Instead of Cornerstone
Stop renting Cornerstone. Own your vet practice system.
Enterprise DNA builds your practice its own system around how your vets book, treat and charge, brings your Cornerstone history across from its own report exports, and keeps it running for you. No licence to renew and no extra service for each new need.
IDEXX publishes no Cornerstone price. It is quoted privately after a demo, with licensing, programs and subscription pricing offered as options.
- check_circleYour data in a database you own
- check_circleOpen source, no lock-in
- check_circleBuilt and run by Enterprise DNA
What the quote covers
A Cornerstone quote is a licence, a server and a row of services bolted on
IDEXX does not publish what Cornerstone costs. You book a demo, a representative comes back with licensing, a program or a subscription, and the real number arrives after the sales conversation. Underneath it all sit the same records every clinic keeps: clients, patients, visits, charges and stock.
A price you only learn from a sales rep
There is no price list on the IDEXX Australia page, only a form to request a demo. Comparing it with anything else starts with a phone call.
A server the practice has to keep alive
IDEXX describes Cornerstone as server-based software. Somebody has to look after the box, the updates and the worry when it stops.
Backup and remote access as their own services
IDEXX lists Data Backup and Recovery and Secure Remote Access as separate items alongside the software, so keeping your records safe and reachable from home is another line to arrange.
Reminders and payments sold alongside
Automated appointment reminders and the pet owner app come through Vello, and card terminal and payment links through Cornerstone Payments. Each one is another product in the bundle.
Questions that need a report builder
Asking which clients have gone quiet, or what finished work was never charged, means building criteria in Practice Explorer and saving a report.
Years of history in one vendor's format
Years of clinical notes, reminders and invoices sit in Cornerstone's database. Getting it out is a set of report exports.
What you get instead
The practice record in plain sight, with nothing to quote and nothing to rack
No quote
Know the cost before anyone visits
The free version costs nothing. If Enterprise DNA builds yours, it is one setup fee and a monthly retainer, agreed up front.
- check No licence term, no program to sign up to, no per-user charge
- check Hire a locum or a new nurse and nothing on the software side moves
- check Reminders, statements and certificates are part of the system, not a separate product
- check A second clinic can work from the same records
The front desk
Ask the book what is wrong with today
Reception asks in plain English and gets a list, not a report screen.
- check A vet whose practising certificate has run out is kept out of the book on that day
- check Visits that nobody finished, cancelled or marked as a no-show keep showing until someone answers for them
- check Patients overdue a vaccination with nothing booked come back as a call list with phone numbers
- check Clients who stopped coming are ranked by what they used to spend, so the right ones get the first call
The clinical record
Notes, consent and controlled drugs kept honest
The things an inspector checks are part of how a consult is opened, charged and closed.
- check A consult cannot be closed without notes, and a surgery or dental cannot be closed without consent recorded
- check Every controlled drug in or out is a register line with a running balance that cannot be edited later
- check Check the register against a shelf count on any morning and see which drug is short
- check Completed work with no invoice is listed by vet and by how long it has waited
Your records
A database the clinic owns, wherever it runs
No server under the front desk unless you want one. Your history stays readable by any tool, now and long after.
- check Bring across the client and patient lists Cornerstone already exports to spreadsheet files
- check Ask for a new field, rule or document in a sentence and have it added
- check Certificates, statements and clinical histories print under your practice name and logo
- check Open source under the MIT licence, so there is never a vendor to negotiate with
Make it yours
Design your own Cornerstone replacement
Everything starts from the open-source base. Then it gets your name, the parts you run, your rules and your data from Cornerstone. Try it here, and we build the real one.
2. What it runs
3. Make it fit
4. Your colour
Answered from your own database
Good morning. Here is what needs you today.
We build it from the open-source base, bring your Cornerstone data across and run it for you.
Switching
How to switch from Cornerstone
A move usually involves exporting the records Cornerstone lets you access, mapping its columns, checking the import, then running both systems side by side until the numbers match.
- 1
Export your records
Use Cornerstone Practice Explorer to save report results for client, patient, medical record and invoice data. Its guide lists comma separated, text and Excel formats. Check with Cornerstone that the reports available to your account include the history you need, and confirm how to export any other records you plan to bring across.
