Penelope vs. CentralReach

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Penelope
Score 6.7 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
Bonterra’s Penelope is a configurable and secure case management system designed to help social good organizations save time for their staff, improve data quality and reporting, and better serve and connect with their participants.
$400
per year per user
CentralReach
Score 5.9 out of 10
N/A
CentralReach, headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, is a provider of electronic medical record (EMR), practice management, and clinical solutions that enable Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and related behavioral health practices to deliver quality autism care for superior outcomes. The company supports ABA space with solutions including precision teaching, clinical data collection, scheduling, billing and learning management. Boasting users among more than 100,000 clinicians and educators,…N/A
Pricing
PenelopeCentralReach
Editions & Modules
Basic
$400
per year per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PenelopeCentralReach
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPenelope software is priced on a Named Active Users model, with a minimum of 25 users. There’s also a one-time fee for implementation of the software, and our Tailored Services team is available to quote on additional services as required.
More Pricing Information
User Ratings
PenelopeCentralReach
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(32 ratings)
8.8
(4 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PenelopeCentralReach
Likelihood to Recommend
Social Solutions
Even if Penelope by Social Solutions is useful for case noting and any other file management, coordination and reports, it is not user-friendly. It does not let you delete your mistakes easily, it does not let you go back, and all the other issues mentioned, which are minor, added too much for a system that is supposed to support your work. However, some of the characteristics have been chosen by the system administrator and are not Penelope by Social Solutions's fault.
Read full review
CentralReach
For an organization providing ABA service, there really is nobody else that even provides a remotely comparable service. It does have limitations and areas of the system that take more training or are less intuitive than one might hope, but their customer support representatives are generally really helpful and they are pretty quick to make updates to better serve their clients. They are incredible at finding efficient ways to reduce workflow, and while the product can be quite pricey, we have found that it has saved us at least 2 FT admin positions through the efficiency it has created and further frees up our clinicians so that they can focus in more on client outcomes. It's instrumental in our ability to scale our operations across locations. Even with its limitations, it's proven to be in a class of its own in the ABA world.
Read full review
Pros
Social Solutions
  • Provides time-saving features by automatically compiling data to an individual file from multiple areas.
  • Allows staff to be updated on important information in real time.
  • Provides a user-friendly experience and ease of access for staff with all levels of technical experience.
Read full review
CentralReach
  • CentralReach is easy to use once you get fully trained.
  • CentralReach helps us schedule our appointments, document our services, and quickly convert those sessions into charges to be billed to payors.
  • CentralReach is always evolving and implementing new features to keep up with client demands and the ever changing healthcare field.
Read full review
Cons
Social Solutions
  • The feature for the date of birth times out too quickly.
  • You can't upload any files that may have a symbol such as a . in their title.
  • The learning modules could be more concise making it faster to find the help you need.
Read full review
CentralReach
  • Scheduling module has its limitations
  • Instant Chat is not robust
  • The App is terrible!!
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Social Solutions
Penelope is saving us so much time and providing us with much-needed consistent regular data tracking and documentation. It has been a game-changer for our organization and we should have had it years ago. It has allowed us to have an efficient organized system to use daily in our non-profit agency.
Read full review
CentralReach
No answers on this topic
Usability
Social Solutions
Penelope has a lot of features and options which is one of the reasons why it is so great. With a lot of features also comes a lot of time to learn all of them. For someone who is part of the development and implementation process, it is a lot of learning to fully understand how everything works. This is good to know in advance when choosing a team to develop your database. The great thing about Penelope is that you can customize the features for each level of staff that will be using it so the staff only have access to the parts of Penelope that they need and will be using regularly. This makes the training process for staff a lot easier.
Read full review
CentralReach
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Social Solutions
Our support person with Penelope has been a dream to work with since day one. She is accommodating to our ever-changing schedule and has worked around us for training and Zoom meetings. She is always available via e-mail and is quick to respond to our many inquiries throughout the development and implementation process. Our Zoom meetings have been like talking to a long-time staff member. She explains things in a way that everyone can understand and will review with us as needed. She has been innovative in ways that Penelope can work for us and our needs and we have been so pleased with the support we have received.
Read full review
CentralReach
It was really good in the beginning and during implementation, now that they have been bought and are scaling support is lacking
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Social Solutions
Be sure to have a good team of staff that will be on board with the training and will dedicate time and energy to the process. You want to have people who are motivated and excited about the new program that you are investing in.
Read full review
CentralReach
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Social Solutions
Penelope is more controlled, well designed, and easy to use. We like that Penelope has some structure to it while having a decent amount of opportunities to be configurable to our own specific needs. Our staff finds Penelope easy to navigate and enter their data into the system in a reliable and easy way. We valued that at the time of purchase, Penelope was a Canadian company that understood our specific needs as a Canadian nonprofit.
Read full review
CentralReach
The user functionality is intuitive. The customer service is beyond other products which allows you to be more efficient and effective at using the system. Also, entering programming which is the primary use is very easy and also intuitive. Many parts of the system are connected which auto populate reports for our therapist. On the business side, the scheduling to billing is very effective.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Social Solutions
  • Created the need to hire temps to correct data incorrectly entered based on a poor initial setup.
  • Frustrated staff to the point many stopped entering services that were essential for receiving funding.
  • Gave me an excellent understanding of what happens when core functions are lacking.
Read full review
CentralReach
  • CR allows us to streamline across locations, share admin staff across locations and automate multiple processes that previously took administrative and clinical time.
  • CR actively seeks to continue to expand and refine their practices and products, and acquire related specialty services - a critical quality in a field that is evolving as quickly as ours is.
  • Using templates through CR and their scheduling and timesheet features ensures that we have an audit-proof system and that all sessions that we provide are in compliance with regulatory agencies for reimbursement.
Read full review
ScreenShots