For most owners of a second vet clinic branch, the day ends the same way: a phone call to the other branch. How much came in today? Who saw the Labrador with the ear infection? Why does this bill look different from the one we sent last week? The answers come back as a voice note, a photo of the cash register, or "I'll check and tell you tomorrow".
At one branch, you were the system. You saw every bill, knew every doctor's patients, and caught most mistakes because you were standing at the counter. At two branches, you can't be. This post is about what replaces you at the branch you're not in, and how clinics running two branches on Koko keep sight of both.
What actually changes at branch two
A second branch doesn't create new problems so much as make old ones bigger. Things you handled by walking the floor now happen 10 or 40 kilometres away. Most owners end up with five questions they can no longer answer on their own:
How much money came in today, and how was it paid?
Which doctor is seeing what, and billing what?
Who changed this bill, and when?
Does the other branch know this pet's history?
Is the paperwork, GST and invoice numbers, right for each branch?
Each section below takes one of these questions.
"How much came in today, and how?"
At most clinics, the day closes with someone counting the drawer and sending the owner a number. If the number looks low, there's no easy way to check it. Was it a slow day, a UPI payment marked as cash, or a bill that was never settled?
On Koko, each branch closes its own day from the Collections view on the Sales page. It opens on today and shows:
Money received, split by cash, UPI, card and other methods, so the cash figure is the one the drawer should match
Who collected it, by staff member
Invoices settled, so you can see which bills that money paid
You can open it for either branch from wherever you are, at 9 pm or the next morning. The branch lead still counts the cash; you just no longer depend on their message to know what the count should be.
"Which doctor is doing what?"
With two branches, doctors often split the week between them. An associate vet might do three days at one branch and two at the other, and it gets hard to say what each doctor actually did, which you need for fair incentives and for planning who works where.
Koko's Doctor Report, under Insights, shows for each doctor:
What they billed: every bill is credited to the doctor who saw the pet on that visit
How many pets they saw, and the cases they assisted on
Medicines they prescribed that you don't stock: each one is a sale that walks out to the chemist next door
Because every treatment now needs an attending doctor before it can be saved, the numbers stay complete. Only owners and admins can open the report, so incentive discussions stay between you and each doctor.
"Who changed this bill?"
Owners rarely say this out loud, but it's the question behind a lot of the evening calls. It usually isn't about distrust. When a discount appears or a payment method changes, nobody remembers who did it, and the conversation goes round in circles.
Koko handles this in two parts.
Each person sees only what their job needs. Every staff member has a role (what they can do) and branch access (where they can do it). A receptionist at one branch works only at that branch. A doctor who works at both gets access to both and switches between them from the top bar. Doctors can bill, so a busy branch isn't stuck waiting for the front desk. They can't change a payment after it's taken, issue refunds, manage wallet balances, export data or see clinic expenses.
Every change has a name on it. The Activity Log records what changed, who changed it, at which branch and when. When a bill looks different from what you expected, you look it up instead of asking around.
Staff who know changes are recorded rarely need to be checked on. That's the real benefit.
One pet parent, every branch
Pet parents don't think in branches. They go to whichever one is closer that day, or open on a Sunday, or has the doctor they like. If each branch keeps its own records, the second visit starts from zero. The pet parent repeats the history, the vaccination card is at home, and nobody knows there's ₹1,200 still due from the last visit.
On Koko, pet parents and pets are shared across your branches. When a pet seen at your first branch walks into your second, the front desk already has:
The pet's history, including vaccinations and past treatments
Any dues from earlier visits, which can be collected at either branch
The pet parent's wallet balance, usable at either branch
Nobody re-registers the pet, nobody books a vaccine the pet already had, and nobody has to ask "did you pay last time?" Each bill still belongs to the branch that raised it, so your branch-wise numbers stay clean.
Separate paperwork, one business
Two branches are one business to your pet parents and your team, but not always to the tax department. GST registration in India is state-wise:
A branch in a different state needs its own GST registration, and its invoices must carry that GSTIN.
A second branch in the same state is usually added to your existing registration as an additional place of business. Your CA will confirm what fits your setup.
Either way, each branch should have its own invoice number series, so you can tell at a glance which branch raised a bill and your numbers never collide.
On Koko, each branch has its own GSTIN and its own invoice series, under one login and one set of pet parents. You don't run two copies of the software or keep two lists of pet parents just to keep the tax paperwork right.
Both branches on one screen
The questions above are about details. Sometimes you just want to know how the business is doing.
Koko's Organisation home puts your branches side by side for the period you pick, starting with this month:
Pets added
Vaccinations given
Total billed
Total expenses
Each figure is split by branch, so you can see at once if the new branch is picking up, or if one branch's vaccinations have dropped because reminders slipped. It's a two-minute check, not a monthly spreadsheet job.
Before branch two opens: a checklist
Most second-branch trouble starts in the first month, when the new team is still finding its way. A little setup before opening day saves a lot of correcting later.
Decide who does what at each branch. Give every staff member a role and the branches they work at. Doctors who split their week get both.
Name a branch lead. Someone at the new branch should own the day-close and be the first person you call.
Copy your services and catalogue. Start the new branch with the same services, medicines and lab tests, so staff aren't creating items at the counter.
Set prices for the new branch. Many clinics charge differently at a new location, at least at first. Decide this before the first bill, not after.
Sort out GST and invoice numbering with your CA before the first invoice goes out.
Agree on the day-close. Who counts the cash, by what time, and what happens when it doesn't match.
Switch on reminders. Vaccination and follow-up reminders should go out from day one, so the new branch builds repeat visits from the start.
If you're still at the planning stage, our checklist for starting a vet clinic in India and the guide to how much investment a vet clinic needs apply to a second branch too.
What software won't do for you
Software can show you what happened at the branch you're not in. It can't run that branch for you. The owners who make a second branch work tend to do three things:
Visit every branch every week, on a fixed day, so the team knows when to expect you.
Read the numbers on Monday. A short weekly check catches problems while they're still small. Our Monday morning dashboard lists the six numbers worth checking.
Back the branch lead. If every decision still waits for you, you've opened a second location, not a second branch. Our guide to managing a clinic without a practice manager covers how to hand over the day-to-day.
A second branch also doubles the places money can slip away. The 5 places your vet clinic is quietly losing revenue is worth rereading with two branches in mind.
Frequently asked questions
Can one pet parent visit both branches?
Yes. In Koko, pet parents and their pets are shared across your branches, so the pet's history, any dues and the wallet balance are available at whichever branch they walk into. Each bill still belongs to the branch that raised it.
Does each branch need its own GST number?
A branch in a different state needs its own GST registration. A branch in the same state is usually added to your existing registration as an additional place of business; confirm with your CA. Koko lets each branch have its own GSTIN and its own invoice series either way.
Can a doctor work at both branches?
Yes. Give the doctor access to both branches and they switch between them from the top bar. Their visits and bills from both branches show up together in the Doctor Report.
Can I limit staff to one branch?
Yes. Each staff member has a role, which sets what they can do, and branch access, which sets where they can do it. A receptionist at one branch only works at that branch.
Can each branch set its own prices?
Yes. Service prices are set for each branch, so a new location can charge differently from your first one.
Can I see both branches together?
Yes. Organisation home shows pets added, vaccinations, total billed and total expenses for each branch side by side, and the Doctor Report covers doctors across all branches.
Opening a second branch, or already running two? Book a free Koko demo and we'll walk you through how a two-branch clinic runs on Koko, from the day-close to the Doctor Report.
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