Get your practice ready for the CMA Order before the dates arrive
The Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026 is legally binding. For businesses with 14 or fewer practices, the first set of duties applies from the working day after 22 March 2027 and the second from the working day after 22 September 2027. We build the pieces it describes around your existing practice software, test them and hand them over.
Service 13
No 17040048
Setup
From £2,500
Fixed quote per practice after a 20-minute call
Multi-site businesses from £1,500 per additional practice. Your practice software and messaging costs stay as they are. Anything outside the scope below is quoted separately.
Who it is for
- Independent veterinary businesses with 14 or fewer practices that the Order applies to.
- Practice owners and managers who need the March and September 2027 duties in place without replacing their practice management system.
- Groups that want each site set up the same way, with one record of what was published and when.
What the work covers
Price list, by 22 March 2027
The Order requires a published price list for the 36 services in its Schedule 1, leaving out any you do not offer, across six standard pet categories where prices vary: cat, and dogs under 10kg, 10 to 25kg, 25 to 40kg, 40 to 60kg and over 60kg. Vet Times worked that out at 216 prices for a practice that offers everything. Prices reflect a standard case, the list must say complex cases may cost more, and prices must be updated before a new price is charged. Booking confirmations must state the consultation price and link to the list.
Disclosures, by 22 March 2027
Groups and networks must show who they are on their website, premises and signage. Practices must publish prices for their most commonly sold parasiticides, meaning those with at least 100 units sold in the previous financial year, including VAT, with a link to the VMD Register of Online Retailers. Pet care plans need their contents, limits, monthly and annual totals, standalone prices and cancellation terms set out, with reminders when annual plans renew. Cremation options and prices must be explained, including a basic communal service.
Complaints, by 22 March 2027
A complaint not resolved informally within 10 working days becomes an actionable complaint. It must be acknowledged in writing within a further 5 working days, with a full written response within 8 weeks of becoming actionable. The process must be published on your website, the RCVS Decision Tree displayed at reception and online, and a complaint log kept, reviewed and shared with the RCVS on request. Practices must also take part in good-faith mediation. We set up the process, track every date and keep the log ready to export.
Estimates and bills, by 22 September 2027
A written estimate is needed when a treatment pathway is reasonably likely to cost £500 or more including VAT and at least 20 per cent of that cost is for tests or treatment not yet given or chosen. A new estimate is needed if costs become likely to exceed the last one by 20 per cent or £500, whichever is lower. There are exceptions for urgent treatment or where the owner declines. Itemised bills are due before or when payment is sought. We prepare the templates and a simple way to see when a re-estimate is due.
Prescriptions, by 22 September 2027
A written prescription must be offered in each consultation where medicine is prescribed, unless it is urgent. The RCVS standard text goes on consultation confirmations and reminders, and on invoices where medicine was dispensed. Prescription fees are capped at £21.40 for the first medicine and £12.70 for each additional one, including VAT, until 31 March 2028. Own-brand medicines need the reference product disclosed in the consultation, on dispensing and on the label and invoice. We add the standard text to your templates and prepare the rest for September.
The evidence file
If the CMA or the RCVS asks what you had in place and when, the answer should not depend on someone's memory. Each item we set up is recorded with the date it went live and what it said, and price list changes are logged as they happen. The file is yours, kept in a format you can open without us. It does not prove compliance on its own, but it means you can show what you did, which is the point when a regulator asks.
What it looks like in practice
These are illustrations of the kind of work, not client results.
Price changes that reach the list first
A price is changed in one place, the published list updates and a dated entry is kept, so you can show the list changed before the new price was charged. Example only.
Complaints that do not miss a deadline
A complaint not resolved within 10 working days is logged, the acknowledgement and full response dates are set, and someone is reminded before each one. Example only.
Booking confirmations that carry the price
Each booking confirmation states the consultation price and links to the price list, and reminders carry the standard RCVS prescription text. Example only.
What you get
We work around your practice management system, website and messaging tools. We do not replace them, and where your system already covers a duty we say so and leave it alone.
- 01A price list page in the format the Order sets out, published on your website, with a dated change log.
- 02Booking confirmation and reminder templates carrying the consultation price, the price list link and the RCVS standard prescription text, set up in your existing system where it allows, or ready to paste where it does not.
