The Best Assisted Living Software in 2024

Senior living communities and assisted living facilities offer much more than just a place to live.  

The greatest communities assist its members in every aspect of their lives, from meeting clinical requirements such as assisting with daily activities, making reservations at the facility, and making sure medications are taken as prescribed to assisting residents in leading rich and satisfying social and communal lives.

In short, assisted living facilities must support their residents in addition to just housing them. 

This article will assist managers of assisted living facilities in understanding their technology requirements and how to choose the finest technology to support the success of their business.

What is assisted living software? 

Apart from assisting their residents, Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) are also businesses, carrying out specific operational, compliance, and business duties such as hiring, training, and managing staff; adhering to state laws and submitting necessary reports; and promoting potential clients, billing residents, and earning income.

With the use of assisted living software, facility operations can be made simpler, freeing up managers' time to concentrate on expanding their businesses. 

In addition to streamlining facility operations and automating back-office tasks, it also plans staff schedules, maintains records, and creates reports.

Why is software important for assisted living facilities? 

Apart from assisting their residents, Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) are also businesses, carrying out specific operational, compliance, and business duties such as hiring, training, and managing staff; adhering to state laws and submitting necessary reports; and promoting potential clients, billing residents, and earning income.

Selecting the appropriate technology is important when it comes to expanding your enterprise, drawing in clients in the cutthroat senior housing market of today, and giving seniors the greatest community possible to call home. 

Pro tip: Lookout for software that complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), a federal law. The greatest senior living software complies with HIPAA standards, allowing communities to concentrate on their people rather than intricate IT rules.

Using software for assisted living to handle clinical and compliant needs

One of the main responsibilities of every assisted living facility is to support clinical needs. 

Among these duties are:

Assessments 

Getting to know new residents and their reasons for moving into your community through assessments is an important duty for operators of assisted living facilities.

A resident's biographical details, family history, and important clinical data, such as the medications they use, allergies, diseases, communication skills, nutritional needs, and assistance they require with daily living activities, are usually included in assessments.

Assessments have to fulfill state criteria as well.

Both bigger operators with multi-state operations and operators without specialized compliance teams can face operational issues as a result of these rules, which are subject to periodic updates and state-specific variations.

Care plan administration

A resident's personal goals will be aided by an assisted living community, as outlined in the care plan, which is also referred to as the individual service plan. 

The foundation of a great care plan is a thorough assessment that identifies the needs of each resident. 

The plan is then specially designed to address the needs identified by the assessment in a variety of areas, including physical and mental health as well as daily needs related to eating, sleeping, and hygiene.

Care plans should address all aspects of a resident's life, including physical and mental health, daily living activities (ADLs), and social and emotional needs.

American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL)

Control of medication

The average person in an assisted living facility takes 12–14 prescription drugs a day. Ensuring the safe delivery of pharmaceuticals involves adhering to the eight medical rights, which can be a challenging task. 

An electronic connection to a resident's pharmacy to retrieve medication information and utilize that data to automate med-passing is a feature of the best-assisted living software.

Adherence

At the state level, assisted living facilities are governed. As a result, all operators of assisted living facilities have requirements for compliance and reporting. 

By offering simple clinical workflows that satisfy state requirements (such as those about assessments and care plans), minimizing errors like medication errors, and enabling administrators to export state-mandated reports straight from the program, the best-assisted living software will make it easier for communities to fulfill all regulatory obligations.

Assisted living software that emphasizes evidence-based practices and simplifies complex clinical workflows helps ensure residents receive appropriate care while minimizing the risk of errors. This not only protects residents but also helps facilities meet compliance standards. 

- Dr. Mary Smith, Geriatric Care Physician, Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (SPALTC)

The best-assisted living software in 2024

For clinical and operational needs

1. ECP software

ECP is the top supplier of EHR and eMAR software to assisted living facilities in the United States. 

Key clinical characteristics of ECP include:

Regular Assessments: ECP offers pre-made assessments and reporting for every state and type of license, and it is compliant in all 50 US states.

Care Plans: Based on the residents' assessment answers, the ECP EHR and care plan engine will automatically create personalized care plans for each resident. Caregiving can be automated with the help of these care plans.

