Portal: Online portal where patients can access information such as health records, treatment plants, etc. - Patient Records Management: Managing different types of patient records, including paper documents, digital files, billing information, and scheduling details - Payment Processing: Accept, record, and reconcile financial transactions - Prescription Processing: Enables pharmacists to process single or multiple prescriptions simultaneously - Reminders: Timed notification for any upcoming task, deadline, appointment, or activity - Reporting & Statistics: Collection, analysis, and representation of numerical data and generation of reports to understand various patterns - Self Service Portal: Online portal through which end users can access the system, manage tasks, or obtain information - SMS Messaging: Send messages via SMS - SOAP notes: Method of writing out notes in patient's charts (subjective, objective, assessment, and plan) - Status Tracking: Track the status over time for a request, process, asset, or transaction - Task Scheduling: Track and manage the scheduling of tasks - Template Management: Create, save, and re-purpose templates for emails, forms, etc. - Third-Party Integrations: Set up connections to third-party platforms to improve business processes - Treatment Planning: Create treatment plans that document interventions and outcomes to track patient progress - Workflow Management: Create, design and manage workflows for repetitive tasks --- Features 4.6 (87) 4.6 Based on 87 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.8 (85) Free Trial [View pricing plan details](https://www.capterra.com/p/172485/Shepherd-App/pricing/) Shepherd $299.00 Other,Per Month It includes: - SOAP Medical Record Workflow - Client Communication - Practice Management - Detailed Reporting - Inventory Tracking - Charge Capture - Digital Whiteboard - Patient Scheduling - Customizable forms Value for money 4.8 (85) 4.8 Based on 85 reviews ## Integrations [ Weave](https://www.capterra.com/p/141842/Weave/)[ Talkatoo](https://www.capterra.com/p/198507/Talkatoo/)[ WaitWell](https://www.capterra.com/p/236054/WaitWell/)[ FetchIt](https://www.capterra.com/p/182373/GoFetchIt/)[ AllyDVM](https://www.capterra.com/p/232663/AllyDVM/)[ Greenline](https://www.capterra.com/p/213375/Greenline/)[ PCM Integrations](https://www.capterra.com/p/10009255/Direct-Mail-API/)[ Sunbit](https://www.capterra.com/p/251658/Sunbit/) ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.8 (87) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.8 (87) 4.8 Based on 87 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.7 Based on 87 reviews Filter by rating 5(66) 4(20) 3(1) 2(0) 1(0) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent JM Jessica M. Hospital Manager and RVT Veterinary ### "#1 Best Veterinary Software and PIMS Out There" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 March 19, 2026 Overall, I would still recommend Shepherd to hospitals that are looking to find the best veterinary PIMS, it's by far the best software I've ever used in the 13 years I've been doing this. Pros Easy to use, great PIMS, user-friendly, inventory tracking is amazing, the best veterinary software as it's made for vets by vets Cons The updates have gotten better, but there are still issues with the entire system going down within 24 hours after updates have been done, which messes with our daily flow, schedule, charges, and general communication. I will say, they are actively working to resolve this Alternatives considered [Covetrus Avimark](https://www.capterra.com/p/92887/AVImark/) [Cornerstone Software](https://www.capterra.com/p/99976/Cornerstone-Practice-Management/) Reasons for choosing Shepherd Easier to use, made by vets for vets, integration is fantastic Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. JJ Jack J. CFO Veterinary ### "Outstanding practice management" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 September 11, 2025 Very pleased we switched, it makes life easier from an administrative perspective and is a much more cost effective solution than our prior software. Pros Ease of use - reporting is super easy, very straightforward, and customizable. Exports simply to CSV rather than clunky PDFs or other “canned” reports. Switched from Server-based (Impromed) to cloud-based and it is now a much simpler infrastructure. Customer support is modern, and very responsive. Cons It took a bit of time to understand some of the workflow but after a bit of cruising around the system it all made sense. Switched from [Covetrus Impromed](https://www.capterra.com/p/95888/ImproMed/) Modernization, needed to move into this century. