Vendor-neutral cost planning
Compare the total cost of MRR software, not just the quoted subscription.
Put every finalist on the same three-year cost horizon. Record one-time charges, recurring fees, variable costs, internal work, renewal assumptions, and the cost of leaving before you compare totals.
A headline price rarely describes the whole operating model. This worksheet gives independent consultant pharmacists and small consultant pharmacy practices a consistent set of cost lines to confirm in writing with each vendor.
Set the comparison first
Use one scenario for every vendor.
Write the operating assumptions once, then require every quote and demonstration to answer the same scenario. Otherwise, a lower total may simply reflect missing scope.
Fix the workload assumptions
Record the facilities, typical monthly reviews, users or roles, data sources, report recipients, and support hours that every option must cover.
Separate confirmed and estimated costs
Mark each amount as quoted, contract-confirmed, internally estimated, or unknown. Do not silently convert an unanswered question to zero.
Value internal work consistently
Use one hourly value for comparable setup, administration, reconciliation, training, and recurring manual work across all finalists.
Cost-line worksheet
Capture the charges and work that can change the decision.
Enter the amount, billing basis, timing, and source of the answer for each line. Add a practice-specific row when a finalist changes a cost outside the software contract.
| Cost area | What to enter | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription or license | Base fee, billing period, minimum commitment, included scope, and first renewal date. | What usage, facility, record, module, or role can change the price? |
| Implementation and configuration | Setup, workflow design, templates, permissions, reporting configuration, and project management. | Which setup tasks are included, capped, optional, or assigned to the practice? |
| Data migration or conversion | Extraction, mapping, conversion, attachments, history, corrections, test loads, and reconciliation support. | What data and history are excluded, and what triggers another fee? |
| Interfaces and data exchange | Build, testing, recurring connection, transaction, maintenance, and source-system charges. | Who pays each party, and what happens when a data source or specification changes? |
| Training and adoption | Initial and later training, travel, materials, recorded sessions, and internal practice time. | Which roles, sessions, environments, and follow-up help are included? |
| Support and service levels | Support tier, premium help, after-hours coverage, response targets, and professional services. | Which problems are covered by support and which become billable services? |
| Devices, hosting, and local technology | Required hardware, browsers, networks, remote access, local hosting, backups, or third-party services. | Which technical responsibilities remain with the practice or facility? |
| Practice administration | Time for user access, templates, facility setup, data checks, issue tracking, and vendor coordination. | What recurring administration remains after implementation? |
| Manual workflow outside the product | Repeat data entry, report assembly, file transfer, status tracking, follow-up, and reconciliation time. | Which steps did the demonstration prove are shorter, and which still happen elsewhere? |
| Renewal and growth | Published or quoted renewal basis, planned volume changes, added services, and likely expansion work. | When can pricing or scope change, and what notice or approval applies? |
| Contingency and downtime | Temporary process, recovery testing, retained access, duplicate work, and catch-up time. | What must the practice fund or operate when the service or a data source is unavailable? |
| Export and exit | Notice, termination, data export, report archive, vendor assistance, validation, and transition overlap. | What formats, history, timing, access period, and charges apply at exit? |
Keep the vendor's answer, evidence source, reviewer, status, and follow-up date beside each row. Leave an unanswered item marked as unknown. On a narrow screen, focus this table and scroll horizontally to see every column.
Fillable working copy
Three-year vendor working table
Use one copy per finalist. Type into the blank fields, then print or save the page as a PDF before leaving; entries stay only in this browser page and are not submitted or saved by the site.
| Cost line | Scope / billing basis | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Three-year total | Source / status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription or license | ||||||
| Implementation and configuration | ||||||
| Data migration or conversion | ||||||
| Interfaces and data exchange | ||||||
| Training and adoption | ||||||
| Support and service levels | ||||||
| Devices, hosting, and local technology | ||||||
| Practice administration | ||||||
| Manual workflow outside the product | ||||||
| Renewal and growth | ||||||
| Contingency and downtime | ||||||
| Export and exit | ||||||
| Vendor total | ||||||
| Reasonable high case |
Do not enter resident information or other protected health information. On a narrow screen, focus this table and scroll horizontally to reach every field.
Three-year calculation
Keep year one visible, then compare the full horizon.
A single total can hide a difficult implementation year or an expensive renewal. Show the calculation in layers so the assumptions remain reviewable.
Calculate year one
Add one-time vendor charges, first-year recurring and variable fees, internal implementation labor, and any overlap with the current process.
Calculate steady-state years
For years two and three, add recurring fees, expected variable charges, continuing administration, manual workflow, support, and known growth or renewal changes.
Add exit exposure separately
Show the known or estimated cost of export, transition help, retained access, and contract notice. Keep unknowns visible instead of assuming no cost.
Run a reasonable high case
Repeat the comparison with plausible volume, implementation, and manual-work increases. A ranking that changes easily deserves more investigation.
Before choosing
Four checks keep the cheapest-looking option honest.
The worksheet supports a purchasing conversation; it does not decide the acceptable workflow, clinical fit, security, or contract position for you.
Trace every number
Keep the quote, contract section, vendor answer, or internal assumption beside each amount and record how long that answer remains valid.
Compare identical scope
Normalize billing periods and confirm that each total covers the same workload, implementation tasks, data history, support, and exit deliverables.
Do not book promised savings
Treat a time-saving statement as a hypothesis until a representative demonstration or pilot shows which steps actually change.
Read cost with requirements
A lower total is not useful when the option misses a must-have workflow or leaves an unacceptable responsibility outside the system.