10 tips that will help you choose the best diary management software for your physio clinic
Choosing a Clinic Diary Software can be an overwhelming process as there are many different types of software and new developers emerging all the time. We have compiled 10 tips that will help you select the best software for your clinic.
1) Firstly you need to consider what type of software you want as there are two main types, a web or cloud-based software which requires you to use the software via an internet browser and a conventional computer installed software. 
2) What features do you need? More than often a software will have unnecessary features and this is used as a selling point by most companies. Identify what feature you need then select it based on that.
3) Set your budget, software prices start £0-£300, if you have 10-20 patients I would start with basic clinic diary software and change it when needed. Avoid the free software as quite often you pay for what you get so if you’re getting it free you can only imagine the features and support.
4) Use the free trials, select a handful of products and trial them all, it will be time-consuming but it’s the only way you will find the software that suits you. Look into whether software requires training and if they provide it.
5) Ring the technical support, this is by far the best advice you will get. See how helpful they are, line opening times, response times and general quality of service. Free software generally only has technical support via a messaging system and seldom have a phone line and the ones that do will have premium numbers.
6) Test your product on all devices, PC iPad Mac etc as the coding of the product may make it look good on PC but when you try it on IPAD or MAC it’s a flop.
7) Be careful of extra charges, most clinic diary softwares have a set price for the basics but some will charge you extra for texts, online bookings, and changes to assessment forms. Always read the terms and conditions and if still in doubt then call them and ask. You must know what is included in the price and what isn’t.
8) Once you’ve chosen what you think is the best software do some research into product reviews. 
Look at social media reviews LinkedIn etc. they will give a better idea of how the company operates and is seen by the public.
9) If you do decide to use the web-based clinic diary software then find out more about backup provisions and general security. Understand where they store your data and who else can access it. Ideally, you want backups of their storage every hour or at least daily.
10) Ask a friend; get some feedback from your colleagues see what they say. So long as they have no financial gain from advising you it will help. Learn from their mistakes instead of making your own.