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AR Ashley R. Owner and veterinarian Veterinary ### "Great software with great customer service. " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 September 10, 2025 Great software and streamlined. Not clunky like a lot of the other older ones out there. Love the customer service! Pros The platform is user friendly. Users are able to get help very easily either by searching for an answer or directly messaging a team member. Cons The texting feature is not super user friendly. It does not auto create spay or neuter certificates. Alternatives considered [easyVET](https://www.capterra.com/p/134498/easyVET/) Reasons for choosing Shepherd More user friendly and not overly done. Better price. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. DG Dr. Ginger B. DVM Owner Veterinary ### "Great software that is constantly listening and improving" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 August 26, 2025 I truly love Shepherd, they continue to grow and improve, making my days easier. As with anything, there are always places to improve and Shepherd listens and constantly strives to hwlp create a better work balance. They allow me to work smarter, not harder!!! Pros I love the look of Shepherd, they also have great customer support. I have been with them for 2 years and love how they are continuing to grow. The constant improvements and integrations are great. Cons Inventory Management is difficult but hopefully will improve soon. Providing more specific and detailed information on how to efficiently use Shepherd would be beneficial, ie how to videos. Alternatives considered [ezyVet](https://www.capterra.com/p/99977/ezyVet-Cloud-Vet-Software/) Reasons for choosing Shepherd I didn't want Idexx to run my practice completely. Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. KB Kathy B. Practice Manager Veterinary ### "Shepherd is a must for practices" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 6, 2025 Overall we've had an amazing experience with Shepherd. Our practice has been able to utilize all the features to make us more efficient. We've seen a lot of updates that have also improved our overall experience. Pros We love how streamlined Shepherd is. Everything is all in one place for medical records, no need to go searching for what you are looking for. Cons When sending text messages, right now you have to type the name of the patient into the message, instead of just being able to choose the patient name. Switched from [Covetrus Pulse](https://www.capterra.com/p/130107/Covetrus-Pulse/) The work flow was horrible. It would take 10 steps just to do something simple. The lag time on the site was horrible too, even though we told them many times there was a problem. Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. EC Erika C. Veterinarian Veterinary ### "Functional Practice Management Software" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 August 5, 2025 Overall i really like this software. It is mostly intuitive and improving all the time. I reslly appreciate how adaptable it is. Pros I appreciate how quickly i can get in touch with the support staff. They are always able to answer my questions and are very receptive to feedback in suggested improvements. Cons It took a little while to fully understand how to work with it in our established flow. The tutorials are useful, but a full orientation with someone to go through using it in our situation would have been more helpful. Switched from [Cornerstone Software](https://www.capterra.com/p/99976/Cornerstone-Practice-Management/) Looking for something less expensive, more useful in our environment. Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. MS Mindy S. Practice Owner Veterinary ### "Great PIMS" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 July 29, 2025 Pros The user interface and features such as tasks, tagging employees, and templates. I also love the Shepherd Pay. Cons Some capabilities are not maximized for equine mobile practice - I would really love to have access the schedule calendar more easily in a remote setting. An app similar to google calendar that is accessible without internet but syncs throughout the day would be ideal. Switched from [Covetrus Impromed Equine](https://www.capterra.com/p/141475/ImproMed-Equine/) Outdated and poor support with poor user experience Alternatives considered [Covetrus Pulse](https://www.capterra.com/p/130107/Covetrus-Pulse/) [ezyVet](https://www.capterra.com/p/99977/ezyVet-Cloud-Vet-Software/) [DaySmart Vet](https://www.capterra.com/p/133166/DaySmart-Vet/) Reasons for choosing Shepherd Better UI and no cost for migration or data Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. JB Julie B. Owner and veterinarian Veterinary ### "Overall great!