Bonterra Case Management

Formerly Apricot by Social Solutions

Apricot is great for use by a nonprofit organization looking to create a database to track all of their clients/projects. Forms can be created that cater specifically to what you need to track. Form creation is very easy. The reporting feature is also great and provides great data for us to use in our grants to seek more funding for future products.

I think that if there is a budget for this tool in your organization, it is very well worth the investment. I think Apricot is great for those who need to keep track of multiple clients/patients. It gives you the flexibility to create and design multiple forms and it makes reporting very simple.

We use this software a little differently than most probably do. We are a residential facility treating youth with trauma. We do not have users outside of our organization, however, Apricot is set up more along those lines, for outside users and referrals to different organizations, etc. It has been a little bit difficult to customize certain processes that are different from the traditional foster-home-type setting.

As a victim service provider, I have recommended Apricot to many other providers in the area. The ease of the system along with the ability to protect confidential information is extremely important. Apricot is ideal for these types of agencies.

It seems to be very well suited for client management, especially for large organizations where there is a need for clients to be able to set up their own profiles. If data metrics need to be modified regularly then it becomes somewhat difficult to change without losing data.

From my experience, Apricot is well suited for institutions with multiple locations. It has the ability to sort by programs and locations to keep data as separate or integrated as desired. It is also suitable for academic/enrollment settings. I currently use it at a domestic violence shelter and I don't feel it has the full functionality that we require. It is not flexible enough for us to capture all of the moving parts that go into running a shelter.

The software is perfect for customer intakes. We are able to download personal documents quickly. Case management is very thorough and efficient thanks to Apricot.

Apricot is a great database to use if you have the funds to be able to get enough users for what you want to do, can afford the support to make sure everything you're building is done correctly, and if, when you want to make changes, you have the support you need to do it correctly. I wouldn't recommend Apricot to brand new organizations because there is so much to learn about it and without the two tools I listed above, it would be a burdensome task to become fluent in it.

Apricot is well suited when identifying the most needed resources in our community. We can know the number of people who complete our programs compared to those who drop out. It also allows us the capability to adjust our intake forms based upon the type of information we need to gather for a particular program or project.

It is easily customizable to allow organization to capture and do what is needed. We've been able to launch new programs using Apricot, build surveys to measure pre- and post-program performance, track attendance, capture necessary information on jobs and quality of jobs, and get consistent feedback to allow us to better track our impact and progress.

Well suited for Service Agencies, Client and Service tracking, and also donor and volunteer tracking.
If you need special report themes/functionality for board meetings/community outreach, Apricot Core will not meet all of your needs.

Apricot (Core) will deliver a faster time-to-value for organizations that enjoy a higher level of process and data management maturity. This is because of its flexibility and almost infinite form configurations and design capabilities. On common maturity scales such as CMM-I, a Level 3+ organization will achieve a faster implementation and time to value than a Level 1 or 2 organization.

However, that does not limit Apricot Core to organizations that are more mature in the areas of process and data management maturity. With sufficiently thought-out organizational change management (OCM), implementation, and sustaining strategies, Apricot Core can be a catalyst to transform an agency into a data-driven and evidence-based organization.

It is worth putting emphasis on the need for well-thought-out OCM and sustaining strategies for the system. The system has the flexibility to support any workflow. With sufficient organizational change management and the right sustaining strategy, it will enable cohesive continuous improvement in standardizing and organizing the infrastructure to support your organization's goals.

If, however, the organization is not willing to commit to investing in these strategies, Apricot Core might not be the right platform. This is primarily why I've rated it a 7 out of 10 on how likely I am to recommend it to a colleague.

Apricot is well suited for tracking contact information, demographic information, attendance, and other details for individuals. We have not yet figured out the best way to integrate ongoing data points from surveys/assessments.

Apricot by Social Solutions is well suited for capturing implementation data and is less suited for capturing outcome data. Overall, it is a great continuous improvement tool.

If an organization is small and not planning on growing much, this could work well for an organization. Or if there isn't a great need for much more than storing case management notes and participant details, I might recommend Apricot 360.

This is a good platform for early childhood education and student outcome tracking. Apricot 360 has robust online interfaces and good user design and experience. It could have better integration with 3rd-party platforms, such as Hous8ng Management Information Systems (HMIS). Standard report options are solid, but having in-house expertise to customize and improve for your organization will be needed.

We are a small agency and until recently I've been the only Site Administrator so I've learned how to build our system on my own. The Apricot by Social Solutions Knowledge Base is a wealth of How-To information and their Technical Support Staff (available via chat from inside the application) are always friendly and helpful when I need additional assistance. Without that, it would have been a much more difficult process to implement, maintain, and expand the system.

Apricot seems to have a majority of the functions I was looking for in a case management database, including organizing workflow, linking household members to one household, built-in assessment tools, referral tracking, follow-up reminders, reporting, data visuals, import/export, mobile platforms, etc.

Apricot is also more affordable for smaller nonprofits and/or programs compared to other options.

While Apricot has functions that clients can access remotely, it does not seem to be the best option if this is something that your organization is primarily looking for.

One of the great appeals of Apricot is its flexibility and almost unlimited options for customization and innovation--all accessible by the organization itself. This is immensely valuable for non-profit organizations that may not have budgetary options to hire IT/database administrator personnel. However, this can also be a drawback--particularly if an organization creates a highly customized Apricot system that relies on regular administration and therefore will need trained staff, knowledgeable in the implementation of the system.

It is well suited for small companies with a lot of clients/consumers. It is definitely not suited for small businesses with a few clients, especially because it is expensive. It could be cheaper overall, especially since we build the entire forms ourselves. It is helpful that there are ready-made templates but I did not utilize any.

Apricot is well-suited for any size and type of service organization. It's customizable enough to meet any need.

Unless your organization has internal database engineering expertise OR you are able to fund a consultant to assist with the initial build, you will struggle. Also, Apricot is not configurable for Spanish language nor to accommodate DD/MM/YYYY date formats, or maternal and paternal last names. Therefore, no “canned” elements of the system—a major selling point that promised ease—could be used in our implementation.

Apricot has been a great case management software for our agency. There are not a lot of software options for homeless shelters, as most are geared towards educational programs. One of the biggest challenges is for each client that we see, we need to be able to read their entire story that is in text form like a book. Currently,
that option doesn't exist.

Captures basic and progressive data via manual input. Collects and retains data for reporting purposes. Follows case management standard protocols. Does not provide in-depth analytics; limited on what it can capture and how it translates into useable assessments.

From the very beginning, everyone I have worked with at Apricot has been delightful. I have appreciated their eagerness to find solutions and provide qualify customer service. There are never lose ends with a problem. The entire team is solution oriented and transparent.