Item: Bonterra Case Management
Rating: 7
Author: Tiffany Nicolette

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Apricot is being used across our organization. I am one of three administrators overseeing one of three programs. We are a social services organization. We work with confidential client information. Apricot provides us with the customizable privacy settings we need. Now we are able to share information across programs without compromising the privacy of clients.

Pros and Cons

Building forms is as easy as drag and drop!
Reports are fully customizable.
Privacy settings are easy to customize.

It's sometimes difficult to locate help topics in the knowledge section. I find I don't always know exactly what I'm looking for, so searching can be a pain.
I feel like Apricot has more strange glitches than other database systems.
While customization is a strong point, it takes pre-planning to build a database from the ground up.
Those who are not naturally tech-savvy find it very difficult to use and do not like that they cannot call a support line for assistance.

Return on Investment

Apricot allows us to customize our reports and get the exact information we need to provide to funders and grantors.

Program Delivery

As relatively new users of Apricot by Social Solutions, I do not believe we have had the chance to realize its full benefit. I do believe the customization of the reporting will ultimately allow us to tailor our programming as needed.

Diversified Funding

The customization of reports allows us to easily pull the information we need to ensure grant compliance. At the drop of a hat, we are able to create a custom report and provide investors and interested parties with hard data showing the impact of our organization.

Alternatives Considered

Although it was not found in the listing, we evaluated PeerPlace and are beginning to evaluate others. PeerPlace was more intuitive and did not require staff dedicated solely to database management. However, the product was not customizable.

Other Software Used

Microsoft Exchange

Likelihood to Recommend

If you're working with a group of tech-savvy people, this is a great option. Some of the people on my team do not pick up technology easily. When they have an issue or do not understand how to use a function of the program, they want to be able to call someone at Social Solutions to walk them through the problem.

Community

For our organization, I do not believe Apricot has made a difference in this area.

Remote Accessibility

Our use of Apricot has not changed over the last year.

Data Capture and Integrity

The fully customizable reports have enhanced the way we use data. We are able to make better, more informed decisions regarding our clients.

Built for Nonprofits

n/a

Users and Roles

3 - Apricot is used by case managers and administrative assistants.

Support Headcount Required

1 - We have one administrative employee who works with the data, builds reports and revises the system

Business Processes Supported

General case management
Track client progress
reporting

Innovative Uses

We have not had the staff to focus on innovation via Apricot

Future Planned Uses

We are not sure we will use Apricot in the future.

Likelihood to Renew

1

The customizable nature of this database is a selling point, but for a small organization like ours, it's is a hinderance. Unfortunately, we do not have the staff to focus full time on database management. For this reason, we are unable to use the system to its fullest potential.

Products Replaced

No

Key Differentiators

Price

The initial prices point was just right for us. As we used the system, we realized that many of the features we needed were al a carte. This resulted in added expenses, eventually making Apricot more expensive than other options.