- 03A complaints process published on your website, with the statutory dates tracked, reminders before each one and a complaint log you can review and share with the RCVS.
- 04Disclosure pages for ownership, pet care plans, cremation options and parasiticide prices, built from information you give us once.
- 05Written estimate and re-estimate templates ready for September 2027.
- 06An evidence file recording each item, the date it went live and what it said.
What changes
- The March 2027 duties are in place on your website, in your templates and in your complaints process.
- Every complaint deadline is tracked rather than remembered.
- Price changes reach the published list first, with a dated record.
- The September 2027 templates are ready before they are needed.
How it runs
- 20-minute call, then a fixed quote per practice.
- Built around your existing practice software and website.
- Each item checked against the GOV.UK guidance and signed off by you.
- Evidence file and instructions handed over at the end.
What you supply
- A 20-minute call, and access to your website and the tools that send booking confirmations and reminders.
- Your current prices, in a spreadsheet, for the services you offer.
- Details of ownership, pet care plans, cremation options and your current complaints handling.
- A named person at the practice who signs off each item before it goes live.
Limits
- This is not legal advice. The practice remains responsible for complying with the Order, and the GOV.UK guidance and the Order itself are the authority.
- We build the artefacts the Order describes. We cannot make sure staff follow them in every consultation, though we make the steps clear and easy to check.
- We do not replace your practice management system.
- The Order and its guidance can change. We build to the version published at the time and tell you if a change affects what we set up.
How it works
- 01
Scope
A 20-minute call covers your sites, your practice software and what is already in place. You receive a fixed quote.
- 02
Build
We set up the price list, templates, complaints process and disclosures, working from the information you supply.
- 03
Test
We check each item against the GOV.UK guidance, send test bookings and complaints through, and you sign off each one.
- 04
Hand over
You receive everything working, the evidence file and instructions for keeping it current. The September 2027 pieces are ready when you need them.
Where this comes from
Evidence from our own work
We build enquiry handling for dental and aesthetics practices through ReplyOS, and Slipmark, our open-source tool, exists because we do not trust a green tick we cannot check. The evidence file applies the same idea: a record of what was live and when. This is our own engineering experience, not a veterinary client result.
Read about SlipmarkWhere it fits
Once the Order work is in place, practices often look next at how enquiries and bookings are handled, or at automating the admin around them.
Questions before you start
How much does it cost?
From £2,500 for one practice, and from £1,500 for each additional practice in the same business. You receive a fixed quote after a 20-minute call, and anything outside the scope is quoted separately.
Does the Order apply to us?
The GOV.UK guide this service follows is for veterinary businesses with 14 or fewer practices. Businesses with 15 or more follow a separate CMA guide. If you are not sure which applies, the GOV.UK guidance is the place to check.
Do we need new practice software?
No. We work around the system you have. Where it already handles a duty, we leave that part alone and scope the rest.
Is this legal advice?
No. We build the pieces the Order describes and check them against the published guidance. The practice remains responsible for compliance, and you should take legal advice where you need it.
What is the next step?
Book a 20-minute call. We go through your sites and software and send a fixed quote.
Our practice software already covers some of this. Do we still need it?
Possibly not all of it. SPVS has pointed out that around 20 practice management systems would ideally need updating, and they will not all move at the same pace. We ask which system you use on the call, check what it already handles and scope only what is missing.
Do we have to submit attestations?
The GOV.UK guide says businesses with more than one first opinion practice or out-of-hours centre must submit attestations, with deadlines set out there. Check the current guide for your dates. Tell us on the call if it applies to you and we will say whether we can help prepare it.
Sources
Check the current GOV.UK guidance before acting. The CMA can amend it.
- 01Small veterinary businesses: complying with the CMA's Order. GOV.UK, Competition and Markets Authority, updated 15 October 2026.
- 02Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026 and RCVS Undertakings 2026. GOV.UK, Competition and Markets Authority, 22 September 2026.
- 03CMA transparency rules: what do you need to know? Vet Times, 7 April 2026.
- 04Independent practices need longer to make CMA changes, says SPVS. Vet Times, 7 January 2026.
Tell us what needs to work better.
Describe the process and the tools involved. If it looks like a fit we will arrange a 20-minute call.