Onsite clinic days for employer groups: pricing your time at the workplace

An employer may ask you to come to its site: a flu shot day, a health fair or a regular clinic morning. It also takes you out of the practice for hours. Price the time on purpose, in the contract, before the first visit.

What onsite time costs you

• The visits you can't see at the practice while you're away.
• Travel time and staff time.
• Supplies: vaccines, test kits, a portable setup.

Three ways to price it

• Included: a set number of onsite days a year, built into the monthly rate.
• A day rate: a flat fee per half day or full day, billed on the next invoice.
• Per service: a price per flu shot or screening, plus a minimum.

In a made-up example, a half day at the practice brings in about $600 of value from visits and messages you'd otherwise handle. A half-day onsite fee below $600 plus travel and supplies means the practice is paying for the visit.

Put it in the contract

State how many onsite days are included, the fee for extra days, what supplies cost and how much notice the employer gives. The full employer contract checklist.

Bill it on its own line

Show onsite fees as a separate line on the invoice, and record them in their own revenue account. Then you can see what onsite work brings in. What goes on an employer invoice.

What I'd do this week

• Work out what a half day at the practice is worth to you.
• Pick one pricing method and write it down.
• Ask your bookkeeper for a separate revenue account for onsite fees.

Common questions

Are onsite days worth it?
They can be, for a new group, if they get first visits booked. You may need fewer once employees know you.

Can staff run onsite days without me?
Some tasks, depending on your state's rules for their roles. Check before you plan it.

Who pays for vaccines given onsite?
Decide in the contract. You can bill them at cost plus a fee, or per shot.