Software evaluation

Private duty home care software buyer worksheet

For owners and operations leads evaluating software for non-medical personal care agencies: ask every vendor to demonstrate the same five handoffs, then compare the evidence.

This is a neutral evaluation tool, not a vendor ranking or a claim that every system supports these workflows. Use it alongside your agency’s requirements. For verified Rivana workflows and product boundaries, visit the private duty home care software page; that page is the product buying guide.

Give every vendor the same fictional scenario

A fictional non-medical personal care agency receives a signed inquiry for a new client. Agency staff must confirm caregiver clearance before scheduling. A visit becomes uncovered, a coordinator arranges replacement coverage, and the office later reviews the visit before preparing an invoice draft. Ask each vendor to carry the same fictional record through all five steps rather than switching to an unrelated screen at each handoff.

Use invented client and caregiver details throughout the demo. Keep real client information in agency-approved systems. Agree on the service details, clearance requirements and billing assumptions before the demonstration so vendors face the same conditions.

Score what was shown, not what was promised

0 — Not shown: No working demonstration of this handoff; a verbal promise or future plan is not evidence.
1 — Manual workaround: The handoff depends on re-entry, an off-system note or another manual bridge. Record who owns that work.
2 — Demonstrated: The vendor shows the requested handoff using the fictional record, including the relevant staff decision and traceable result.

Add the five scores for a total out of 10. A higher total reflects this demo only, not regulatory compliance or suitability for your agency. Keep unresolved requirements separate; a high score cannot cancel a critical gap.

Five-handoff worksheet

Record the evidence you saw, the role responsible for the handoff and the follow-up still needed. Use one worksheet per vendor. These notes stay on this page only; copy them into your agency-approved evaluation document before leaving or reloading.

1. Signed inquiry → schedulable client record

Show me: how the signed inquiry becomes a client record ready for scheduling, including the agreed service details and any missing information that would prevent scheduling.

Evidence / Owner / Follow-up — step 1Score — step 1

2. Caregiver record → agency-verified clearance

Show me: where agency staff review the caregiver’s required credentials, record the clearance decision and identify an unresolved requirement before the caregiver can be scheduled.

Evidence / Owner / Follow-up — step 2Score — step 2

3. Uncovered visit → accepted coverage and family update

Show me: how the coordinator handles this uncovered visit, records the replacement caregiver’s acceptance and records who updated the family and what was communicated.

Evidence / Owner / Follow-up — step 3Score — step 3

4. Visit record → office review

Show me: how the office reviews this visit’s timing and documentation, records a discrepancy and keeps it unresolved until an authorized staff member records the review decision.

Evidence / Owner / Follow-up — step 4Score — step 4

5. Approved visit → invoice draft

Show me: how this approved visit becomes an invoice draft and how the reviewer traces the draft line back to the visit and checks the billing details before release.

Evidence / Owner / Follow-up — step 5Score — step 5

Check EVV, payer requirements and payroll separately

Agency-specific EVV

List the EVV requirements that apply to your agency’s services and location. Ask for evidence of the required capture, exception handling and submission process, including any external system involved. Confirm acceptance requirements with the applicable authority. Office review of timing and documentation is not GPS verification or EVV certification, and this worksheet does not establish either.

Payer requirements

For each applicable payer, check required documentation, billing formats, approvals and submission responsibilities. Ask the vendor to identify any dependency and demonstrate the exact connection you need. Treat an unverified integration as an open follow-up, not a supported capability. An invoice draft alone does not demonstrate payer submission or acceptance.

Payroll provider handoff

Ask how reviewed visit records and corrections reach your agency’s authoritative payroll provider, who reconciles them and what format that provider accepts. Distinguish review estimates from finalized payroll. Rivana does not run payroll; finalizing pay, tax filing and deposits remain with the payroll provider. Confirm your actual handoff rather than assuming a provider integration exists.

Worked scoring example — illustrative

A fictional vendor demonstrates intake and clearance (2 each), uses an off-system family-update note for coverage (1), demonstrates office visit review (2), and requires manual re-entry to create the invoice draft (1). The total is 8 out of 10: 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 1.

For the coverage row, the evidence might read “acceptance shown; family update kept in a separate note,” the owner “coordinator,” and the follow-up “show how the next coordinator finds the update.” That open action still matters. EVV, payer requirements and the payroll provider handoff remain separate checks. This example is not a Rivana score, customer outcome or recommendation.

Compare the unresolved work

Review scores alongside the evidence and ownership notes. Ask each vendor to resolve critical follow-ups before a buying decision, and keep agency policy decisions distinct from software functions. To assess Rivana specifically, use the verified workflows and limits on the private duty home care software page.

Back to the Rivana blog