Smart pointers to select software for your dental lab

Over our years in providing software for dental laboratories, we have noted the ways dental labs have selected their software.   Some have been wise, others less so.  We have seen some labs go through as many as six different systems while others have been able to stick with their choice over the years through many transitions in technology and business practices.  If you would like to be one of the smart ones, here are some pointers for you.

Develop your list

Begin by developing a list of the criteria, your requirements, wishes, limitations for your system.  Be prepared to change and enhance as you continue through the rest of these pointers. You may want to set up a spreadsheet to make your comparisons.

Do your research

Take the time to do your research.   Use your trade journals and the internet search engines to find the software designed for the special needs of this industry.  Take the time to review the offerings, determine which of these might serve your criteria, then talk to each provider.  This should narrow your list of possibilities. If an interactive webinar is available, use this to preview the features of the system.  Ideally, if it looks like a good possibility, the next ideal step is to move on to a demo or trial version to actually work with it over a number of days.

Review the basics

Working with your list, review whether the features of each of the software possibilities meets or exceeds your basic requirements. The ideal is standard software that covers the needs of the industry at an affordable price but allows for growth and customization whenever needed. 

Special features

If there are special features you would like to have now or in the future, determine whether customization will be available or whether you will have to make do with a standard system. Note that customization can be performed on multiple levels:

1)    Through options, preferences, choices built into the software

2)    Customization of forms and reports with a reporting tool

3)    Enhancements to the standard system based on your suggestions and requests

4)    Special features or unique business practices that require custom programming

 Will it keep pace with technology, compliance, security?

Does the software provider have a commitment to keep pace with technology, compliance and security both in the lab and with computers?  You only need to look back a short period in  time to recognize that change and progress are inevitable.  Evaluate whether the business practices of the developer provide for funding the dynamic nature of software.  Since we became involved  with software for dental labs, there have been 36 companies who have come and gone, typically because they did not have this commitment. 

Talk to others

Talk to others, if possible seek out those knowledgeable both in dental laboratory production and in computer software, ask the provider for references, but do not rely on these solely.  Labs that have chosen their system primarily on price or by copying the choice of one of their friends tend to be defensive about their selection.  Theirs may not be the best choice or the right choice for you.

Consider your budget vs. benefits

You will, of course, need to consider your budget.  Price has to be a factor, but  take care to evaluate your expenditure over the long term and the benefits it will provide.   Among the benefits to consider are greater speed and accuracy to:

                        Locate cases and case histories

                        Respond to customer requests

                        Comply with government regulations

                        Create accurate billings

                        Resolve issues

                        Spot trends in customer behavior

                        Reduce lost revenue from remakes

                        Measure productivity, costs, sales

                        Handle special preferences

                        Smooth workflow to meet request dates without overtime

                        Enhance customer relationships

 Be sure to protect your information 

 There are a number of ways you will need to protect your information:

                        From unauthorized access

                        Data entry errors

                        To meet HIPPA privacy regulations

                        From being sold without your knowledge

                        From internet hackers and malware

                        To prevent loss due to hardware failure, weather disasters

    

We have found that some labs think they are too small or insignificant to be a  target for data breach.  This is not true.  The nature of their business, their customer list, credit card numbers—all may be of interest to someone else.

 

When you are evaluating software, be sure there are substantial and up-to-date measures for protecting your data.  These will include backup and restoration  methods, authorization codes, privacy measures such as encryption, readily  available information and support.

 

Be particularly careful of software providers that base their fees on your volume of transactions or that have the software to easily be looking at your information for any other purpose.   In addition, be certain you can always access, control and take possession of your own datafiles.

 

Learn the history and business model of your software provider      

This step involves looking both backward and forward to learn both the history nd the future forecast for those providing your software.  Software is an entity that must be dynamic and responsive to support changes in technology, in compliance, in business trends.  Does the business model of the software developer provide for this, does it have the expertise and experience to do this, does it encourage or discourage adaptation?  Does the software reflect the practices of just one lab or of many labs?

 Are ongoing education and guidance part of the picture or do you have to learn and cope on your own?   Does the company direct most of its resources to selling or does it strike a good balance between developing software, training  and education, and marketing?  If you have a good idea for the software or want to try an innovative concept that needs software support, will this company be responsive to working with you on this?

Does this company want to serve customers of your size and specialty? Has it  shown a commitment to not only providing the initial software but also the modifications and enhancements that will surface in the years ahead?  Does the basic technology it uses provide for these adaptations?            

