5 Tips for Discovering the Right Software for Your Home Care Business

Running a home care business takes a lot of hard work, passion, and organization. Finding the right software is one of the most important things you can do to keep your business thriving. Here are 5 tips to make sure you’re picking the right software for your business.

1.Verify Compatibility

Your team is rarely in the same place at the same time, and uses a variety of devices and browsers, to track and complete their day-to-day tasks. Therefore, you must be sure that the software you choose works well everywhere, and with various tools.

There are two important aspects that you need to look at when thinking about software compatibility:

• Does the software work across multiple devices (PC desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones)?
• Does the software work across multiple platforms and browsers (Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari)?

If you inquire about compatibility and don’t get a straight answer, you may want to consider other solutions to avoid future headaches.

2. Does the Software Have All of the Features You Need?

You need to be sure your software will effectively perform the operations you need. To figure out what features you need, write down a list of exactly what tasks, jobs, or duties you would like the software to be able to perform. 

Review the list of questions below to start:

• Do you want the software to integrate with your billing system?
• Do you need the ability to view availability and manage staff schedules?
• What reports would you want your software to help generate?
• Are there any existing applications you use that need to integrate?
• Do you want to easily communicate with your staff via the software?
• Do you need the software to offer clients information regarding their accounts?

Of course, this list can be as specific or as general as you want, but it is important to have a good idea of what features you need before you spend time doing demos and research.

3. Don’t Overspend

There is a good chance that you have an idea of what your monthly budget is for new software. Make sure you get your software from a provider that is transparent about pricing and fees. 

We suggest you ask specifically about the following to ensure that unexpected charges do not come up:

• Are there any startup fees?
• What is the monthly cost? What does that include?
• How many users can the software support?
• How many clients can be added?
• Can more than one territory and/or location be supported?
• How much data storage will be available?
• Will it cost to convert/migrate data from an existing system?

By having this list of questions ready, you can easily find out if the software will work with your budget as well as get a better idea if it will meet your needs.

4. Look at Ease of Use

When you first test new software for your business, you want to be sure it is fast and has an easy-to-understand, user-friendly interface. You should always keep your team in mind when testing software options. Will those who aren’t extremely tech-savvy have trouble learning how to use the application? If the answer might be yes, you may want to consider looking at other options.

In the home care industry, each specific software is challenged to remain competitive amongst others, especially with ever-improving technology readily available. Look for software built on a unified framework designed to optimize data transfer for speed and accuracy across platforms.

You should also work with software companies that offer live 24/7/365 first-level and escalated support (no need to feel isolated after-hours and on holidays). This is a critical feature in the event something isn’t working the way you expect or you need instructional help. You will want any challenge resolved as quickly as possible.

5. Ask About Compliance

In the home care industry, compliance should always be at the forefront of your mind when looking for business solutions. No matter what your software needs are, you want to make sure that client information is secure and that the software is built on a HIPAA, PCI, and SOX compliant platform for maximum data security. It doesn’t matter how well the software works if client information is at risk.