LOOKING FOR A COUNSOL ALTERNATIVE?
CounSol vs. Zanda
Finding the best practice management system to meet the unique needs of your business can be complicated and time consuming. CounSol and Zanda both offer great features and functionalities, but there are some important differences you should consider.
What’s the difference between
CounSol and Zanda?
If two-way SMS communication and a robust reporting function are important for your practice, not to mention competitive pricing with a money-back guarantee, then Zanda is the best choice for you. Particularly if you need the ability to send bulk SMS or emails to update your clients on changing hours or promotions.
Below we’ve explored the main differences between the two systems, to help you make an informed decision.
See Why Health Practices Love Zanda
1,000+ Reviews
Zanda is great for managing group sessions and the only software I found that allows this function. Excellent customer service also!
Therese Ryan,
Top Talking Speech Pathology
It’s been the best program to use. It makes life a whole lot easier. Especially when it comes to the messaging service.
Raymond Inkpen,
Principal Clinical Psychologist
Psi Balance Psychology
Best value for money and very convenient! We’ve used Zanda since 2015. It’s a lot better than other providers.
Prakash Rathnam,
Inspire Physio Care
Best decision! It’s been a godsend using such a fabulous electronic diary and management software. It’s so easy to use.
Judy Burzacott,
Remedial Massage Therapist
Connective Energetics
I’ve used a number of different practice management systems and there’s no doubt that Zanda is best in class.
Dr. Ryan Kaplan, Clinical Psychologist
Be Psychology and Mental Health
Excellent! Easy to use and train staff in its use. Far easier and nicer to use than software we’ve previously used.
David Walker,
David Walker Podiatry
Your service as always is amazing. Zanda is a pretty fantastic system – especially with the integration to Xero!
Carla Rogers,
Here and Now Health
Absolutely love Zanda! It’s simple to use and makes my life easy. Cannot recommend this enough to allied health professionals.
Alison Wheatley,
Byford Physiotherapy
It saves us lots of time in generating reminders and invoices for clients. It’s great for our business and reasonable in price.
Amy Clift,
Play on Words Speech Pathology
Zanda solves a lot of problems – we’re very happy. Very customisable. Great customer support from the onset.
Andy MacKellar,
Ships Physio
It saves us lots of time in generating reminders and invoices for clients. It’s great for our business and reasonable in price.
Amy Clift,
Play on Words Speech Pathology
Best decision! It’s been a godsend using such a fabulous electronic diary and management software. It’s so easy to use.
Judy Burzacott,
Remedial Massage Therapist
Connective Energetics
Why should you choose Zanda?
REASON #1
Zanda Simply Costs Less
We understand that for most business purchases, price is a significant factor, and at Zanda we’re working to support your practice’s growth by keeping our prices as low as possible while still providing you with the best possible system.
What you’ll find when you compare our pricing to CounSol, is that Zanda costs significantly less, especially for practices with more than one provider.
To demonstrate the potential cost-saving, see below for a detailed comparison of costs associated with both systems. From these comparisons, you’ll see that Zanda is actually substantially less expensive, particularly when more practitioners are required.
REASON #2
SMS and Email Communication
Good communication can drastically improve the running of a practice, be it with clients, colleagues or other healthcare providers. Although both CounSol and Zanda support SMS messaging, only Zanda gives you seamless two-way SMS conversations with clients, all from within the app. CounSol has SMS capability, but it’s only one-way.
Plus, CounSol doesn’t support bulk SMS or email for communications such as promotions or updating clients about a change of address or operating hours, while Zanda does.
In addition, Zanda has an integration with Mailchimp, the world’s largest marketing automation platform. This integration allows you to create professional email campaigns to build your practice and stay at the forefront of clients’ and referrers’ minds. Mailchimp is free for up to 2,000 contacts, so you can market your practice without paying for an additional service. This integration is unavailable to CounSol customers.
REASON #3
In-Practice Operations Manual
Zanda’s in-platform Practice Operations Manual includes a core set of done-for-you policies and procedures developed by a team of industry experts with over 50 years of practice management experience- the manual covers everything your business needs to operate. We’ve made it easy for you to edit, delete and archive the existing policies- and even add policies of your own.
The best part is, it’s all available to you at no additional cost when you start with Zanda. CounSol doesn’t offer this feature, in fact, no other practice management system does. At Zanda, our goal is to give you tools that help you spend less time on admin so that you can spend more time doing the things you love.
REASON #4
Reduce No-Shows with Auto Appointment Confirmations
While both Zanda and CounSol offer automated appointment reminders, only Zanda has the ability to automatically update client appointment confirmations directly into your calendar. This feature saves your practice both time and money, reducing the effort that you put into confirming appointments and dealing with the impact of no-shows.
REASON #5
Flexible Reporting
Zanda’s robust reporting feature includes over 26 intuitive and flexible reports. You can quickly run reports on client retention, referrals and financial details, so that you can access the data you need, right when you need it. Ensure that your practice is running smoothly with reports that segment referral trends, marketing campaign logs, and recurring appointment or session expiration. In a matter of seconds, you’ll know exactly how your practice is performing, and where you need to improve.
While CounSol offers reports, you’ll find that the functionality is limited when compared to Zanda, and is focused primarily on financial reporting.
REASON #6
Video Tutorials
Switching to a new practice management system can be exciting, with new features and functionalities that you can’t wait to use! But if you don’t have the support you need, the experience can quickly become frustrating.