Software first, then hardware             

The capabilities of software and its ongoing support should be the first consideration, then hardware. Do not make the mistake of first purchasing new  computer equipment and assuming you will find software for it.   If, however, you want to continue to use computer equipment you already have, you will need to review whether your software choice is a match.

There have been a number of advances in the industry that promote greater compatibility between software, hardware and the operating systems that tie the two together.  For example, if software is based on Microsoft Windows, you can still use Apple Macs or run the software over the internet with desktop-as-a- service or remote access services.    

If you want to use special hardware such as barcode readers, cameras, image scanners or tablets, review whether your software choice can accommodate these.

Be discerning

 Be particularly discerning when presented with:

o   Promises that seem too good to be true such as free lifetime support

o   Vaporware—software said to exist and be proven but not yet developed

o   Statements that issues surrounding your system will never arise

o   Software whose chief attribute is cheap

o   Software that is very limited in the name of simplicity

o   Lack of security measures for your information

o   Offerings that do not address future changes and needs

o   Software providers you cannot visit who have only an internet address

           

If you have further questions…

You can contact the support team at Mainstreet Systems at:

Voice :            215-256-4535          Fax:    215-256-1594

Email:             support@mainstreet-systems.com

Skype:            mainstreet-systems

Web:               www.mainstreet-systems.com  or www.mainstreetsystems.net
     

Dental Lab Case Scheduling

DentaLab for QuickBooks – Case Scheduling

 

Overview

 

Almost all of the features of DentaLab for QuickBooks (DQB) are intuitive and very easy to learn and use. We find, however, that labs that have not had experience in scheduling cases with software often need extra coaching to help them get started.   This topic will discuss what information is needed, how items and tasks are scheduled for a case and the variety of possibilities for handling case management.

 

 

You will see there are very few requirements but tuning in to the options can lead to very efficient scheduling that serves to develop a case just the way the doctor wants it as well as assuring that it is returned in time for the patient visit.

 

 

To begin, DQB provides for several levels of case scheduling:

 

 

1)      By Critical Dates for case received, case start, case end, case ship and doctor’s request date, in which the system sets the received and start dates to the current date (allowing overrides), the user enters the doctor’s request date based on the prescription or a lab standard, then also enters the start, end and ship date.

 

 

2)      Automatic Scheduling, based on work center daily unit limits, schedule factors for difficulty/time and existing workloads, is the recommended method for greatest efficiency and for scheduling by task steps, rather than the whole case.  The task steps can be very broad or very detailed or anything in between.  This method sets the above Critical Dates for starting, ending and shipping.

 

3)      Manual Scheduling by the user, recommended only for special circumstances and adjustments, as this is the most time-consuming.   Manual adjustments can also take place after automatic scheduling.

 

 

Preliminary Information Setups

 

 

Before one can enter and schedule cases, there are several required tables of information that need to be setup.   In addition, optional tables of case-related information can be entered to provide for management control and speedier case entry.

 

 

The required tables are:

 

 

Customers:   the basic information needed for billing customers is established in QuickBooks and includes essentials such as name and address plus terms, taxation, payment methods, ship method.  Then in DQB, additional information can be added such as standard days to ship, doctor preferences by work center and/or item.

 

 

If working with group practices with multiple doctors under a billing account, you can also setup QuickBooks jobs for each one with separate shipping addresses.   In DQB, each doctor in a group practice will be treated as a separate customer with their own preferences and case tracking.

 

Items:  the basic item names, descriptions, type and default price are established in QuickBooks.  In addition, you can setup price levels for special pricing by item or percentage in DQB and assign a price level to a customer.   Also in DQB, you can assign a default work center, technician, and/or schedule factor to an item.

 

 

Work Centers:  this is the entity for which you will establish daily unit limits and track cases.   It can include one technician or multiple technicians, be considered a major department or a sub-department, it can be another lab to which you assign work, or an outsource company that performs all or part of the work.   When assigning daily units limits and schedule factors, you can establish your own measure for a unit such as a minute or tenth/hour, quarter/hour or any other interval of time.

 

 

Note that is you plan to assign technicians or implement barcoded technician productivity, you would also establish Employees in QuickBooks.

 

 

Prior to entering your first case, you should also review the Case and Invoice Settings under DQB Options to determine if you wish to change any of the default settings.  In the Holidays option, you can select holidays and other non-workdays on which you do not want to schedule work.

