Dental software requirements checklist
Compare up to three software systems on data ownership, integration, patient communication, security, reporting and contract terms. Deal-breakers are flagged automatically.
How to use it
Use one checklist per type of system: compare practice management systems with each other, and CRMs with each other. Name each system, then answer every question from the supplier's written reply or from what you saw in a live demonstration with your own data. A sales slide or a partner logo is not a Yes. Leave anything unconfirmed as "Not asked yet", so a system is never marked down for a question you have not put to the supplier.
Three questions are deal-breakers: a full data export on exit, a data processing agreement, and per-user access controls with two-factor sign-in. A No on any of them should end the conversation, however well the rest scores. The reasoning is in the software stack guide and the CRM procurement questions. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
What each group checks
- Data and ownership. Whether you can take everything with you when you leave, and whether the system holds only what its job needs. A CRM that copies clinical notes from your practice management system is holding more than it should.
- Integration. Whether the connections you rely on have been shown working with your own system, and whether the supplier has put in writing which data moves, in which direction and how often.
- Patient communication. Whether reminders, recalls and marketing messages all respect the same consent record, and whether online bookings and forms land in your diary and records without retyping.
- Security and access. The data processing agreement, per-user permissions, two-factor sign-in, and a named list of the sub-processors that handle your data.
- Reporting. Whether you can follow a new patient from first enquiry to attended appointment, and run the reports you need without paying each time.
- Contract. The full cost over the minimum term, including setup, add-ons, VAT and notice.
A higher percentage means more of the weighted points for answered questions came back Yes or Partly. It does not make one system better for every practice. Two systems can only be compared fairly once both suppliers have been asked the same questions.
Checklist
Data and ownership
Is a full export of your data on exit written into the contract, with a format and a time limit? Deal-breaker
Patients, appointments, notes, communications history and consents, in a format another system can import.
Has the supplier listed exactly what personal data the system will hold, and is it limited to what the job needs?
A marketing CRM should hold enquiry and contact data, not clinical records.
Integration
Have you seen each integration you rely on working in a live demonstration with your own system?
A logo on a partner page is a claim to test, not proof that it works for your setup.
Has the supplier said in writing which data moves, in which direction, and how often?
For example: new bookings written into the diary in real time, or only a nightly copy of contact details.
Patient communication
Does the system record each patient's communication preferences and marketing consent, and respect them when sending?
Reminders, recalls and marketing messages should all check the same record.
Can patients book or complete forms online, with the result arriving in your diary or record without retyping?
Ask to see a test booking arrive while you watch.
Security and access
Will the supplier sign a data processing agreement that meets UK GDPR Article 28? Deal-breaker
Covering instructions, confidentiality, sub-processors, security, and deleting or returning data at the end.
Can you set permission levels per user and require two-factor sign-in? Deal-breaker
Reception, clinicians, managers and any outside agency should each see only what they need.
Has the supplier named its sub-processors and where your data is stored?
Including any hosting provider and messaging service.
Reporting
Can reports show where new patients came from, through to booked and attended appointments?
Enquiries alone do not tell you which marketing produced treatment.
Can you build or schedule the reports you need without paying the supplier each time?
Ask which reports are included and which cost extra.
Contract
Are the full costs stated in writing: setup, monthly fees per site or user, add-ons, VAT, minimum term and notice?
Compare the total over the minimum term, not the monthly figure.
Results
- System A
- No answers yet0 of 12 questions answered. Score = weighted points / maximum points for the questions answered.
- System B
- No answers yet0 of 12 questions answered. Score = weighted points / maximum points for the questions answered.
- System C
- No answers yet0 of 12 questions answered. Score = weighted points / maximum points for the questions answered.
A score only compares the answers you entered. Treat any deal-breaker as decisive, and do not compare two columns until you have asked both the same questions.