What Reduces the Value of an Optometry Practice (In 2026)

What Reduces the Value of an Optometry Practice

As a practice owner, if you have been thinking about selling or retiring from your optometry practice then you have likely come across a lot of content about increasing value or finding out what your practice is worth. Those are important conversations and we spend a great deal of time talking about them with owners.

But there is another side of the value conversation that does not get discussed nearly as often. A few weeks ago, during one of our DVMElite webinars, we were talking about practice valuation and how value is calculated. Toward the end of the session there was one practice owner who asked a question that shifted the entire discussion.

He asked, Can you help us understand what actually reduces the value of a practice?

That question resonated immediately. Several other owners agreed and said they had been wondering the same thing. They were not asking because their practices were struggling. They were asking because they wanted to understand what might be quietly working against them and even when revenue looked healthy and patient demand felt strong. That moment highlighted something important. Practice value is not only about what pushes a practice forward. It is also about what holds it back.

When we look at optometry practices from a buyer’s point of view and from an industry perspective there are certain patterns that appear again and again. Not because owners are doing anything wrong but because some risks go unnoticed for too long.

Understanding what reduces value is not about criticism. It is about awareness. Once you know what buyers tend to discount then you can decide what is worth fixing, what can be managed and what should simply be understood as part of the overall picture.

Your Role in Practice Operations

One of the most common factors that reduces the value of an optometry practice is heavy dependence on the owner. When a practice relies on the owner for most clinical care, key decisions, staff management and day-to-day problem solving there are chances that buyers will become cautious. They begin asking quiet but important questions about what happens when the owner steps away. 

• Will patients stay? 

• Will the team remain stable? 

• Will operations continue smoothly?

  
  

We understand that your involvement is a big reason the practice became successful in the first place. Showing up every day, handling issues as they came up, making decisions quickly and being there for the team is often how the practice grew and stayed stable over the years.

The challenge starts when you begin thinking about selling and handing the practice over to someone new. At that point, buyers are not questioning how hard you worked or how committed you were. What they are really trying to understand is something very simple. If you are not around every day will the practice still run the same way?

In many practices, everything slowly starts depending on the owner. Decisions, processes, problem solving and even small day to day things often live in the owner’s head. That is not a bad thing. In fact, that level of involvement is usually what helped the practice succeed but over time that same strength can turn into a limitation.

From a buyer’s point of view, a practice where too much depends on one person can feel risky. Even when the financials look strong then also they worry about continuity. They wonder how the team will handle situations without you and whether systems are in place to keep things running smoothly.

Reducing owner dependence does not mean stepping away overnight. It simply means starting to share responsibility, building leadership within the team, writing things down and putting systems in place so the practice does not rely on you for every decision. When buyers see that the practice can function well without constant owner involvement. They feel more confident and that confidence often shows up in the value they are willing to offer.

Inconsistent or Unclear Financials

Another major factor that reduces practice value is inconsistency or lack of clarity in financial reporting. Buyers are not only interested in how much revenue your practice generates. They want to understand how predictable that revenue is and how clearly expenses are tracked. When finances are hard to follow, buyers tend to slow down.

We often see practices that are profitable but still struggle during buyer conversations because the numbers are not organized or easy to explain. In some cases, reports are outdated. In others, personal expenses are mixed into the business without much separation. None of this means the practice is poorly run but it does create uncertainty.

You have to understand that uncertainty creates risk and risk lowers value.

Let us share a simple example. Just last month, we were speaking with a practice owner who was casually exploring what selling might look like in the future. When we asked for the last three years of balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and a basic breakdown of expenses, the response was very honest.

Okay, they said, we will need some time to prepare that and get back to you.

That moment matters more than most owners realize.

Nothing was wrong with the practice. The owner was capable and the revenue was solid but the fact that the numbers were not readily available signaled something important. It suggested that financial clarity was not a priority day to day. From a buyer’s perspective that creates hesitation. Buyers start wondering what else might take time to uncover or explain. Compare that to practices where owners can quickly walk through their numbers, explain fluctuations and clearly separate business expenses from personal ones. Those conversations feel very different. Buyers feel reassured and trust builds faster

Clean and well organized financials signal professionalism. They tell buyers that the practice has been managed intentionally and that there are fewer surprises ahead. When buyers feel confident in the numbers, they are more comfortable moving forward. When they feel they have to work too hard to understand them, they often protect themselves by discounting value.

This is not about perfection. It is about clarity. And clarity makes a meaningful difference in how a practice is valued.

