However you feel about technology at the dinner table or during family time, you have to admit that it has a place in the workforce. Softwares are helping businesses around the world streamline their workflow, save money, and minimize their environmental impact. Veterinary businesses are no exception. The following will explore some of the things you need to keep in mind if you’re in the market for management software that works for veterinarians.
Cloud-Based Accessibility And Storage
One of the features you’re going to want to look for when choosing a management software for your veterinary clinic is the accessibility of features through the cloud. What cloud-based software is going to allow you to do is access your work information from anywhere with an internet connection. This element of veterinary software is going to allow your business to roll with employees working remotely and allow for house-calls when needed, where staff can access everything they need with a smartphone or laptop. This makes your business far more flexible.
As well, cloud-based storage can be a safer option for storing files and other company data. Keeping things on-site in filing cabinets not only results in a cluttered work environment over time, but it leaves files open to the risk of damage from fire, flood, earthquake, and other physical harms.
Training Support
Whenever you’re incorporating new technology into your office, you need to have a training plan in place. If your staff can’t use the new software, it’s not really doing you any good, now is it? Ask potential management software providers about their recommendations and training options. They might even be able to take care of the training process for you, using years of experience teaching people across all different fields with all different levels of technology proficiency how to work with their products.
Personalization Options
Most business management software comes with some level of personalization available. You’ll want to have a good think about your specialties, workflow, and anything else that you do a bit differently from other veterinary clinics. Look for management software that has room for personalization that will meet the needs unique to you, your staff, and your clinic.
Scalability
It’s always important to ask a potential software provider what a scaling process looks like with their software. If your business grows and expands to a new location, how easy is it to incorporate the new growth into the software system? If you decide to expand your business to offer additional specialties or services, what will the process of adapting your software to these new additions look like?
Customer Support
As with any software choice, it’s always worth asking about what the customer support process looks like. Is the software provider open and available for calls during all your work hours in case something goes wrong, and you need tech support? Are they open 24-hours a day? What sort of communication methods are available to you? Phone? Chat? Email? How soon can they get someone to take a look at any problems you might have. Ask all of these questions and really think about how the answers will affect your business on those anything-that-can-go-wrong-has-gone-wrong-days.
Ask To See Case Studies
If you’re unsure of whether the software is right for you and your business, ask to see some case studies. Most software providers can present you with a documented breakdown of what the adaption of their software meant for another business. Take your time to read through the case and ask any questions that come up when you think about how your business is different from the one used in the study.
Look For Options To Minimize And Eradicate Waste
Incorporating software into your business means taking some analog processes and completing them digitally. This is an excellent opportunity to get as close to zero waste as you can. Management software can reduce the amount of paper you need to use in the office (or completely get rid of the need for paper in the office), eliminate the need for copies of things, and allow for digital storage for things that were previously required on-site space. Take full advantage of these elements and seek out management software that can also help lessen the impact of your business on the planet.
Read Reviews
In today’s digital world, reviews have become their own type of currency. They can make or break a company or product and, because of this, they’ve become the focus of many legitimate and non-legitimate entrepreneurs. When reading reviews, be skeptical of the one-star and five-star ratings. Where possible, click on the reviewers’ names and take a look at other things they’ve reviewed. Did the giver of the single star give one-star reviews to all sorts of businesses along with scathing comments? They might just be a negative person. Did the person who dolled out the five-star review absolutely love every other product or service they’ve ever tried? They might be an eternal optimist (or a bot from a company that gets paid for leaving positive reviews). Take your time to read all reviews critically and think about what the comments would mean for your business. Pay attention to comments that come up consistently more so than star ratings, as these are subjective. Also, take note whether a reviewer has experience using competitors’ products or not as they have a more solid framework from which to make a decision.
Ask To Speak To A Client Or Two
Before you make your final decision using all the above information, ask to speak to one or two clients. It might take a few days for the software provider to contact other clients and ask to share their information with you, but you should be able to speak to someone who is currently using the product if you need to. Be sure to ask them what the best and worst parts of using the software are, as this can often give you a better indication of someone’s happiness with software than simply asking: do you like it.
The above tips should help you sort through the different management software available for veterinary businesses. You may have noticed that some of the tips require time, long conversations, and decent amounts of reading. When it comes to your business, it’s important to gather all the information available before committing yourself and your team to software and going through the whole training process.
