LOOKING FOR A PPM ALTERNATIVE?
PPM vs. Zanda
A practice management system can really make a difference to the running of your practice. Whilst PPM and Zanda are both great options, there are some very different functionalities you should know about.
What’s the difference between
PPM and Zanda?
In a nutshell, Zanda gives you more features at a much lower price. If your practice would benefit from advanced two-way communication, a client portal for online bookings and payments, as well as robust integrations, then Zanda will be the best option for you. Particularly if you need to access your data remotely – see below to find out why.
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
Affordable Pricing
Practice management systems can really improve efficiency, and in turn increase profits, but affordability will always be taken into consideration when choosing the most suitable system for a practice.
When comparing the pricing of PPM and Zanda, the difference is quite substantial. With a starting price of £99 (GBP) per diary per month, a single practitioner with PPM will pay in excess of a practice requiring a 7 diary plan with Zanda.
In contrast, Zanda supports practices of all sizes by offering four plans based entirely on the number of diaries required, with each increment resulting in a lower price per diary. Every account benefits from access to all features, with the ability to add and remove diaries whenever needed.
See below for a full price comparison, or start your free trial today.
REASON #2
Client Portal for Online Bookings and Payments
Unlike PPM, Zanda offers a client portal, allowing clients to view their preferred clinician’s availability, then book, reschedule or cancel their own appointments, and even pay for them at the time of booking using our integration with Stripe. Requiring prepayments not only improves your cashflow, but also almost guarantees attendance.
Zanda supports adding a ‘book now’ button to your website or facebook page, with any appointments made through the portal requiring no approval from you, and automatically updating your calendar. You can of course set booking rules and select custom availability for online bookings!
You can even apply your own branding to really impress your clients; add your logo, a header image, and your brand colours, as well as include personalised instructions, a cancellation policy, and more.
PPM makes no reference to a client portal or online bookings, and their system does not support prepayments.
REASON #3
Streamline with Integrations
Zanda offers various integrations to improve not only your experience, but your client’s too, and we are always looking for new additions to improve our system even further.
As mentioned, through our integration with Stripe, your clients are able to pay for appointments via the Client Portal at the time of booking. Stripe also enables you to collect payments during home visits, and allows clients to settle invoices via the portal.
Other popular integrations include Xero, providing simple and professional invoicing, and Mailchimp to maximise your marketing efforts and improve client relationships further with seamlessly automated emails.
It appears that PPM does not currently support any integrations.
REASON #4
Advanced SMS and Email Communication
Good communication can really improve the running of a health practice. Whilst both systems send automated reminders, there are some key differences to note…
Unlike PPM, Zanda not only sends automated appointment reminders, but also has inbuilt logic to process client responses, either updating the status to ‘confirmed’ within your diary, or allowing the client to cancel, greatly reducing the amount of time spent on administration, and providing you with an accurate and up-to-date schedule.
Zanda also facilitates advanced two-way SMS messaging with clients, all from within the app. Messages are conveniently grouped together to allow for seamless conversations, and for clients it will just seem like a normal text chat.
Additionally, you are able to send and receive emails, allowing practitioners to easily share reports with referrers or third parties, as well as provide feedback.
REASON #5
Access From Anywhere
Zanda is a web-based software, which means that customers can access their account from anywhere using a computer, tablet or smartphone – all you need is an internet connection.
PPM however requires software to be downloaded to a PC or Mac, and whilst there is a hosted cloud solution, it can only be accessed remotely via a device which supports their remote desktop app, which does not appear to be compatible with devices such as a mobile phone or tablet.
Zanda has been designed and tested to work well across all device types and practitioners love being able to access the information they need, from wherever they are.
REASON #6
In-Platfrorm Practice Operations Manual
Zanda’s Practice Operations Manual includes a core set of done-for-you policies and procedures developed by a team of industry experts, it covers everything your practice needs to operate. Plus, it’s easy for you to edit, delete and archive the existing policies and add policies of your own.
