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Veterinary · head to head

Onward Vet vs Shepherd

Onward Vet logo

Onward Vet

Veterinary

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Shepherd logo

Shepherd

Veterinary

Cloud veterinary practice management built by a practising vet

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Shepherd quote-only pricing with no published rates
  • They diverge on capability: Onward Vet covers Flat practice subscription, Shepherd covers Consultation-first records.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Onward Vet and Shepherd differ
AttributeOnward VetShepherd
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Cloud

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 Onward Vet

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

Only in Shepherd

  • Consultation-first records
  • Charges from treatment
  • Inventory
  • Cloud-based

What people use each for

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

Onward Vet

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

Shepherd

  • Practices losing revenue to treatment delivered but never billednot Onward Vet
  • Clinics replacing on-premise legacy systemsnot Onward Vet
  • Independent practices wanting something designed around clinical work rather than administrationnot Onward Vet

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Shepherd

  • Quote-only pricing with no published rates
  • A smaller vendor than the established systems, with a correspondingly shorter track record
  • Cloud-only, so consultations depend on clinic connectivity

Pricing, plan by plan

Onward Vet

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

Shepherd

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Shepherd review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Onward Vet if

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

Choose Shepherd if

  • You need consultation-first records.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want charges from treatment.
Shepherd review

Questions people ask

Is Onward Vet or Shepherd better?
Neither clearly leads. Onward Vet starts at On request and Shepherd at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Onward Vet or Shepherd?
Onward Vet starts at On request and Shepherd at On request.
Does Onward Vet or Shepherd run on more platforms?
Onward Vet runs on Web, iOS, Android. Shepherd runs on Web, Cloud.
What is Onward Vet best used for?
Onward Vet is most often used for a clinic with a large rota of part-time technicians and receptionists where per-seat pricing is disproportionate, a single-site practice leaving an ageing on-premise system that no longer wants to maintain a server, a new practice that needs a working record system quickly without a long configuration project, a cost-sensitive clinic that wants cloud practice management without paying for integration breadth it will not use. Of those, a clinic with a large rota of part-time technicians and receptionists where per-seat pricing is disproportionate and a single-site practice leaving an ageing on-premise system that no longer wants to maintain a server are not what Shepherd is typically brought in for.
What can Onward Vet do that Shepherd cannot?
Onward Vet covers Flat practice subscription, Cloud hosted, Medical records and SOAP, Estimates and treatment plans. Shepherd covers Consultation-first records, Charges from treatment, Inventory, Cloud-based.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Shepherd: What does Shepherd cost?

Pricing is quoted per practice and not published.

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.

Shepherd: What makes it different from other veterinary systems?

It was designed by a practising vet around the consultation workflow, so charges accrue from recorded treatment rather than being entered as a separate billing step.

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.

Shepherd: Is it cloud-only?

Yes, which removes server maintenance and makes connectivity a dependency.

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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