10 Questions You Need to Ask When Choosing a New Home Care Software for Your Agency
Published on December 13, 2024 by Dan Wenger
The current digital era means there’s a software solution for just about every home care pain point you can think of.
However, not all software is created equal.
Whether you’re looking for scheduling software, HR tools, help with caregiver retention, an EVV solution – and anything in between – you need to be 100% sure you’re investing in the right-fit product (and vendor) for your home care agency.
From key features to scalability, user-friendliness, and customer support, there are multiple factors to take into careful consideration when choosing any home care software to ensure it will meet your agency’s needs, both today and in the future.
So, when you’re in the market for a new home care software, here are ten of the most important questions you should ask any vendor before you take the plunge:
- Is it purpose-built for home care agencies?
- Does it include all the features your home care business needs to streamline operations and improve care quality?
- Is it user-friendly and intuitive for ALL users?
- Does it comply with industry rules and regulations to ensure data security?
- Will it integrate with existing software systems?
- Is it customizable, with scalability?
- What is the pricing structure / is it affordable?
- How easy is it to set up, and is there a dedicated implementation team to support you?
- How often are updates likely to happen to ensure software remains bug-free and secure – or to add new features?
- What will support look like after the launch?
1. Is it purpose-built for home care agencies?
Home care-specific software is designed to meet the unique operational needs of the home care industry, unlike generic tools that will typically require constant customization and workarounds.
Purpose-built software will align with your home care agency workflows, reduce admin burden, support growth, and eliminate the inefficiencies that come from forcing a fit using software designed for a broader range of users.
In addition, the home care industry has very specific rules and regulations that providers must follow to maintain compliance, making it essential to choose a vendor that is an expert in home care and can provide specialized solutions tailored to your unique business needs.
2. Does it include all the features your home care business needs to streamline operations and improve care quality?
Before selecting any home care software, you’ll need to determine exactly what your agency needs. The last thing you want is to sign a year-long contract with a company whose product looks good on paper but doesn’t actually provide all the features your business requires.
Taking the time to write down your top requirements and things you need every day for the smooth running of your agency means you’ll have something to refer to when evaluating all of your software options and the different features each one offers. For example:
- Caregiver management, including visit verification (EVV)
- Flexible scheduling
- Client-caregiver matching
- Caregiver retention toolset
- Documentation management with cloud-based storage for quick, secure access
- Automated billing, invoicing, and payroll
- Caregiver mobile app
- Client and family portal
- Marketing and CRM
- Interoperability
- Automated reporting to provide business insights using real-time data
Ideally, look for systems designed with best practices from their foundation, meeting all these operational needs in one central, no-nonsense platform – an all-in-one solution for your business that’s been organically designed and not created from a patchwork of multiple company products.
3. Is it user-friendly and intuitive for ALL users?
Investing in user-friendly, intuitive software is essential to promote a seamless experience for everyone involved and will directly impact the efficiency, engagement, and retention of caregivers, back-office staff, clients, and their families.
Software that’s easy to navigate – that comes with initial staff training and robust customer support – reduces the learning curve for everyone involved, allowing your teams to focus more on providing quality care rather than trying to adjust to complicated new technologies.
Look for features like an appealing graphical interface, drag-and-drop functionality, clear navigation, and customization options to ensure all users can remain confident and proficient, leading to higher engagement, productivity, and satisfaction.
Consider involving team members who’ll be using the tools in your decision-making process, and have them join in on any demos provided by potential vendors. They can offer valuable insights into whether the tools will genuinely make their day-to-day work easier and more efficient.
4. Does it comply with industry rules and regulations to ensure data security?
Part of what makes the home care industry so complex is the strict rules and regulations that providers must follow to remain compliant. As such, you need to make sure that any software providers you’re considering:
- Are correctly certified (e.g., HIPAA-compliant)
- Operate on a secure network, ideally cloud-based, for high-level security
- Will support your home care business in meeting all regulatory obligations
- Actively and swiftly update their platform in response to new regulations
As your home care agency handles sensitive personal and health information, safeguarding this data is non-negotiable. Check that any software provider you choose implements robust security measures to protect against unauthorized access, data breaches, and cyber threats. For example:
- Strong encryption protocols to protect data and ensure that even if hackers gain access, any data remains unintelligible without the decryption key.
- Restricted access to sensitive information using role-based access controls, assigning permissions based on users’ roles so only authorized personnel can view/modify specific data.
- Regular security audits to identify any vulnerabilities, promptly addressing any issues to mitigate risk.
- An incident response plan to swiftly contain breaches, notify affected parties, and restore normal operations.
In case of system failure or data loss within your agency, you’ll also need to be sure the software provider you select has robust data backup and recovery procedures in place. Ask about their data backup frequency, storage locations, and recovery processes to guarantee the integrity and safety of your data.
5. Will it integrate with existing software systems?
While an all-in-one home care platform will be the best way to effectively meet all your agency’s needs, you may initially be keen to continue using an existing system, like accounting and payroll software. If so, check that any new provider can manage this efficiently – ideally without charging you an additional fee.
Also, ask about interoperability with other back-office and information technology systems that will help your agency improve operations, care quality, and productivity.
Integrated solutions should be included in your platform subscription and may include:
- Integration with Quickbooks for easy processing of invoices
- Background checking for recruitment and hiring
- Integration to process WOTC qualifications during the application process
- Caregiver training tools to meet state training, payer, or client requirements
- Embedded with Maps and GPS to help caregivers find directions and verify their location
- Integration with state-mandated EVV providers and aggregators
While these examples of integration with specialist software are designed to dramatically boost efficiency and add value to your business, do be careful of any home care systems requiring additional software to deliver basic care services, like scheduling or care management. These will result in duplication of data entry and multiple future issues, which are best avoided.
6. Is it customizable, with scalability?
No two home care agencies are the same. Your chosen home care platform should offer you some level of customization so you can tailor it to meet your specific needs and make adaptations to best support your unique processes.
It is also important to spend some time thinking about your future business needs before committing to any new software solutions. It’s not just today that you need to consider in the search for the perfect software.
Remember, as your home care agency grows – whether you diversify your care services, expand across different states, etc. – so will your software needs. Ensure that any software solutions you’re considering are easy to upgrade, add users when needed, add additional locations, etc.
Whether you’re just starting out or managing a rapidly growing number of clients, you need a package that will support you and grow with you well into the future.
7. What is the pricing structure / is it affordable?
On the face of it, this might seem like a simple question. Of course, you want to choose a software system that is within your budget, but the cheapest isn’t necessarily going to be the best value!
Consider different pricing structures and think about what’s going to work best for your business now and in the future, for example:
- Pay-per-client, where you determine how many clients you have and figure out the pricing structure from there
- Pay-per-caregiver, which is determined by how many caregivers will be using the software
- Pay-per-shift, which is determined by how many shifts are created each month
- A flat monthly/annual fee for the service with a contract
When making this decision, you need to also take into account the long-term return on investment of the software you choose.
For example, if you know you currently lose around $8,000 each year due to caregiver turnover, and the caregiver retention software you’re considering suggests you’ll see a 50% reduction in turnover, then your gain for this aspect alone will be $4,000.
In addition to considering how much the software will cost (and save), remember to factor in any associated costs related to implementation/licensing/training for staff/upgrading/ongoing maintenance and support, etc., to be sure you have the whole picture.
8. How easy is it to set up, and is there a dedicated implementation team to support you?
Even the most user-friendly systems need an onboarding process, ideally with a dedicated implementation team assigned to your account.
You obviously want a quick and hassle-free process, so be sure to ask potential vendors upfront:
- What does the initial onboarding process look like, from importing old data, adding caregivers and clients, exploring and understanding the various features, etc?
- What is the training process for all users in the initial stages – and ongoing? For example, are there tutorials, live support, chat, and/or dedicated account managers?
- What is the process for calling into support and getting assistance after initial onboarding?
9. How often are updates likely to happen to ensure software remains bug-free and secure – or to add new features?
Regardless of how great any home care platform is, a top-quality software company will provide regular updates (and notify customers of these changes). These are essential to ensure the platform remains secure and bug-free and indicate that the vendor is proactively adding new features to meet the evolving needs of the industry.
Make sure that the software provider will also address any problems unique to your agency’s use of the tools, not just the big issues that other users have run into.
Before signing up for any new package, check how often the software is updated and how the company responds to customer feedback. Ask for references from existing clients to get first-hand details of how bug fixes, customer service, and other aspects of the software are handled.
10. What will support look like after the launch?
In any business relationship, responsive customer support is vital. When you’re signing up for a software service, you want to know if any problems, snags, or agency-specific issues further down the line will be dealt with quickly and effectively.
It’s a good idea to consider:
- What does the vendor’s customer support offering look like, both at the implementation stage and ongoing?
- Do they pick up the phone quickly when you call?
- Is support offered via multiple channels like phone, email, and live chat?
- Is the customer service team knowledgeable?
- Is the customer service team home-care focused, not outside hires?
- Are they based in the US and not overseas?
- Does the vendor have a deep understanding of the home care industry?
- Does the vendor have a culture of listening to (and acting on) user feedback?
Once you have a shortlist of your favorites, take some time to get a better feel for the vendors – you should get a sense of a partnership. The right partner should be committed to your agency’s success every step of the way, from initial setup and training to ongoing tech support.
Choose wisely: Choose Aaniie
Your choice of home care platform is going to make all the difference to the future of your business. This definitely isn’t the time to take a leap into the unknown, which is why you need to thoroughly weigh these critical factors and make a fully informed decision that sets your agency up for success.
Whether you’re a new agency setting out or an established home care provider looking to upgrade outgrown systems, making the right decision over software now will have a long-lasting impact on your agency’s success in the future.
If you’d like to talk to us about how Aaniie’s Home Care Software shapes up against these ten criteria, please call our team or book your free, no-obligation demo today.