5 Questions To Ask A New Veterinary Software Provider
When it comes to taking the leap and finding new veterinary practice management software, it's natural to have questions for a potential new provider. Here are 5 important questions we recommend be on the list.
1) What kind of onboarding assistance do you provide for new customers?
When considering a new veterinary software solution, a key question to alleviate any anxiety related to the change is to try to understand what support the provider will offer. Do they have online onboarding, or do they send an implementation team to your practice? Does onboarding come at an additional cost? How do they help your team get up to speed on how the software works? These questions will help you understand what you have in store.
Pro Tip: Ask the provider how many hours/days/weeks it takes for new employees to get up to speed after the implementation is over. With personnel changes happening rapidly, it's important to make sure a solution exists that will enable new team members to ramp up quickly.
2) What type of ongoing support is included and how is it provided?
Having ongoing support from a veterinary software provider can ensure that everything within the practice is flowing properly after going live. Knowing that a reliable support team is standing by to answer questions helps reassure team members who are hesitant about the change.
Pro Tip: Ask the provider how they will communicate with staff when questions or concerns arise. A veterinary team has limited time available to deal with software issues, so it’s imperative to have a solution for the staff to communicate with software support quickly and easily.
3) Do you have references or testimonials from veterinarians who have used your software?
Hearing straight-forward and honest reviews from veterinary practice owners who have a familiar workflow, practice size, and patient load is a great way to feel confident and informed when it comes to choosing a veterinary software provider. What was the reason the practice switched? Have they seen a significant ROI? What did their team think of the experience from start to finish?
4) What is the data conversion process like?
A veterinary practice’s data is the foundation of how things run. The thought of transferring thousands of patient records can be intimidating and prevents many veterinarians hesitant to make a switch. To quell these fears, ask a potential new software provider how long it takes the average clinic’s data to transfer, what type of issues could arise (if any), and how often these issues occur. Is the data conversion automated, and does it come at an additional cost?
5) What training and education are included?
A veterinary team spends hours every day within their software program entering notes, inputting treatment plans, creating estimates, and performing countless other tasks. Learning how the entire veterinary team will be trained on a new system is a significant contributing factor in the decision making process.
Pro Tip: Ask the provider how long the average clinic takes to learn the system. How many days or weeks should we expect before proficiency? Do they offer continuing education or seminars when there are large updates?
When changing veterinary software providers, it is always important to ask questions. The more information that can be gleaned at the beginning of the process, the smoother the transition will be after the decision has been made.
How does Neo answer these questions? Book a demo with our team to find out!