At Zanda, we want you to be confident not just in our software, but also in the continuous support and guidance you’ll receive as a Zanda customer. You’ll have our expert support team on hand via email or live-chat to answer any questions, plus our Video Tutorials and Knowledge Base, filled with help articles to guide you through every feature and function we offer. These articles are continuously refreshed to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information possible.
Like Zanda, CounSol provides free support for existing customers and an article database with tutorials. However, CounSol doesn’t offer video tutorials on their website, and they don’t offer tutorials on their YouTube channel.
No risk with our Money-Back Guarantee
Yes, you read that right! Simply start your account now, and if at any point over the next 12 months you decide Zanda isn’t right for you, just let us know. We’ll refund 100% of any subscription fees you’ve paid.
Still not sure whether to choose
Zanda or CounSol?
Here’s a chart where you can make a fair assessment…
| Zanda vs. CounSol | Zanda | CounSol |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with access to all features including SMS messaging, no credit card required | 14 day free trial, no credit card required |
| Price for 1 practitioner (per week) | Standard: $15/week ($10.40 current promotion) Premium: $18.50/week ($13.80 current promotion) | |
| Price for 3 practitioners (per week) | Standard: $31/week ($16.50 current promotion) Premium: $39/week ($34.60 current promotion) | |
| Price for 7 practitioners (per week) | Standard: $63.45/week ($58.80 current promotion) Premium: $80.80/week ($76.10 current promotion) | |
| Price for 15 practitioners (per week) | Standard: $128.10 ($123.50 current promotion) Premium: $163.80/week ($159.20 current promotion) | |
| Price for 30 practitioners (per week) | Standard: $249/week ($244.60 current promotion) Premium: $319.60/week ($315 current promotion) | |
| Calendar management | ||
| SMS & email reminders | Send up to 3 SMS and email reminders per appointment, with flexible sending times. Responses auto-update appointment status within the diary. | Yes, able to send automated SMS and email reminders No ability to auto-update appointment responses. |
| 2-Way SMS chat | Seamless two-way chat from within the app. Messages are grouped together into conversations for added convenience. | One-way text messages with custom text. |
| Telehealth | ||
| Notification When Online Forms are Submitted | Practitioners must enable the “Review and Sign” setting. | |
| Client management system | ||
| Email Marketing | Notify clients of holiday hours, and upcoming specials or send newsletters. | |
| Online bookings | Online bookings can be made via the portal which can be embedded into your website with code. Appointments automatically update the calendar. Clients may cancel appointments online. | Online bookings can be made via the portal which can be embedded into your website with code. Appointments automatically update the calendar. Clients may cancel appointments online. |
| Waitlist | ||
| Invoices & payments | Fully integrated invoicing. Able to set calendar alerts flagging new outstanding payments, and alert practitioners of new online bookings with clients with outstanding invoices. Also able to block clients from booking until payments are fully settled. Integrates with Xero for invoicing and accounting and Stripe for online payment processing. | Keeps track of payments received and alerts users to any pending invoices. |
| Credit card processing | Integrates with Stripe. Request and process payments at the time of booking online, during home visits or Telehealth appointments. Clients are also able to pay directly through the client portal. | Integrates with CardConnect |
| Reports & analytics | Offers 26 different reports. | Offers reports for payments, invoices and outstanding invoices. Does not offer system or client reports. |
| Money-back guarantee | ||
| Data import service | Comprehensive data import service free of charge. | CounSol will help create an import template that users complete and upload themselves. |
| Practice Operations Manual | This industry-first feature provides a core set of policies and procedures that are ready to use and easily adapted to your practice. |
*This comparison article reflects information available as of February 2022.
*Pricing with current special offer available until the end of this month.
All prices are in USD
You can see why Zanda is trusted by thousands of practitioners.
Try Zanda for Yourself!
Here’s what Zanda Clients are Saying…
“The most value for money asset in my massage business. Online booking, bulk email and automatic appt reminders are just a few of the great features.”
Julanne Rafter,
Remedial Massage Therapist,
Sol Bodyworks Remedial Massage
“Very easy to use. Interfaces with Xero, and Medicare and MailChimp. So convenient to use from an iPhone or iPad too!”
Amanda Mannes,
Dietitian & Nutritionist,
Accept Health
“Quick and Easy! Makes payments and Medicare rebates so simple and fast you might rethink your need for an admin assistant. I did.”
Dr. Alanda Thompson,
Sunshine Psychology
“Very simple to use. The support has been prompt and helpful. Clear interfaces. Would recommend to any similar business.”
Antony Choice,
Sports Massage & Injury Management Clinic
“Zanda is my virtual business partner! As a sole trader I need a CRM that I can trust, one that gives me the functionality necessary to manage my diary, client communications and financial reporting. PD gives me all this plus insights, trends and the ability to view my business from every angle, and help inform direction and investment. My favourite features include; Central depositary for all client data, Automated client messages, Financial reporting, Personalisation functionality, and Customer service excellence.”
Sally Chantler
No Regrets Laser Tattoo Removal
Happy customers are our lifeblood. We’d love you to join us.
Still need a hand deciding?
The Zanda support team is ready to help!
You can contact us through email, online chat, or access our knowledge base.
Or check out more information here:
See customer reviews for Zanda
Learn about our practice management system
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