SimplePractice has become a leading patient management software (PMS) tool for healthcare professionals, blending its electronic health records (EHR) capabilities with must-have client relationship management (CRM) features. Yes, we know, those are a lot of acronyms to keep track of. So how do you decide which one is right for you and your business?
SimplePractice is a popular software among therapy practices and medical clinics. However, there are other options to choose from, depending on your practice and business goals. Although SimplePractice is both HIPAA compliant and built for mental health and medical workflows, there’s a learning curve to using the platform and navigating its interface. You may also need more direct communication with clients than SimplePractice currently offers. That’s why we’re covering 9 SimplePractice competitors in this article. Keep reading to learn more about what to look for in CRM tools to help decide which software may be a good fit for your business.
What to look for in a CRM?
Here are some key points of interest to keep in mind when thinking about which CRM platform is best for your private practice.
Pricing
Unless you have unlimited funds, you’ll need to work out a budget for your CRM software. Most platforms function on a monthly subscription basis, plus any additional fees that may be required—such as adding more team members to your plan or specialized appointments, like group therapy. Some companies offer annual payments which typically are set at discounted rates and can help you save some money.
Not all CRM software offers free plans or free trials, which could influence your decision if you want to test out the tools first. If you come across a platform you’re interested in but don’t offer a free trial, contact their customer support team and ask if you can schedule a free demonstration in place of a free trial. That way you’ll still gain some hands-on experience before making the commitment.
Workflow automation
In today’s digital world, workflow automation should be a non-negotiable feature to help streamline your day-to-day tasks. Having the ability to automate certain functions (like appointment notifications, invoice reminders, and implementing form templates) all in one place can save you a lot of time. And as a busy business owner, you want to ensure you’re spending your time wisely and focusing on your clients and patients with the help of efficient tools and proper client documentation.
Proposals and Contracts
Many CRM software comes with unlimited data storage and onboarded clients. As part of this feature, be sure to check on the types of proposals and contracts the platform offers as well, if any. If you don’t have your own proposals or contracts, you may want to look for a platform that provides you with templates that have been reviewed by legal professionals. Proposals benefit both you and your clients, as they outline the project or patient assessment, along with the nature of your partnership so both parties understand what is to be expected from one another.
Whether you’re a freelancer, life coach, mental health counselor, or therapist, contracts are necessary to you and your business as they offer you security and peace of mind. Like a proposal, contracts will outline your commitment to the partnership, what is expected of each party, including payment terms, the privacy of information, and termination terms. Think of your contract as a binding document to mitigate the risk of disputes.
Invoices and Payments
Creating and sending invoices and receiving payments is an integral part of running a business. Small business owners, in particular, often worry about manually sending invoices and chasing down clients when their payment is late. As part of workflow automation, many CRM software allows invoice creation and the ability to automatically send them to clients for you. In addition, check on features such as invoice or payment reminders. This further simplifies the process so your clients never miss a payment date.
Another aspect of invoicing and payments is the type of payment gateway, or the method that payment is received. Most systems allow you to receive payment by debit or credit card or ACH bank transfers. For those who need to receive in-person payment, you’ll need to ensure you have a method to collect data, such as a card reader. Be sure to check on any third-party payment processing software that may be required (like Stripe or Square) and transaction fees that could be included.
Customer service
A lot can be said about a company based on its customer support team. As the team that interacts directly with customers and users on a daily basis, you want to ensure you choose a company whose support team is available to help troubleshoot any issues or provide additional support whenever you need it. Most CRM platforms have helplines you can call, plus email and live chat availability, typically with less than 24-hour response time, Monday through Friday.
You may also want to consider whether or not they have a library of resources and FAQ documents that you can access outside of business hours. Many companies offer helpful articles, guides, and tutorial videos to further support their customers with their business and product questions.
9 Best SimplePractice alternatives
1. HelloBonsai
If you’re a freelancer or run a small business you’ve probably heard of HelloBonsai, or Bonsai. This CRM software functions as an advanced time tracking system with all the necessary tools you’ll need to run a client-focused business, like paperless billing, credit card processing, scheduling appointments, and customizable proposals and contracts. In addition to standard features like client portals and file sharing, Bonsai allows you to track your accounting and create profit and loss records to use for your taxes.
At its core, Bonsai is a CRM platform that caters to all small businesses, agencies, and freelancers in a variety of industries. However, it lacks specific features that may be necessary to run your practice, such as patient charting and assessments. As this platform is not currently HIPAA compliant, you’ll need to seek out other avenues to ensure your client’s privacy.
