What’s the difference between
PPS and Power Diary?
Both PPS and Power Diary are great options, but if you are looking for a portable software with a free online booking feature, two-way communication with clients, and all functions available when on-the-road, then Power Diary would be the best choice. Power Diary also offers better value for money in most scenarios.
Wondering how? Read on, or start your free trial today to see for yourself…
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Why should you choose Power Diary?
REASON #1
Web-Based Without Functionality Restrictions
Power Diary is a web-based system, so customers can access their account from anywhere in the world from a computer, tablet or smartphone – all you need is an internet connection. Every account has the same features and functionalities.
PPS differs in the way that it offers 3 main types of systems to choose from; PPS Online, PPS Offline and PPS Express. PPS Offline requires software to be installed onto a PC or laptop, and is designed to be used without an internet connection, PPS Online is fully featured but not compatible with mobile phones, and PPS Express is the portable, web-based version, specifically designed for easy use on mobile devices, but lacks some important functionality.
The differences in features and functionalities between the two are vast, including restricted email and SMS templates, reduced diary options, appointment types and corresponding charges, no online bookings, simplified billing, and more. See below for further details.
PPS does suggest the option to ‘Mix & Match’, but that increases the cost substantially.
REASON #2
Seamless Two-Way Communication with Clients and Healthcare Providers
Both systems offer SMS and email appointment reminders, but only Power Diary facilitates seamless two-way communication with clients – all from within the app.
With Power Diary, whether you need to remind a client to bring paperwork to their appointment, let them know the practitioner is running late, or reschedule an appointment, you can easily have a text-message ‘conversation’ as you would with a friend – all from within the Power Diary app.
Practitioners using PPS are able to send custom emails and SMS messages, but as mentioned, with PPS Express there are restrictions, with only one booking confirmation and one appointment reminder. With both PPS or PPS Express, messages with clients are one-way only, making communication much more limited.
REASON #3
Online Bookings with No Added Fees
Allowing clients to book their own appointments not only reduces the amount of time spent on administration, but also allows clients to book at their convenience. Both systems allow for online bookings, but with some key differences…
Only PPS charges a monthly fee of £20 to use the feature, equating to 50% of the monthly subscription fee of an individual PPS Online account.
New online bookings with PPS update within the calendar, but with a time-consuming limitation. Bookings are initially not linked to a client, requiring practitioners to manually match appointments with client records based on details within the booking. Not doing this would mean client-related merge fields would not be applied in booking confirmations and appointment reminders.
With Power Diary, new bookings automatically update the calendar and are linked to the client file.
REASON #4
Affordable Pricing
When comparing the pricing of PPS and Power Diary, there are differences with the pricing structure, as well as a substantial difference with the amounts. For very small practices, the pricing is similar (although Power Diary is still cheaper for the same feature-set), but PPS becomes a lot more expensive for larger businesses.
The pricing structure for PPS is also quite difficult to understand as there are 3 different versions of the software, and different add-ons that impact the price.
In contrast to this, Power Diary’s pricing is structured into 4 plan sizes based on the number of practitioners in your practice and the only extra charges are for any SMSs sent. With Power Diary, you have the ability to add and remove diaries whenever needed and peace of mind knowing that you have access to all features, without incurring any additional charges.
REASON #5
100% Money-Back Guarantee
At Power Diary, our goal is ‘Happy Customers Forever’, which is why every account opened is covered by our industry-first, 100% money-back guarantee, whereby if you decide within the first 12 months that Power Diary is not the right system for you, just let us know and we’ll refund all of your subscription paid to date, including SMS charges! You have the right to cancel your account at any time; no strings attached.
REASON #6
In-Platform Practice Operations Manual
Well-written policies and procedures are essential for any health practic but they can be time-consuming and expensive to create. When you start with Power Diary, you’re choosing the only practice management system with an in-platform Practice Operations Manual, including more than 100 policies and procedures designed to save your practice time and money. It’s accessible to all users of your system, and can only be edited by those with appropriate permissions.
When you start with Power Diary, our Practice Operations Manual feature is available to you right away. With PPS, there’s no in-platform Practice Operations Manual available. In fact, no other practice management system offers this.
No risk with our Money-Back Guarantee
Yes, you read that right! Simply start your account now, and if at any point over the next 12 months you decide Power Diary isn’t right for you, just let us know. We’ll refund 100% of any subscription fees you’ve paid.
Still not sure whether to choose
Power Diary or PPS?
