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Veterinary · head to head

ImproMed vs Onward Vet

I

ImproMed

Veterinary

On-premise Windows practice management with deep inventory and financial reporting, now inside Covetrus

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Onward Vet logo

Onward Vet

Veterinary

Small-vendor cloud practice management sold on flat subscription with unlimited users

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ImproMed it is a server-based Windows product, so the practice owns the hardware, the SQL database, the patching and the backup regime, and those costs never appear in the software quotation.; Onward Vet the vendor is small, so support depth, release pace and the ability to absorb a serious outage are all limited compared with IDEXX, Covetrus or the larger cloud vendors.
  • They diverge on capability: ImproMed covers Multi-location inventory, Onward Vet covers Flat practice subscription.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ImproMed and Onward Vet actually diverge.

Attributes where ImproMed and Onward Vet differ
AttributeImproMedOnward Vet
PlatformsWindowsWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Veterinary).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ImproMed

  • Multi-location inventory
  • Production reporting
  • Wellness plans
  • Laboratory and imaging integration
  • On-premise deployment
  • Covetrus prescription management

Only in Onward Vet

  • Flat practice subscription
  • Cloud hosted
  • Medical records and SOAP
  • Estimates and treatment plans
  • Client communication
  • Laboratory integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ImproMed

  • A multi-doctor hospital carrying significant inventory value that needs reorder points and vendor price comparisonnot Onward Vet
  • A practice manager who has to analyse production by veterinary surgeon and reconcile it against the general ledgernot Onward Vet
  • A hospital in an area with unreliable internet that will not put the appointment book and records on a cloud connectionnot Onward Vet
  • A small group running wellness plans that need recurring billing and compliance tracking against patientsnot Onward Vet

Onward Vet

  • A clinic with a large rota of part-time technicians and receptionists where per-seat pricing is disproportionatenot ImproMed
  • A single-site practice leaving an ageing on-premise system that no longer wants to maintain a servernot ImproMed
  • A new practice that needs a working record system quickly without a long configuration projectnot ImproMed
  • A cost-sensitive clinic that wants cloud practice management without paying for integration breadth it will not usenot ImproMed

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ImproMed

  • It is a server-based Windows product, so the practice owns the hardware, the SQL database, the patching and the backup regime, and those costs never appear in the software quotation.
  • Covetrus markets Pulse as its strategic cloud platform while holding three legacy practice management systems, so ask directly what development ImproMed still receives and get the support commitment and end-of-life notice period in writing.
  • Remote and mobile access is weak compared with cloud systems, which matters for on-call work, home record review and multi-site groups sharing patients.
  • The interface is dense and dated, and training a new receptionist or technician on it takes materially longer than on a modern cloud system.
  • If Covetrus does steer customers to Pulse, the migration is a full data conversion with retraining, so the cost of the eventual move should be priced into the decision now rather than later.

Onward Vet

  • The vendor is small, so support depth, release pace and the ability to absorb a serious outage are all limited compared with IDEXX, Covetrus or the larger cloud vendors.
  • The integration catalogue is short, so specialist imaging, communication or wellness plan tools that connect to ezyVet or Provet Cloud may need manual handling here.
  • Reporting is basic, so a practice that wants production analysis by veterinary surgeon, detailed inventory valuation or multi-site consolidation will be exporting data to a spreadsheet.
  • There is no on-premise option, so a clinic with an unreliable internet connection has no fallback when the link goes down and the appointment book becomes unreachable.
  • Concentration risk is real with a supplier of this size: acquisition, a change of direction or a funding problem would put your record system into other hands, so test the data export before committing.

Pricing, plan by plan

ImproMed

On request
  • ImproMed Infinity$undefined/year
    • Quoted per practice with a licence and an annual support agreement
    • Server hardware and database licensing are the responsibility of the practice
    • Data conversion and training charged separately

Onward Vet

On request
  • Onward Vet$undefined/year
    • Quoted as a flat monthly practice subscription
    • Unlimited user accounts
    • Cloud hosting, backup and updates included

Which should you pick?

Choose ImproMed if

  • You need multi-location inventory.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want production reporting.
ImproMed review

Choose Onward Vet if

  • You need flat practice subscription.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want cloud hosted.
Onward Vet review

Questions people ask

Is ImproMed or Onward Vet better?
Neither clearly leads. ImproMed starts at On request and Onward Vet at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ImproMed or Onward Vet?
ImproMed starts at On request and Onward Vet at On request.
Does ImproMed or Onward Vet run on more platforms?
ImproMed runs on Windows. Onward Vet runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is ImproMed best used for?
ImproMed is most often used for a multi-doctor hospital carrying significant inventory value that needs reorder points and vendor price comparison, a practice manager who has to analyse production by veterinary surgeon and reconcile it against the general ledger, a hospital in an area with unreliable internet that will not put the appointment book and records on a cloud connection, a small group running wellness plans that need recurring billing and compliance tracking against patients. Of those, a multi-doctor hospital carrying significant inventory value that needs reorder points and vendor price comparison and a practice manager who has to analyse production by veterinary surgeon and reconcile it against the general ledger are not what Onward Vet is typically brought in for.
What can ImproMed do that Onward Vet cannot?
ImproMed covers Multi-location inventory, Production reporting, Wellness plans, Laboratory and imaging integration. Onward Vet covers Flat practice subscription, Cloud hosted, Medical records and SOAP, Estimates and treatment plans.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ImproMed: Is ImproMed still being developed?

Ask Covetrus for a release history and a written support commitment. Pulse is the stated strategic cloud product, and ImproMed, AVImark and RxWorks are all legacy systems in the same portfolio.

Onward Vet: How is it priced?

As a flat practice subscription with unlimited users, quoted rather than published, which is why it suits clinics with many part-time staff.

ImproMed: Can it run in the cloud?

It is designed for an on-premise server. Hosting it on a remote desktop service is possible but it is not a native cloud application and does not behave like one.

Onward Vet: Is it suitable for a multi-site group?

Not really. It is built for single-site independent clinics; consolidated reporting and cross-site inventory are not its strength.

ImproMed: What is it better at than cloud alternatives?

Inventory control and financial and production reporting. Practices with high stock value and several veterinary surgeons are the ones that notice the difference.

Onward Vet: What happens if the internet goes down?

You lose access to the appointment book and records. There is no on-premise fallback, so a secondary connection is a sensible precaution.

ImproMed: What happens to my data if we move to Pulse?

A conversion project. Establish before signing what Covetrus will convert, what it will not, and who pays for it.

Onward Vet: Can I get my data out?

Ask for a full export during evaluation and check what format it comes in. With a small vendor this is a question to answer before you sign, not afterwards.

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