Users can try Bonsai with a 7-day free trial, providing them with access to all plan features to test out the software. Once your trial ends you’ll need to subscribe to one of Bonsai’s 3 plans:
- Starter Plan: $17 per month
- Professional Plan: $32 per month
- Business Plan: $52 per month
2. Dubsado
Dubsado is another one-stop-shop CRM platform that offers freelancers and small business owners automated workflows to help manage their daily tasks. Create client portals, send invoices, and book appointments all through your dashboard. Dubsado also offers users the ability to customize forms (lead capture forms, questionnaires, proposals, and contracts) with their own branding to elevate the client experience. You can also connect with Dubsado’s customer success team 7 days a week to provide assistance and education about the platform.
Much like Bonsai, Dubsado is not a CRM or PMS system made specifically for healthcare professionals. You won’t have the ability to create patient charts or assessments through designated tools as you would with a platform like Simple Practice. The platform isn’t HIPAA compliant, either, which may not work for practitioners required to operate within HIPAA regulations.
Dubsado’s subscription plans can be paid for on a monthly or annual basis, with the option to try each plan for free. And the best thing about their free trial? It’s unlimited. Plus, you can add up to 3 clients on your free trial. Once you’re ready to commit to the software and add more clients, choose between their two subscription plans:
- Starter plan: $20 per month
- Premier Plan: $40 per month
3. Jane App
For healthcare professionals, Jane App is a popular PMS software that helps run practices and clinics smoothly through its robust platform. Made for health and wellness practitioners, Jane App offers users standard CRM tools plus medical features needed to operate their practice, such as patient charting, insurance claim management, and the ability to book group appointments. And yes, it’s HIPAA compliant as well, making it a great alternative to SimplePractice and other PMS tools like Theranest and Vcita.
One feature that makes Jane App stand out is its built-in waitlist feature within the software. Practitioners and clients can both be notified of openings in the calendar that match their preferences so your schedule will always remain full and you can meet with your clients sooner.
Unfortunately, Jane App doesn’t offer a free trial or free plan, so you’ll need to subscribe to a plan to access any of its features. However, you can inquire about a free demo with a Jane App team member who will walk you through the product to give you an idea of what using the platform is like. With each plan, you can add more clinicians to your team as well as group appointments for additional costs. Choose between Jane App’s 3 plans:
- Base Plan: $79 per month
- Insurance Plan: $109 per month
- Corporate Plan: $399 per month
4. Insightly
As a business owner, using a platform that elevates functionality and room for growth can be a powerful tool. As a CRM software, Insighty provides users with client management, access to records and documents, credit card processing, and automated workflows. Its strength lies in its lead management and marketing capabilities to further grow and expand your business. This platform is especially beneficial for freelancers who work on a team, as you can distribute leads and manage sales funnels all from your shared dashboard.
Although Insightly works well with growing teams, it lacks traditional healthcare features that may be needed to run your business. Without the necessary patient charts and HIPAA compliance, Insightly functions more as a sales and marketing tool rather than a patient management software.
Insightly is unique in that it offers users multiple products depending on your business needs and goals. You can choose between Insightly CRM, Marketing, AppConnect, and Service products—or subscribe to its All-In-One plan. Since we’re looking into CRM and PMS software in this article, here’s a breakdown of Insightly’s CRM pricing and plans (billed annually) to choose from:
- Plus Plan: $29 per month
- Professional Plan: $49 per month
- Enterprise Plan: $99 per month
5. Therapy Notes
For many therapy practitioners, TherapyNotes is a well-known and trusted EHR software. Complete with patient records, insurance management, custom intake forms, and appointment scheduling, TherapyNotes aids behavioral health professionals in their administrative tasks that make running their practice that much easier. As a HIPAA compliant telehealth platform, your clients will rest assured that their information will remain private and secure.
Unlike SimplePractice, TherapyNotes has an integrated electronic prescription system that allows practitioners to prescribe and manage client medications. You’ll also have a 24-month medication history, seamless refill workflows, and the ability to prescribe controlled substances with no additional fees. This feature will save you time and reduce the risk of prescription errors, providing your clients with their medication faster and easier.
TherapyNotes offers users a complimentary 30-day free trial (for all plans), and you can also book a demo with a team member to walk through the platform. Every plan gives you access to patient portals, one-on-one telehealth sessions, plus unlimited file storage. Plans work on a tiered system depending on how many clinicians are on your team. Each additional clinician will be an added $30 per month on top of the standard TherapyNotes monthly subscription pricing:
- Solo Plan: $49 per month
- Group Plan: $59 per month (2-29 clinicians)
- Enterprise Plan: $59 per month (30-unlimited clinicians)
6. Zendesk
Although Zendesk may be known as a customer service software, the company has created space for healthcare professionals to further support their practices and clients. Zendesk for Healthcare is a subset of Zendesk that caters to medical practitioners by offering health-centered features and tools. Through its software, you’ll have access to health records, on-call availability and open communication, plus the ability to work with your care team and clinic to streamline your work.
