What keeps medical & dental practices owners up at night
Payroll tax on practitioner arrangements
State revenue offices and tribunal decisions have treated some service-fee arrangements with contractor practitioners as subject to payroll tax. Rules, amnesties and exemptions vary by state. Your exposure should be modelled and reviewed with your adviser.
Thin margins on expansion
Fit-outs are expensive and new rooms take time to fill. Model break-even before signing the lease.
Billing mix changes
Medicare incentives and billing-mix decisions affect revenue per consult. Track them monthly.
Valuation and succession
Practice value depends on normalised earnings and owner-dependency. Start preparing 2–3 years out.
The KPIs your CFO should report
| KPI | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Revenue per practitioner & per room | Capacity and productivity |
| Service fee retained % | Your share of practitioner billings |
| Room utilisation by session | Where capacity is idle |
| Payroll tax exposure | Contractor arrangements reviewed |
| Patient debtors & claims timing | Medicare, insurers, NDIS |
| Normalised EBITDA | What a buyer will value |
All of these appear live in CFOAvatar, your AI CFO dashboard.
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Run the numbers
How CFOSurge works with you
One of our Australian CPA partners owns your relationship, leads board and investor conversations, and signs off the advice that matters.
Experienced CFOs and analysts with Big Four and Fortune 500 backgrounds build your forecasts, reporting and models, working to Australian business hours.
Connects to your accounting software and watches cash, margin, debtors and KPIs every day. It answers questions 24/7 and flags risks before month-end.
Frequently asked questions
Do medical centres pay payroll tax on contractor doctors?
It depends on the arrangement and the state. Decisions in several states have found some service-fee arrangements are subject to payroll tax, and states have announced different amnesties and exemptions. Get your arrangement reviewed. We model the exposure alongside your legal and tax advisers.
Can a CFO help me open a second clinic?
Yes. We model fit-out funding, practitioner ramp-up and break-even, and set up reporting by site.
What's my practice worth?
Typically a multiple of normalised EBITDA, adjusted for owner-dependency, lease terms and practitioner retention. We prepare a valuation-ready view of your numbers.
Do you work with dental and allied health practices?
Yes. The same model of utilisation, practitioner economics, cash and payroll tax applies to dental, physio, psychology and other allied health groups.