- 2
Map and load the data
The free import is laid out for ezyVet, so Cornerstone columns need mapping to the new database fields. Map the columns in your exports, then load the records. If your mapped import offers a test run, use it before loading the full set. When Enterprise DNA runs your version, this mapping is part of the setup.
- 3
Check import findings
Review anything the import flags and compare client, patient, medical record and invoice details with Cornerstone. Check that records link correctly and that any missing details are understood. The import is an audit as well as a transfer, so fix mapping problems and decide how to handle incomplete records before you rely on the new database.
- 4
Run both systems together
Run the new system alongside Cornerstone. Have the team use both systems during that period, then compare the records and numbers that matter to your practice. The stated switching point is when the numbers match. Resolve gaps before making the new database your working record, rather than assuming that an export means everything carried across.
- 5
Switch off Cornerstone
Once you have checked the records and the numbers match, make the new database the place your team works. Stop entering new appointments, consults, charges and stock movements in Cornerstone so the practice is not maintaining two competing records. Confirm the team knows where to record new work before you stop using Cornerstone.
Where the real effort goes
The work is usually in mapping Cornerstone's columns to the database, choosing which parts of your history to bring, and setting your own fields and rules. The free import expects ezyVet's layout, so Cornerstone data needs mapping. When you have Enterprise DNA run your version, it handles this mapping and setup.
Not ready for a call?
Get your Cornerstone switch plan by email
We will send you the step-by-step plan for moving your business off Cornerstone, what the move really involves, and how we would do it for you.
Sent. Check your inbox.
Your Cornerstone switch plan is on its way.
Rather talk it through? Book a call arrow_forwardPick your route
Try the free version, or have Enterprise DNA build and run yours
Open source
Run it yourself
Free
- 1 Download the free version from GitHub
- 2 Load the demo practice and open the folder in Claude Code
- 3 Ask what needs attention this morning
- 4 Map your Cornerstone report exports in when you are ready
Omni by Enterprise DNA
Have Enterprise DNA build it for you
One setup fee, then a monthly retainer
- check We pull your Cornerstone history across and check it against the old system
- check Your reminder schedules, consent forms and fee list set up as rules
- check Online booking, a screen for reception or a lab connection, if your practice needs one
- check Hosted and run for you inside Omni, our managed Command Center, so there is no server to babysit
Questions
Instead of Cornerstone, answered
How much does Cornerstone cost, and is this cheaper? expand_more
IDEXX does not publish a Cornerstone price; it is quoted after a demo, as a licence, a program or a subscription. Bring your current invoice to the call and we will put it next to what your own version would cost, including the server, backup and any add-ons you pay for now. If staying is cheaper, we will say so.
Can we get our history out of Cornerstone? expand_more
Yes. Cornerstone's Practice Explorer saves report results as comma separated, text or Excel files, and it reads clients, patients, medical records and invoice items. The free version imports ezyVet's export layout out of the box, so Cornerstone's columns need mapping: that is part of the work when Enterprise DNA builds your version, or you can ask Claude Code to map them yourself.
Do we still need the server in the back room? expand_more
No. The database can run with a hosting provider, on a machine you already have, or inside Omni where Enterprise DNA looks after it. Backups come with the managed setup instead of being arranged separately.
What happens to our IDEXX lab results? expand_more
The free version records what the team enters and does not connect to lab analysers. If your practice depends on results arriving by themselves, Enterprise DNA can build that connection into your version for the machines you actually run.
Will the team have to relearn everything? expand_more
Less than you think. Nobody learns menus or report criteria: they ask the way they would ask the practice manager, such as who is due a booster or what is still unpaid. We set it up, run it alongside Cornerstone, and switch when the numbers match.
Retire the server, keep every record
30 minutes with Sam. We walk through what Cornerstone costs your practice all in, what the team really uses each day, and what your own version would look like. If it fits, we build it and move your history across. If not, the free version is yours to keep.
Vet Clinic for Claude Code is free and open source, published by Enterprise DNA.
Done paying for Cornerstone?
Get your version built