Here’s a chart where you can make a fair assessment…
| Power Diary vs. PPS | Power Diary | PPS** |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | ||
| Price for 1 practitioner (per week) | £9 (£40/month) – PPS Online £3.50 (£15/month) – PPS Express Note: PPS Online is not accessible on smartphones. PPS Express is portable, but with reduced functionality. There is also another PPS Offline version which stores data on your computer. | |
| Price for 3 practitioners (per week) | £18.50 (£80/month) – PPS Online £10 (£42/month) – PPS Express | |
| Price for 7 practitioners (per week) | £37 (£160/month) – PPS Online £21 (£90.79/month) – PPS Express | |
| Price for 15 practitioners (per week) | £74 (£320/month) – PPS Online £41.50 (£179.40/month) – PPS Express | |
| Price for 30 practitioners (per week) | £143 (£620/month) – PPS Online £75.50 (£326.70/month) – PPS Express | |
| Calendar management | Option to sync with Google Calendar. | Unable to sync with mobile calendars. |
| SMS & email reminders | Send up to 3 SMS and email reminders per appointment, with flexible sending times. Responses auto-update appointment statuses. | Yes, but responses do not update the booking status within the calendar. |
| 2-Way SMS chat | 2-Way SMS chat possible between clients, colleagues and other healthcare professionals from the SMS panel within the app. | PPS does not allow for 2-way SMS chat messages with clients. |
| Telehealth | Fully integrated and free of charge for existing customers, as well as new customers joining soon. Simple to use, and no need to login or download any software. Compliant with all health standards (including HIPAA). | Yes, video consultations are available within PPS. |
| Online Forms | Create from scratch or choose from our library of fully customisable templates. Send a unique link via SMS or email for completion on their computer, phone or tablet. Responses, including digital signatures, are automatically saved and added to the client’s record. No downloading, printing or data entry required! | Downloadable and customisable forms are available for consultations, but these cannot be accessed by clients – eg as intake forms. |
| Client management system | ||
| Treatment notes | Over 100 specialised, fully customisable templates. Set up as many templates as needed for different types of requirements. Easily duplicate previous notes, and view full edit history of templates. | Yes, but limited pre-prepared templates provided when compared to Power Diary. Can create new templates, but unable to duplicate a previous note, or view the edit history of a template. |
| Online bookings | A booking link can be added to a website or facebook. Online bookings automatically update your diary. Branding can be applied to the portal, including colours, logo and a header image. | Yes, but for an additional monthly fee. The online portal is customisable with clinic branding and a booking link can be added to your website. Unable to apply a cancellation policy, or accept group or class bookings online though. |
| Waitlist | ||
| Invoices & payments | Able set calendar alerts to flag clients with outstanding payments, and alert practitioners of new bookings made by clients with unsettled invoices. Also able to block clients from booking until fully settled. Integrates with Xero and Stripe. | Yes, but restricted functionalities compared with Power Diary. Unable to set custom alerts to flag newly outstanding invoices, or set pop-up alerts when new appointments are booked by clients with unsettled invoices. Integrations with SagePay and Paypal. |
| Credit card processing | Payments can be required and processed at the time of booking online. | Credit card payments can be accepted at the time of booking online. |
| Reports & analytics | ||
| Money-back guarantee | ||
| Data import service | Comprehensive data import service free of charge. | Offers a free client import option from XLS spreadsheets, or a paid data conversion service (must contact for a quote). |
| Practice Operations Manual | This industry-first feature provides a core set of policies and procedures that are ready to use and easily adapted to your practice. |
*This comparison article reflects information available as of April 2020.
*Pricing with current special offer available until the end of this month.
All prices are in GBP and are rounded to the nearest £0.50.
**It should be noted that PPS contacted us and claimed the pricing comparisons here to be inaccurate, saying “we do not charge our customers per practitioner, our costs are baked on a concurrent user basis”. However their pricing page asks for the number of users required to calculate the monthly prices. We have sought clarification on this but have not been provided with different figures. To be clear, Power Diary does not charge for users, just for practitioners that will be booking appointments (so all admin users are free).
You can see why Power Diary is trusted by thousands of practitioners.
Try Power Diary for Yourself!
Here’s what Power Diary Clients are Saying…
"One of the things I most appreciate about Power Diary is that if I need help, I can rely on a fast, personalised response/dialogue that always solves my problem in an efficient manner."
Linda Lewis
Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist
CityPhysio
"Love Power Diary and won't be changing! Good customer service with quick and detailed replies. The online portal has saved me hours of admin. It's also easy to use and has multiple functions."
Dr. