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How to Vet a New Software Program

How to Vet a New Software Program

Selecting the right software can make a huge impact on the overall productivity of your company. Each business has distinctly unique needs. For instance,  your company may have started off with a software program that tries to appeal to a broad customer base but doesn’t obtain all the features you require. Choosing the wrong type of software is a costly mistake you’ll want to avoid. For most businesses, you’ll want a software program that will remain viable for the next 10 years. As you compare a number of software vendors, it is critical to establish an evaluation process for each product. Never use price alone as a defining factor since the features and sustainability for each program will have a direct effect on return on investment figures. The following software selection process steps will help you eliminate products that are not the right fit for your business.

Software Selection Process Steps

For best practices, gather as much information from comparable software providers. Although you can use vendors as your primary source for information, look elsewhere as well. Vendors will always have a bias towards their own products. Speak to consultants and specialists as well for a fair assessment of each program. All software programs in consideration should answer the questions below to your satisfaction.

Step 1: Does the software address our problems?

Any type of business software is designed to resolve problems that a company experiences on a routine basis. For instance, a key feature you may not realize you need is Live Authorization Management. For agencies providing direct support to people with disabilities, long hours can be wasted on billing errors caused by issues with authorizations. These agencies may also find themselves over or underserving because they do not have visibility into current remaining balances. Live Authorization Management allows users to create, edit, deactivate, increase, or decrease service authorizations. A few software solutions also include business rules to alert, or even prevent, when a person is being over or underserved. Proper maintenance of service authorizations will save your agency time and money.

Step 2: Is the program up to speed with your industry?

One of the most fatal flaws when choosing a software solution is selecting an out of date program that does not address the current needs of your industry. A list of criteria required by your company should be documented during the selection process. As an example, agencies with services for people with disabilities are in need of software that acts in compliance with the Electronic Visit Verification laws required under the 21st Century Cures Act. To cut down on fraud, in-home service visits must be logged and verified electronically in order to receive payment. With a diverse customer base, you will likely need a software solution that includes a variety of low-tech and high-tech options for Electronic Visit Verification.

Step 3: Is the software customizable?

All businesses need software tools that will best serve their customer base. No one software solution will do everything you need it to do out of the box. That’s why it’s important to select a program that allows for customization through the user interface. For example, human services agencies must comply with funding source requirements that vary from state to state and often change on an annual basis. An authorization and billing solution must be dynamic enough to accommodate these varied requirements. Direct Care Innovations (DCI) prides itself on eliminating the need for multiple software products from multiple vendors. We provide an all-in-one solution to run your business. Features include compliant billing tools, payroll time and attendance tracking, mobile access, Electronic Visit Verification, and authorization management in real-time. Contact DCI today to set up a free demo.

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