The Bulletin
Technical Tips
By Tom Snyder Ph.D.

Are case management, time keeping and billing time consuming, inaccurate processes? Do you wish you could create engagement and news letter lists in hours instead of days? Are there other aspects of your firm you’d like to manage that aren’t addressed by typical case management, time keeping, contact management and accounting software? If so, you might benefit from practice management software, i.e. software that integrates and tracks all facets of your firm from sales and marketing to case management to accounting to business planning.

Given that there are dozens of practice management software applications in the market, each with unique features and capabilities, how do you find the right one for you? We recommend the following process.

1. Become Knowledgeable – To get started, educate yourself about the applications that are out there. We know nobody has enough time to fully do this. However, the Internet can help by making it faster and easier to locate information. We have found that the best sources of information at this stage are association meetings, trade shows and colleagues. If possible, talk to your competitors and ask them what they use. You may also choose to purchase a software evaluation survey.

2. Make a List of Potential Solutions - Make a list of all of the applications that might meet your needs. So that you can evaluate the products side-by-side, you may consider preparing a more elaborate list – a spreadsheet listing key information for each product. For example, your spreadsheet might include information on pricing, number of users supported, customization capabilities and
reporting as well as industry specific issues such as trust accounting, court rules, audit trails, etc. The objective here is to focus on the most important issues and not details. This matrix will also be helpful in sharing information with others who may have input into the ultimate decision.

3. Determine Product Features & Budget - Next, determine your budget and make a listing, in rank order, of the features your company requires such as certified payroll, expert witness
tracking, document control, etc. In addition, we recommend taking the following factors into
account when evaluating various applications.

• The stability of the application and the company behind it
• Typical time and effort for implementation
• Application support
• Strength of the reseller channel
• Fit with growth, geography, capabilities, strategy and upcoming operational changes

4. Eliminate Obvious Poor Choices - Start to eliminate potential applications due to missing key features or because they are outside your budget. Cross them off your list and notate why you did. Selecting the right package is mostly a process of eliminating the wrong packages. Generally, you can eliminate many products at this stage. Continue to eliminate products throughout the entire evaluation process.

5. Obtain Additional Information – Next, contact the publisher and/or review the website of the most promising applications in more detail. In your product spreadsheet, tabulate a list of the features and facts that impress you. Continue to add to this list as your evaluation continues.

6. Identify Top Resellers - By far, the number one complaint in the software industry is"poor resellers". Because this is the single-most important element in the successful implementation of a practice management system, you need to take extra care in identifying the best resellers and consultants. We have found that the best sources of this information are colleagues, associations and software publishers. Feel free to contact me about the resources I have found.

7. Product Demonstration – Next, you should arrange for resellers to demonstrate your top applications to you. They should take time up front to ask you extensive questions about your company and your needs. This will help them help make appropriate recommendations and tailor their demonstration to your particular needs. If they don’t take time to talk to you up front, watch out - you
are probably dealing with an inexperienced person. Make sure to ask about their availability, their installation methodology, their track record for getting applications up and running properly on time, and a list of 3 references you can call.

9. Call References

10. Decision Time - At this point, you should be in a good position to select a practice management application. It is highly unlikely that you will find software that does everything you’d like, in the way you’d like it to, within the budget you have. So, if your top choice does most of what’s important to you, you’ve done well.

In case you are completely daunted at this point, please keep in mind an apparent winner may reveal itself long before you complete all 10 steps described above. It is a good idea to run through all of the steps with the winning application to be safe.

Some firms select practice management software in a couple of weeks. Others go through a several month process. Some also choose to hire someone to manage the process for them. You alone can make the determination as to how much effort is warranted to select the best practice management software to meet your current and future needs. Feel free to contact me about the selection
management resources I have found.