United Support Services Case Study
How United Support Services Streamlined Recordkeeping, HR & Billing To Save Hours Every Month With SETWorks
December 5, 2023
5 Signs Your Agency Needs IDD Software
If you identify with any of these telltale signs, you’re likely in need of an IDD software system.
- March 8, 2022
By now, you may have heard about the many benefits of IDD software, and you might be wondering whether an IDD system is right for you. For most agencies, it’s not actually a question of “if”, but “when”.
It’s not always easy to recognize that you need IDD software. The symptoms rarely show up overnight as missing documentation, audit findings, and billing rejections.
Instead, you’ll likely experience a gradual increase in the amount of manual work and repetitive tasks your team has to do. Or, you might start experiencing communication breakdowns more frequently than you did before.
Eventually, you’ll reach a point where these problems become impossible to ignore, but by then, it will have cost your agency a significant amount of time and revenue.
So how do you know if it’s time to invest in IDD software? Here are five of the most common signs we see from agencies that are in need of a technology upgrade:
1. You’re still using paper
One of the most obvious signs you need IDD software is that you’re still using paper records.
Maybe DSPs see clients in the community, but have to drive back and forth to the office to turn in paper timesheets and notes. Maybe you’ve recently started working from home and need to be able to access your files remotely. Or maybe you’re just tired of paying thousands of dollars every month to store boxes of files. All of these are signs it’s time to invest in IDD software.
An IDD software system eliminates the need for paper records by allowing you to store, share, and retrieve everything electronically. Not only will this save you a significant amount of money on printing and storage, but it will make your agency much more efficient.
2. You’re using multiple tools to manage your agency
On the other hand, maybe you’ve taken steps to digitize your agency — but you’re using a lot of different tools to do so.
It’s not uncommon for disability service providers to use three or more tools to manage their agency’s activities. A DSP who goes into a client’s home might have to open one app in order to clock in for EVV, another to track their time for payroll, and yet another to complete their notes. Back at the office, staff are sharing files over Google Drive, tabulating hours for billing in Excel, and tracking client information in Salesforce. Everything is spread out all over the place, and there’s no visibility.
An IDD management system helps streamline your workflows by giving you a single, visible platform for everything your agency does. This will also save you a lot of time when it comes to training new staff, since they will only have to learn one tool instead of several.
3. You’re short on time and resources
If you work at an IDD agency, you will inevitably wear many different hats and fill many different roles within the organization at one time or another.
You might be providing services to clients, while also managing a team, juggling finances, and troubleshooting IT. That’s a lot of responsibility for a single person, and there simply isn’t anyone else to take the load off. It gets to a point where you’re working 50 hours a week constantly just to stay afloat.
Even the best IDD software can’t make up for being short-staffed. However, it can help alleviate some of the burden by automating repetitive tasks like data entry so you can spend more time on the rewarding aspects of your work.
4. You’re missing out on revenue
IDD providers miss out on thousands of dollars of revenue each year because of inefficient billing practices. Between time tracking, documentation, and manual processing and claim submission, there are plenty of places where billable hours can slip through the cracks.
Many agencies are not even aware they are losing out on revenue because they don’t have the tools to be able to identify errors or omissions. Usually the accounting department is the first to notice the signs you need IDD software, including longer times and more difficulty reconciling financial information.
An IDD software system solves this problem by bringing together your authorizations, scheduling, service hours, documentation, and billing in one place. Instead of having to switch between different systems to gather the required information, billing is fast and accurate. Not only that, but you’ll have full visibility into authorization usage, canceled appointments, billable percentages and more so you can pinpoint where revenue leaks are happening and take steps to stop them.
5. Your agency has grown
When you’re just starting out, it’s fairly easy to keep track of all the paperwork that goes with being an IDD agency. However, as your program offerings expand and your team grows, so do your responsibilities.
Mergers and acquisitions can be another time that agencies find themselves needing new software. If you’ve recently expanded your agency, you may want to consider whether it’s time to move from your current tools to a modern IDD software system.
That said, agencies of all sizes can benefit from the advantages of IDD software — especially if growth is in your future.
Your next steps
If one (or more) of these scenarios sounds familiar, it might be time to invest in an IDD management system. IDD software will help your agency stay organized and be more efficient, which ultimately allows you to serve your clients better.
SETWorks is software for disability service agencies, improving service efficiency and reducing administrative burden.
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