 

The optional tables are:

Case Status                        

Case Type                          
Holidays/Non-Workdays             
Lab Notes
Price Levels             

Ship Methods                    
Quality Control Issues   
Standard Procedures        

Tooth Numbers                  
Tooth Shades

 

Each of the optional tables serves a very good purpose for dental laboratories and you can choose whichever ones you would like to use.

 

 

We highly recommend the use of standard procedures, which define tasks by work center, item, and time, for the best management control and for speed when entering cases.   Details and samples for these and other optional tables can be found in the DQB user manual available from Help in the menu.

Case Entry and Scheduling

 

 

When you receive a prescription or work order for a new case, you can elect to enter its information from one of these places in the Cases menu:

 

Case List and Actions

New Case

 

 

The Customer List will automatically be shown.  You can also request customers by name, account, and various criteria as well as the alphabetic index.   From here you can highlight the selected customer and double click to begin creation of a case record.

 

 

From QuickBooks, the customer's credit limit and current balance will be examined by DentaLab for QuickBooks. If the balance exceeds the limit, an alert message will be displayed.

 

 

Near the top of the screen are the Critical Dates.  The enter/received date and start date are automatically set to the current date, but may be overwritten.   You enter the doctor’s request date based on the prescription or your standard lab turnaround time.  If not automatically scheduling, you would set the start, end and ship dates.

 

 

The New Case Entry process is broken down in steps aligned with these tabbed pages on the Case Entry form.  You can choose the ones you want to use:

 

- General Information

         Add Items

• Add Enclosures
• Preferences by Work Center, by Item
• Images
• Case Plans
• Materials
• Purchase Order
• Documents
• Technician Notes

 

 

It is in the Add Items tab that you build your case by selecting one or more standard procedures and/or one or more items.   When appropriate, you can also select quality control issues and assign technicians.  The case will appear in the grid.  From the grid, you can double-click any item to fine-tune it in any way or right-click to stop scheduling or rolldown a changed schedule.

 

 

When the case items have been specified and you are ready to schedule, simply click the Schedule button.   After the case is automatically scheduled, you can still fine-tune it if you wish.   We recommend that you use the automatic schedule option for the greatest speed and efficiency. The system will examine the master schedule by work center and date to find the earliest date with availability to complete the item. The system will bypass dates that:

 

- are established as non-workdays in the Holiday table

- are Saturday and Sunday dates unless specified as workdays in the Company table

- do not have a sufficient number of units available when the system reviews the number already scheduled vs the maximum limit.

To determine the number of units to schedule, the quantity or units entered will be multiplied by the schedule factor for the item. The default schedule factor is set to 1, but may be changed either in the item master record or at case entry. If the schedule factor is set to 0 (zero), this will result in no scheduled units being added to the schedule master for the item.

Note that you can also reschedule items or mark them as completed from the Master Scheduler or from the Extra Time Cases grid.   From Basic Lists-Work Center or the Master Scheduler, you can also fine-tune the daily limits by date or by week.

Once scheduled, here are some of the additional options available to you.

•  Mark Cases for Try-in/Finished
• Reactivate a Case
• Mark Items Complete
• Place a Case on Hold
• Show Work Ticket
• Print Work Ticket
• Case Materials Disclosure
• Invoice Case
• Show Invoice
• Print Invoice
• Delete Case
• Create Purchase Order
• Scan barcode for case tracking, technician productivity

Case Forms, Queries and Reports

 

 

Both from the Cases menu and the Reports Center, a large number of case-related reports are available for which you can select your own dates and other criteria.   Many of these reports are available in both detailed and summary formats.   Typically the reports are shown on the screen and/or printed, but from each report you can also select from a list of additional formats such as Adobe Portable Data Format (PDF), Excel, CSV.

 

 

From the Case List, you can also quickly retrieve cases through the Find options by date,  doctor,  patient and a host of other criteria.

 

 

The forms related to cases include:

Work Tickets                     
Case Labels                        
Quality Control Feedback

Case Invoices                    
Case Materials Disclosure

 

 

In addition to the standard choices provided by the system, customization is available for all forms and reports.

 

 If you have further questions…

 

You can contact the support team at Mainstreet Systems at:

Voice :  215-256-4535
Fax:       215-256-1594
Email:   support@mainstreet-systems.com
Skype:  mainstreet-systems
Web:     www.mainstreet-systems.com or www.mainstreetsystems.net