Notification: When medication or care is neglected or delivered late, ECP will immediately warn supervisors and carers with personalized alerts (sent as emails, pop-ups, or SMS).

Incident Reports: Since ECP includes incident reporting by default, errors can be reported promptly and legally.

Compliance Reporting: In addition to producing dozens of reports right out of the box, ECP features a customizable reporting engine that enables communities to export their unique reports. Communities can now easily follow rules, do audits with ease, and create their quality improvement reports.

Medication Control: ECP offers the best electronic medication administration record (eMAR) in the business, which it can connect to more than 500 long-term care pharmacies nationwide to streamline medication passing and lower medication errors.

1. Senior Insight 

Senior Insight has provided a comprehensive and tested solution for healthcare providers of all sizes. 

The company specializes in electronic health records (EHR) and electronic medication administration records (eMAR) for the senior housing sector.

The key features include: 

Resident Management: Use Senior Insight EHR to efficiently handle resident data, allergies, medical histories, and prescription profiles.

Examinations and Care Plans: Develop and manage personalized care plans and evaluations that are tailored to the requirements of each resident, monitoring their advancement and guaranteeing that the right interventions are implemented.

Medication Management with eMAR: Senior Insight EHR simplifies medication administration procedures, such as scheduling, dosage monitoring, medication reconciliation, and drug ordering.

Record-keeping and Warning Charting: Ensure accurate and current documentation by effectively recording resident encounters, assessments, treatments, and observations in real-time.

Communication and Messaging via Fax: Enable staff members to communicate safely and effectively by utilizing Senior Insight EHR's internal messaging capability.

CRM as well as interaction: Effective management of pre-move-in prospects is made possible by CRM features. Information about possible inhabitants, such as their preferences, contact information, and services needed, can be easily collected and stored.

Management of Documents (eDMS): Documents including resident forms, contracts, and assessments can be easily scanned, saved, and uploaded using eDMS. You can also store faxes that you receive for later use. This feature facilitates effective information sharing among staff members and guarantees simple access to crucial papers.

Revenue Cycle Management and Billing: Utilize Senior Insight EHR to streamline financial processes, such as charge capture, invoice generation, payment recording, and reimbursement tracking.

Analytics and Reporting: Using Senior Insight EHR's extensive reporting and analytics options, you may learn important information about resident care, operational effectiveness, and compliance.

Coordination and Communication: Enable a full picture of resident health information by seamlessly integrating Senior Insight EHR with other systems, such as pharmaceutical management or health care systems.

HIPAA Compliance and Security: With Senior Insight EHR, you can rely on the highest standards of data security and compliance, including regular data backups, audit logs, encryption, and access controls.

Assisted living software: managing operational and business requirements

If an assisted living provider is unable to meet the basic operational requirements mentioned below, they won't be in business for very long:

Billing and invoicing 

Since assisted living facilities are usually paid for privately, residents and their families must receive monthly bills. 

A variety of billing philosophies will be used by different operators: some will charge a fixed amount, some based on care rate or care level, and some on a flexible basis based on the actual care received. 

While some use an "all-inclusive" package, others charge on an a la carte basis.

Did you know? A study published in JAGS titled "Pricing Transparency in Assisted Living: A Scoping Review" (2023) found that "pricing models for assisted living care vary widely, with limited transparency in billing practices.

Billing for assisted care 

ECP Billing is designed to help assisted care institutions get the most out of their bills.

To ensure that billing is updated as soon as the level of care creeps up, this is performed via built-in procedures where care levels automatically flow from the clinical platform into the billing platform. 

Furthermore, a-la-carte fees are integrated into billing automatically, allowing communities to profit from a-la-carte services like guest meals and spa visits.

CRM for assisted living

Consider a CRM tool that offers the cutting-edge functionalities that astute senior living marketers anticipate, including campaign and referral monitoring, care plans, and more. 

Additionally, the specific CRM system will have features tailored specifically for senior living, such as the Life Story module, which is designed to help people settle into their new homes by gathering vital information about their interests, hobbies, and favorite sports teams. 

Here are a few examples of great CRM software to consider for assisted living:

1. Salesforce

One of the most well-known brands in the CRM industry is Salesforce. Its cloud-based platform has features that are easy to use and suitable for assisted living institutions of various sizes.