It’s all available to you at no additional cost when you start with Zanda. PPM doesn’t offer this feature, in fact, no other practice management system does.
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 PPM?
Here’s a chart where you can make a fair assessment…
| Zanda vs. PPM | Zanda | PPM |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | ||
| Price for 1 practitioner (per week) | Prices start at £22.85 (£99 / month) | |
| Price for 3 practitioners (per week) | N/A | |
| Price for 7 practitioners (per week) | N/A | |
| Price for 15 practitioners (per week) | N/A | |
| Price for 30 practitioners (per week) | N/A | |
| Calendar management | Choose from multiple appointment types with colour coding. Able to set appointment flags to show booking status. Can support multiple locations and flexible recurring availability patterns. | Yes, but very limited functionality compared with Zanda. |
| 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, but responses do not update the booking status within the calendar. |
| 2-Way SMS chat | 2-Way SMS chat supported with clients, colleagues and third parties from the SMS panel within the app. Messages grouped together into conversations. | |
| Telehealth | There is no remote system for video consultations with PPM. | |
| Online Forms | Maximise use of appointment time by sending online forms prior to bookings. Accessible via a unique link within an email or SMS, collecting data and signatures. Set notifications to flag when forms are completed. | There is no mention of online forms on PPM’s website. |
| Client management system | There is no mention of online forms on PPM’s website. | |
| Treatment notes | Over 100 specialised and fully customisable templates. Create and store multiple templates according to requirements. Easily duplicate previous notes, and view full edit history of templates. | Ability to scan or import documents, results, x-rays and MRI/CT/ultrasound scans, but it appears that treatment notes are not supported. |
| Online bookings | Online bookings can be made via the portal, automatically updating the diary. Apply branding to the booking portal, including colours, a logo and a header image. A booking link can be added to a website or facebook. | Online bookings do not appear to be supported by PPM. |
| Waitlist | ||
| Invoices & payments | Fully integrated invoicing, enabling invoices to be sent directly to clients via the app. Able set calendar alerts to flag clients with outstanding payments, and alert practitioners of new bookings made by clients with unsettled invoices. Also able to block clients from booking until fully settled. Integrates with Xero and Stripe. | Yes, but very restricted functionalities compared with Zanda. Unable to send invoices directly to clients – must be downloaded as a PDF and manually sent via external email. No integrations available with external invoicing or payment processing programs. |
| Credit card processing | Payments can be required and processed at the time of booking online, during home visits, and directly through the client portal. | |
| Reports & analytics | Yes, but limited reporting options compared with Zanda. | |
| Money-back guarantee | ||
| Data import service | Comprehensive data import service free of charge. | |
| 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 April 2020.
*Pricing with current special offer available until the end of this month.
All prices are in GBP.
You can see why Zanda is trusted by thousands of practitioners.
Try Zanda for Yourself!
Here’s what Zanda Clients are Saying…
“My clients love making appointments through our Client Portal… some wake up with pain in the middle of the night, and they grab their iPad or Tablet and book a time that suits them!”
Tony Logan-Stevens,
Remedial Massage Therapist,
Hands from Heaven
“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. My favourite features include; Automated client messages, Financial reporting, and Customer service excellence.”
Sally Chantler,
No Regrets Laser Tattoo Removal
“Love Zanda – easy to use /navigate for both myself & my clients. Clients love the reminder text messages. I don’t have a web page, but I was still able to set up the diary & my clients found it easy to access & the convenience of booking themselves in. Thank you for making it easy for me.”
Michelle Rademaker,
Remedial Massage,
Michelle Rademaker Therapies
“Great easy booking system – love that I can do reports, store patient notes, send emails, invoices and write letters. Has made my business seamless!”
Sarah Sealey,
Physiotherapist,
Amity Physio Pilates
“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
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Still need a hand deciding?
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You can contact us through email, online chat, or access our knowledge base.
Or check out more information here:
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