As with any PMS software, you want to ensure your client’s information will be protected and secure. So is Zendesk HIPAA compliant? Yes and no. Zendesk provides the opportunity to create a HIPAA-enabled account, though you’ll need to meet certain requirements, provide documentation, and contact their team for more information.
Zendesk allows users to book a demonstration with a team member, or you can try their platform for a 30-day free trial. Startups may want to make note that you can get Zendesk for free for 6 months by applying to their program. For all other established practices, Zendesk splits their subscription plans into two groups, for service or sales. Plan costs increase with more advanced features that become available. Here’s a look at the individual plan costs:
- Service, Suite Team Plan: $49 per month
- Service, Suite Growth: $79 per month
- Service, Suite Professional: $99 per month
- Service, Suite Enterprise: $150 per month
- Sales, Team Plan: $19 per month
- Sales, Growth Plan: $49 per month
- Sales, Professional Plan: $99 per month
7. Keap
With many similar features to SimplePractice, Keap is a client-focused CRM software that helps businesses streamline their tasks through automated workflows. It’s a combination of your typical client management platform (invoices, paperless billing, appointment scheduling) with marketing and sales pipeline capabilities built in, which can help clinics and practices grow their businesses. Each available plan allows a set number of contacts and users, with the ability to add more users for $29 each.
Like most CRM tools, Keap is not HIPAA compliant. However, one special feature that not many software comes equipped with is an integrated business line to facilitate business calls and texts with clients. Keap currently offers the option of having a business line for users in the U.S. and Canada. This may be a useful feature to consider especially for medical professionals that need open communication with clients, teammates, and pharmacies.
If you want to try out Keap’s platform you can do so with a 14-day free trial that gives you access to all its plan features. Users can also receive a 5-minute demonstration by providing their email address (which will also subscribe you to their marketing emails and newsletter). With Keap, choose between two subscription plans, both with the option to pay monthly or annually. You can save 20% by paying annually, but here’s the breakdown of each plan when paying on a monthly basis:
- Pro Plan: $199 per month
- Max Plan: $289 per month
8. Bloom
Bloom is a top-rated CRM software popular among freelancers and creative businesses. It comes with essential tools needed for client management, like invoicing, calendar integration for appointment scheduling, and automated workflows.
Unlike SimplePractice, Vcita, and Theranest, Bloom offers users the ability to create a website portfolio to highlight and showcase their work, credentials, and awards, plus client testimonials. This customization can elevate small businesses and healthcare professionals who want to incorporate their own branding. But like other CRM tools, Bloom may not be the best tool for medical practices, as it lacks assessment, treatment, and charting features.
On the upside, Bloom does offer a free plan that gives users access to all its basic features—project management, client portals, proposals, and contracts. Essentially, you can start using Bloom for your private practice and work with clients at no cost. And for those who want unlimited access and more advanced features, you can try their paid plan with a 2-month free trial. Here’s a quick look at both plan’s pricing options:
- Starter Plan: Free
- Standard Plan: $37 per month
9. Practice
Now, this list of SimplePractice alternatives wouldn’t be complete unless we threw our own hat in the ring. Practice is an intuitive, all-in-one CRM software ideal for coaches, consultants, and small business owners. We offer users workflow automation, invoicing and payment processing, plus application integration to run your business as smoothly as possible. We also pride ourselves in having a stellar customer support team, here to answer your questions and inquiries. We offer a one-on-one onboarding session for all users to help walk them through the platform.
What sets us apart from SimplePractice is our unique client portal. We understand how critical communication is with clients, especially in the healthcare industry. Through private client portals, connect directly with your client without the need for any other application. Send messages and texts, leave voice memos, and share notes and documents with your clients all through your dashboard. Your clients can access their portals from anywhere, making the line of communication even more accessible.
Although we’re confident users will enjoy our user-friendly interface and wide range of features, you can still try out our platform with a 7-day free trial. When you’re ready to commit (as we’re sure you will be) you can pick between paying monthly or selecting our annual option—that will save you 20%. Choose between two of our paid subscription plans:
- Basic Plan: $35 per month
- Pro Plan: $60 per month
Why choose Practice?
When it comes to client-facing businesses, our team at Practice understands the importance of building trusting and healthy client relationships. That’s why we’ve created a client portal that stands out among the rest—your satisfaction with our platform is our priority. You and your clients will always remain up to date on appointments, records, and communication with the help of our private patient portals. We also know how beneficial efficient patient management tools can be for smaller private practices to grow their business. Social workers, counselors, and coaches will find Practice to be the all-in-one solution to help them operate their businesses with ease. Start your 7-day free trial with Practice today.