With tools like staff scheduling, resident management, and reminders, Salesforce offers a comprehensive method for overseeing every aspect of your assisted care company.

We suggest Salesforce because it is ideal for facilities that utilize numerous management systems and connect seamlessly with other solutions. Because Salesforce is a cloud-based solution, extensive hardware installs and ongoing updates are not necessary.

2. Webchat

You can effectively manage all of your customer contact channels in one handy location with Webchat. 

You can communicate with relatives, team members, and residents at any time and from any device. Additionally, it has tools for compiling information on online visitors, enabling customized interaction.

Being accessible and communicating promptly is essential in the assisted living sector. It is precisely what Webchat provides. Having a single location to manage all of your messaging channels can enhance customer satisfaction and response times.

3. Zoho

Another extensive platform with an extensive list of capabilities to help with managing your senior living facility is Zoho's CRM. 

Everything about it is made to make managing your company's client relationships easier, from social media integration to email marketing and contact management.

We choose Zoho's CRM because it strikes a wonderful combination between use and price, making it appropriate for establishments of all sizes. 

Because Zoho is flexible, it can be tailored to the specific requirements of assisted care homes, helping to make each resident's experience unique.

4. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a CRM solution that is focused on sales and is renowned for its user-friendly interface.

It can be altered to match the particular workflow and sales structure of your assisted living company. Lead management, email integration, and sales reporting are some of its features.

Because Pipedrive's features are customizable and can be tailored to your facility's unique requirements, we recommend it for the assisted living business. 

Pipedrive can assist in locating possible residents and expediting the admissions process by monitoring sales pipelines.

5. ActiveCampaign

Marketing automation, CRM, and email marketing are all integrated into one platform by ActiveCampaign. It assists you in staying abreast of the preferences of both your present and potential residents.

Because it helps with advertising segmentation and personalization, ActiveCampaign is a great tool for assisted living companies. This can result in more fruitful interactions with both present and prospective residents.

6. Freshsales

A CRM application called Freshsales integrates phone, email, activity capture, AI-based lead scoring, and other features. Its adaptability, ease of use, and integration skills are its main advantages.

Because Freshsales offers a one-stop solution for customer management, we suggest it for assisted care homes.

Having a single platform for all of your customer-related tasks can significantly increase operational efficiency.

7. Inbox

With Inbox, your front desk staff can answer more quickly, be more organized, and accomplish more with messages.

In the assisted living sector, good communication is essential. Because it allows you to centralize all of your company conversations, Inbox comes highly recommended. 

This results in better resident satisfaction, faster response times, and a more organized front desk.

8. HubSpot

Known for its user-friendliness, HubSpot offers a free platform to help with lead monitoring and nurturing.

It has tools that help with email campaign management, performance data analysis, and resident engagement tracking. It is made for companies of all sizes.

Due to its ease of use, we suggest HubSpot for the assisted living sector. Because of its simple design, personnel may spend more time tending to residents' needs and less time training new hires. 

Its analytics function can assist in identifying the aspects of your resident engagement approach that are effective and ineffective.

Pro tip: Consider a reservation system like Eat App that offers both table management software and a powerful built-in CRM tool. 

Assisted living software: managing reservations at the facility - easy and accessible

Making dinner reservations at assisted living facilities should be a seamless experience for residents, families, and staff. 

Here's how assisted living software can help:

For residents:

Intuitive Interface: The software should be accessible and user-friendly, with large icons, clear text, and voice-activated options for those with limited dexterity or vision.

Multiple Booking Methods: Allow residents to book reservations through various methods, including touch-screen kiosks, smartphones, tablets, or even voice assistants.

Visual Menus: Display menus with pictures and descriptions, making choosing suitable meals easier for residents with dietary restrictions or memory challenges.

Guest Reservations: Enable residents to easily invite guests to join them for meals, with options to manage guest payments and dietary needs.

Reminder Notifications: Send gentle reminders about upcoming reservations to avoid missed meals.

For families:

Remote Booking: Allow family members to book meals for their loved ones online or through a mobile app, providing peace of mind and flexibility.

Dietary Preferences: Share and manage their loved one's dietary restrictions and preferences within the system.

