Dentistry Review 2006 - New Contract, Incorporation…

Arun Mehra of specialist dental accountants Samera recently gave us his 2006 review of goings on in dentistry.

Over to Arun…

It’s the time of year where I put fingers to keyboard, evaluate the year gone by, the changes, the missed opportunities, the ups and the downs in the dental business world! 2006 has been an exciting year for Samera and The Neem Tree, we have also learnt even more about the industry, the changes, the excitement, the people, one industry that doesn't fail to excite us!

I could write a newsletter that would be worthy of a novel, however, I will keep it brief and highlight from a dental business perspective the main points we experienced as the number one business advisors to UK dentistry.

As ever, any questions please get in touch with us!

New contract blues

The year started out with many dentists hastily deciding whether or not to stay with nGDS, we saw a 10% drop off in NHS dentists, but it appears most NHS dentists remained within the NHS world. I feel it is too early to tell whether the new contract will really work for NHS dentists, but my understanding from meeting and talking with many of my clients is that they have left one treadmill to join another. They need to find new ways to work the contract for them, however, in 3 years time the contract they receive may differ considerably in 2009…only time will tell.

But rather than wait to 2008 to make the shift private, if you are thinking about doing it, plan it well in advance and make sure you have sufficient time to make the move successful. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN! If you are not planning to move private, which I believe is not right for everyone, make sure you plan your success in the world of NHS dentistry. Don’t wait for the DoH to play their games, why don’t you make the first move?

Incorporation

In August we saw for the first time, the possibility of dentists being allowed to incorporate their businesses from sole traders and partnerships. Although there has been plenty of interest in this, the actual procedure of incorporation is not right for everyone and each situation should be assessed on a case by case basis. We have taken the firm stance that it may be right for dentists, but we strongly urge that all issues are considered in a feasibility study.

Don’t be fooled into thinking incorporation is a straight forward thing to do, there are legal, financial and tax implications that need to be considered in full before taking such a step. Please seek professional advice if you are considering incorporation or get in touch with us at Samera.

I believe the main benefit of incorporation to dentistry as a whole is it will bring new investors into dentistry. The new rules now allow non-dentists to own dental practices, such a move will bring more money in to dentistry, make it faster paced, but also perhaps more industry competitive. It is early days again on this, but since we get at our offices at least one call per week from an interested non-dentist to set up a dental practice, I do feel the times are changing. As you and I know, running a dental business is not easy, but I do also believe new innovative business models will emerge with the allowance of further dental body corporates.

I think this is just the beginning of how the industry will change!

DCPs now allowed to own their own practices!

Another exciting development is the ability for DCPs to own their own practices. My recent talk at the British Dental Hygienist Association really highlighted to me that over the next few years we will see more DCPs hoping to open up and run practices, perhaps employing associate dentists. Currently we have a steady stream of excited hygienists who are partnering with dentists to open up partnerships, again this won’t change dentistry overnight but really highlights that dentists are not the only ones shaking up the dental world! If you are a DCP that has ever dreamed of being their own boss get in touch with us!

To buy or to squat?

We also experienced a massive interest in dentists wanting to set up squat practices. Particularly in the South East, we have seen the goodwill valuations of practices reach very lofty heights, perhaps not justified. As a result of this we have experienced many young driven practitioners across the UK wanting to open up private dental squats….this will be something I feel will continue afoot in 2007.

During August, we opened our second squat practice in two years, The Neem Tree Canary Wharf. So far so good, and if you want to take a peek at the practice visit our new website at www.theneemtree.net. It still is work in progress, and will be updated further over the next few months but it should give you a pretty good idea of how we are setting up and managing successful private dental practices from scratch.

Make more money with Ultimate Financial Control

Also during 2006 we launched our premier financial management service for dental practices, whereby we effectively help, manage, and direct your business to the financial and non-financial goals you wish to achieve through our Ultimate Financial Control service.

This service which was developed at our practices, is not only working well in The Neem Tree practices, but more importantly, many high profile clients of ours are benefiting from this service dedicated to dentists. In fact, I became so proud of this service when one such already successful client called it “brilliant!”.

I feel we have engineered a service that will surpass most dentist’s expectations of their accountant, so if you want us to give you “Ultimate Financial Control” (UFC) and grow a successful and profitable business please get in touch with us! I promise you won’t regret it. We are arranging complimentary meetings for those individuals interested in getting UFC at your practice for 2007, so get in touch with sarah@samera.co.uk

For further information on Ultimate Financial Control visit http://www.samera.co.uk/Ult.htm

Thanks to a great team

2007 will see Samera Ltd moving to new premises and gaining new team members, but what I would really like to say to the current team, Mahen, Sarah, Poonam, Snehal, Sylvie a MASSIVE thank you. Without them, the business would not be where it is today!

We have come an extraordinarily long way since the business started up in a small box bedroom, I feel we offer our clients an unequal level of service in dental business and we are always looking at ways to improve our level of service for clients. 2006 has seen very strong growth for many of our services, so we are investing in new infrastructure and getting the right new team members to help us help you achieve your objectives. Of course feedback is always welcome!

Watch out for our 2007 dental business predictions that will be with you in the New Year!

Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Arun