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 July 28, 2025 Pros Shepherd is very intuitive and easy to use. It’s user friendly and integrates with most of the vendors I’d want it to (Vetsnap, Blue Rabbit, Zoetis Reference Lab, Kumba). It is cloud based which is imperative for me as a mobile practice. Customer support is generally pretty fast and helpful. Cons It’s a little pricier than some of the other softwares I looked into. There have also recently been a few fairly major outages where the system has been unusable during business hours. Alternatives considered [ezyVet](https://www.capterra.com/p/99977/ezyVet-Cloud-Vet-Software/) [DaySmart Vet](https://www.capterra.com/p/133166/DaySmart-Vet/) [IDEXX Neo](https://www.capterra.com/p/145988/IDEXX-Neo/) [Hippo Manager](https://www.capterra.com/p/134667/Hippo-Manager/) Reasons for choosing Shepherd Ease of use, integrations, and customization available Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. DA Dave A. Business Manager Veterinary ### "Shepherd is the Best, Look No Further!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 July 28, 2025 Simple, we love it! Everyone in the hospital loves Shepherd. We've saved money and time and we feel more confident with Shepherd than any other solution any of our team has used. We highly recommend it! Pros When we used Neo, we paid nearly $400 a month for access to it. And it was very limited to the partners you could integrate with. In addition, we paid over $200 per month for a third-party text messaging service. With Shepherd, our text messaging is incorporated into Shepherd, we pay nothing extra for it. We can integrate with literally dozens of other product providers and do in some cases. We do not pay Shepherd for this integration. We simply pay the product developer their fee. In all, we save over $300 a month by using Shepherd. Now this doesn't include the value associated with the fullness of the Shepherd product. It is by far, and I've looked at over seven, the best veterinary software package on the market. It is, in my opinion, "head and shoulders" above the competition. It is robust, customizable, and it's a time-saver. Do your homework and you will see, Shepherd is the best option. Our team learned it after two training sessions and "everyone" loves it. There is no going back, or moving on for us. Whether it is scheduling, or patient/client management, Shepherd is a breeze. Finally, the support is OUTSTANDING! They always have an answer and they are truly invested in our success! One more, they update regularly with noteworthy functionality and much of it is driven by client input. Overall score: 15 out of 10! Cons You have to pay attention to set up. Shepherd is very robust and you need to "think about" how you want it to operate and function. If you do that, you're in good shape. If you make assumptions during set-up and you don't follow their instructions and advice, you can get yourself into trouble. ASK QUESTIONS and pay attention. Switched from [IDEXX Neo](https://www.capterra.com/p/145988/IDEXX-Neo/) Less cost, more functionality, more user friendly and time-saving, money saving features and integrations. Alternatives considered [Covetrus Pulse](https://www.capterra.com/p/130107/Covetrus-Pulse/) [NaVetor](https://www.capterra.com/p/178450/Patterson-Technology/) Reasons for choosing Shepherd Better, easier, less costly, more feature function and more available integrations. Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. KS Katrina S. Veterinarian owner Veterinary ### "I love Shepherd" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 July 28, 2025 Customer support is very responsive and helpful. The overall cost for me as a single doctor practice is a good value Pros I like that it has an easy-to-use, attractive interface. Using Shepherd is intuitive and I can easily navigate. Cons I am disappointed that AI and transcription services, as well as text messages are at an additional fee. Alternatives considered [ezyVet](https://www.capterra.com/p/99977/ezyVet-Cloud-Vet-Software/) Reasons for choosing Shepherd The cost for Shepherd for my small business was more affordable Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/172485/Shepherd-App/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Popular comparisons [DaySmart Vet vs Shepherd](https://www.capterra.com/compare/133166-172485/DaySmart-Vet-vs-Shepherd-App)[Instinct Science vs Shepherd](https://www.capterra.com/compare/172485-234498/Shepherd-App-vs-Instinct-EMR)[ezyVet vs Shepherd](https://www.capterra.com/compare/99977-172485/ezyVet-Cloud-Vet-Software-vs-Shepherd-App) [Cornerstone Software vs Shepherd](https://www.capterra.com/compare/99976-172485/Cornerstone-Practice-Management-vs-Shepherd-App)[Covetrus Impromed vs Shepherd](https://www.capterra.com/compare/95888-172485/ImproMed-vs-Shepherd-App)[IDEXX Neo vs Shepherd](https://www.capterra.com/compare/145988-172485/IDEXX-Neo-vs-Shepherd-App)