Declining Performance or Flat Trends

Performance trends matter more than many owners realize. A practice does not need to be growing rapidly to hold value but buyers pay close attention to direction. Flat or declining trends almost always raise questions even when current revenue still looks acceptable. Buyers want to understand not just where the practice is today but where it is heading.

If patient visits are slowly decreasing, if revenue has been flat for several years or if profitability has dipped recently, buyers will want to know why. Sometimes there are reasonable explanations. Other times, those trends point to operational issues that have gone unnoticed.

We often see owners wait until they feel tired or burned out before thinking seriously about selling. Unfortunately, that timing can overlap with declining performance. Lower energy, delayed improvements and unresolved staffing challenges can all affect results. Practices generally achieve stronger valuations when they are sold from a position of stability rather than recovery.

Here is a simple but important tip. If you want firsthand insight into declining performance or flat trends, your patients will usually tell you before the numbers do.

We remember working with Dr. Arun, who noticed something that did not immediately show up on his financial reports. Phone bookings were declining even though patient demand in the area was still strong. More patients were walking in or delaying appointments rather than booking ahead. On the surface, it did not seem like a major issue but it felt different.

Instead of guessing, he started listening more closely. He reviewed patients' feedback and spent time going through Google reviews. A pattern began to emerge. Patients mentioned missed follow ups, difficulty reaching the practice by phone and last minute cancellations that left them frustrated.

Those comments were not complaints about care. They were complaints about experience.

Dr. Arun realized the issue was not demand. It was access and communication. The practice relied heavily on manual phone booking and follow ups were inconsistent. Patients who could not get through easily were choosing other options.

Rather than letting the trend continue, he made changes. He introduced an automated booking system, improved follow up processes and reduced friction for patients trying to schedule appointments. Over time, booking consistency improved and patient frustration decreased.

From a buyer’s perspective, this mattered. The practice did not just fix a problem. It showed awareness and responsiveness. Buyers could see that when performance started to flatten, the owner paid attention, listened to patients and acted.

Flat trends do not automatically reduce value. Ignoring them does. When owners stay connected to patient behavior and address issues early, they protect performance and preserve confidence in the practice.

Staffing Instability and Turnover

Staffing challenges can quietly reduce practice value long before an owner realizes the impact. Often, these issues develop slowly. A team member leaves. Hiring takes longer than expected. Another staff member starts covering extra responsibilities. Over time, what feels manageable becomes normal.

From a buyer’s perspective, staffing stability is critical. High turnover, ongoing understaffing or unresolved team conflicts immediately raise concerns. Buyers worry about continuity of care, patient experience and how difficult it will be to stabilize the practice after ownership changes.

Even when staffing challenges feel under control to the owner, buyers tend to view them differently. Owners know the team and understand the dynamics. Buyers do not. They look at staffing patterns and start asking quiet questions. Will key staff stay once the owner steps away. Will morale drop. Will productivity suffer during the transition?

We have seen situations where owners felt confident they could manage staffing issues for another year or two. Buyers, however, saw those same issues as future risk. The concern was not about the current team’s ability. It was about what happens during change, when uncertainty tends to amplify existing problems.

Practices with stable teams, clear roles and internal leadership feel safer to buyers. When staff responsibilities are well defined and leadership does not rest entirely with the owner, buyers feel more confident that the practice will continue operating smoothly.

On the other hand, practices where staffing issues are ongoing often face tougher questions and lower confidence. Even strong financial performance can be overshadowed if buyers believe staffing stability will be a challenge.

Staffing does not need to be perfect. What buyers want to see is awareness, structure, and a realistic plan. Practices that show stability and leadership within the team tend to preserve value far more effectively than those that rely on constant crisis management.

Final Thoughts

Practice value is rarely lost all at once. More often, it fades gradually through small issues that go unnoticed or conversations that get delayed. None of this happens because owners stop caring. It happens because running a practice leaves very little time to step back and look at the bigger picture.

The encouraging part is that many of the things that reduce value are not permanent. They are manageable once they are seen clearly. Awareness is where that process begins. When owners understand what buyers tend to question or discount, they are better positioned to decide what is worth addressing now and what can wait.

Asking what reduces value is not a negative exercise. It is a practical one. It allows you to protect what you have built and make decisions from a place of understanding rather than assumption. For many owners, this clarity brings a sense of control back into the process.

If these questions have been coming up for you, even quietly, it may help to talk them through with someone who understands optometry practice ownership. Sometimes identifying what is holding value back is the first step toward strengthening it and approaching the future with more confidence.