Choosing common software like word processors or image editing programs for your computer is often very simple – you typically go with the cheapest option available. After all, they all do essentially the same things. With dental billing software, though, it’s not as straightforward a choice.

Dental billing software – or any practice management application, for that matter – doesn’t come cheap. Most decent software packages will cost you at least a hundred dollars, add-ons and maintenance extra. With that much money going into it, you should ensure that you’re getting the most value possible for your money. Here are some of the points of comparison you should be considering to see if you’re really buying the best.

Comprehensiveness Counts

Some dental billing software packages are very basic, giving you features that extend only to handling patients’ personal and billing information. That benefits from that kind of software would be minor, even negligible, considering that such simple tasks can be done using good old pen and paper.

Although it will cost you a bit more, you should definitely spend the extra money to get software that will handle more information. When it comes to any kind of dental management software, there’s no such thing as managing ‘too much’ information. More efficient information handling is the reason you’re getting the software in the first place. The more kinds of data the program can handle, the better and more convenient it is.

Your Needs as a User

The intuitiveness of the user interface is a quality that many software pundits prioritize. After all, what use is a powerful bit of software if the user gets too frustrated to use it? Perhaps the only problem with this is that you can’t quantify it exactly; what’s user-friendly to you might be annoyingly complicated to another person. This is especially important here because a whole office will be using your dental billing software.

Here’s a good rule of thumb to use when ‘measuring’ user-friendliness: the less clicks it takes to get from Feature A to Feature B on a program, the better. When fewer clicks are required, that means the program is designed well enough to expect what you’re bound to do next given a certain situation. That alone already says “user-friendly.” In the long run, less clicks also means less time wasted waiting for the application to load new data.

Consider Customer Support

A large number of software sellers will cease contact with you once you’ve purchased their product. It’s also important to look at how well the software manufacturer provides after-sales support. Does it have a 24/7 toll-free customer hotline? Do you get to speak to a customer service rep right away, or will you get stuck with a machine? How long will it take for them to get back to you?

You can gauge this even before you buy their product, and even without getting the trial version of the dental computer software. Just go to the manufacturer’s website and send an email or place a call to whatever address or number they have posted. The speed and quality of their response to you as a potential customer will be indicative of how well they respond to you after you’ve purchased their dental billing software .

It’s a good thing you won’t have to worry as much because DentiMax can give you the quality you’re looking for in all three areas. The DentiMax Dental Office Solutions Package gives you a wealth of clerical tools, without getting everything too cluttered up. Even better, you’re given a toll-free number in case you need help with anything. It’s a complete dental management software package that’s sure hard to beat.

When you’re comparing dental billing software side by side, price should be among your last considerations. Considering the amount of sensitive and valuable information that’s at stake, putting price first might just be a mistake you can’t afford.