Guest Invitations: Receive notifications and manage guest reservations for their loved ones.

Communication Tools: Integrate with messaging platforms to facilitate clear communication with staff about meal preferences and changes.

For staff:

Centralized Reservation System: Manage all reservations in one place, with clear visibility of upcoming bookings, guest details, and dietary needs.

Automated Waitlist Management: Notify residents when their desired time slot becomes available.

Seating Management: Optimize seating arrangements based on dietary needs and preferences.

Reporting and Analytics: Track reservation trends, identify popular meal options and adjust menus accordingly.

Here's the best reservation software to use at assisted living  facilities:

Eat App

Eat App offers several features that are beneficial in an assisted living facility and the environment.

Here's why the software is a great fit for assisted living facilities: 

Reservation System: Residents can easily book their own tables for meals or activities, promoting independence and reducing staff workload.

Table Management: Staff can efficiently track table occupancy and manage seating arrangements to accommodate specific needs or preferences.

Menus & Dietary Restrictions: The system highlights allergies or dietary restrictions, allowing residents to make informed choices.

Communication: The software is used to send messages to residents about meal schedules, special events, or dietary changes.

Feedback & Reviews: Residents are provided feedback surveys on meals and services, helping to improve the dining experience.

Accessibility: The system is accessible to seniors with varying levels of tech experience.

Get your assisted living dining facility up and running smoothly - starting at $0.

Assisted living software: managing reservations at the facility - easy and accessible

Managing the accounting for an assisted living facility can be complex due to the nature of the business. This is where assisted living software can be a valuable tool.

Here are some of the ways assisted living software can help you manage your accounting and books:

Streamline data entry: The software can automate tasks like recording invoices, payments, and resident fees, saving you time and reducing errors.

Generate reports: Easily create reports on income, expenses, budgets, and other financial metrics to track your financial performance.

Integrate with other systems: The software can integrate with other systems, such as payroll and resident care software, to eliminate the need for manual data entry.

Improve accuracy: The software can help you avoid errors by automating calculations and ensuring data consistency.

Enhance compliance: The software can help you stay compliant with financial regulations by providing reminders and automated reports.

Assisted living software: managing your finances 

If you're considering assisted living software for your accounting, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Your needs: Choose software that meets the specific needs of your facility, such as its size, budget, and accounting practices.
• Ease of use: The software should be easy to use for staff with varying levels of technical expertise.
• Security: The software should have robust security features to protect your sensitive financial data.
• Cost: Compare the cost of different software options to find one that fits your budget.

By carefully considering your needs and choosing the right software, you can leverage assisted living software to streamline your accounting processes, improve accuracy, and gain valuable insights into your financial performance.

QuickBooks

Thousands of assisted living operators utilize QuickBooks, which is accessible as a desktop program and a browser-based web tool, to facilitate simple financial management. 

Easy Billing: QuickBooks works well for communities that have easy billing models, including care-rate-based billing or flat-rate pricing that isn't updated often. Out-of-the-box, QuickBooks supports subscription-based billing and invoicing.

Reviews & Feedback: To improve the eating experience, residents can offer their opinions on the food and services.

Accessibility: Seniors with varied degrees of digital competence may be able to use the app, depending on its design and usability.

General Ledger: Among the most often used general ledger platforms is QuickBooks. In addition to helping assisted living facilities create standard financial reporting such as income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets, QuickBooks can handle accounts receivable and payable.

Payroll: QuickBooks is capable of handling tax reporting and deductions as well as payroll.

Takeaways

Finding the right assisted living software can feel overwhelming, but remember, it's an investment in the well-being of your residents and the efficiency of your operations.

By prioritizing your needs and carefully evaluating the features offered by different solutions, you can select the software that best empowers your team to deliver exceptional care.

FAQ

What does the term "assisted living system" mean?

Seniors who desire to maintain their independence in a home-like environment but require non-medical help with activities of daily living (ADLs) including eating, washing, dressing, keeping themselves clean, and using the restroom can live in assisted living communities.

What is the process of assisted living?

Residents of assisted living facilities typically have private rooms or apartments in addition to a few shared areas. In addition to providing food, housekeeping, laundry, and aid with personal care and medication, they also provide round-the-clock monitoring and a variety of services.