2008 Review of Practice Management Systems

From the Oct. 2008 Issue

Success is an often-quoted, regularly abused measure of performance. Everyone seems to have a desire to be successful, but the merits and the foundation to define success may not have common ground. Sometimes, willingness plays a bigger role in how we perform and in others’ perception of our role and activity. How does that relate to Practice Management?

Chances are pretty good that bonuses, raises, salaries, client feedback and retention rates mean something different to each firm. Some firms may take the approach that if they demand more hours out of their staff, then the firm will be more successful.

Others may look to their clients and ask, “What more can we do for you?” Some firms may base raises on capture rates for new clients or new engagement services. These may all be true measures of success, depending on the firm and clientele. However, this year’s four practice management products are designed for firms that have a true willingness to succeed. What’s the difference?

This year’s products are loaded with management features, tracking tools, dashboards and data mining reports. There are many ways to get lost in the setup, and delegating the implementation to the IT department or to a few staff or interns who need a project to meet their 50-hour requirement just won’t work. Everyone in the firm has to be willing to move toward a successful implementation, which requires understanding the intent of the software package, providing adequate system support, modifying business processes if necessary, and using it.

If you’re buying it for the management features, then the setup should certainly involve management. In the past, after these reviews have been published, I’ve received calls and e-mails from people who say, “I want to buy new practice management software. Can you tell me which one has the most features? That’s the one I want to buy.” There’s a certain level of commitment required to doing things right.

While I’m honored to be consulted (and it helps with the reviews), it’s best to try a few packages first or have an idea of what you really want. Assigning the IT guy to select the firm’s software probably isn’t the best move. I know this because I tried.

As we all know, every firm is unique. Some have specific engagements or departments with overriding needs for billing or reporting. Perhaps management is looking for status reports that staff members don’t have time to create. Not all firms have the personnel resources to handle custom report creation. Find out where administration and staff have problems with the existing software. In some cases, firms are migrating because of operating system support problems, database corruption issues, or other technical concerns.

Having the willingness to succeed means knowing your boundaries, understanding your needs, and providing adequate resources (time, money, AND people) to support a planned installation and cut-over. And don’t forget to consider where you want to be two years from now.

The reviews presented here highlight specific features that firms may have an interest in using. While the four products have each received high ratings, each software application works very differently from the next. The tools are not the same between products; the reporting functionality having the greatest set of differences. Time required to support each product is not the same. Lastly, firms may find the final cost to adopt any one of the applications to vary considerably from the list price once training, setup, and report and dashboard development costs are considered.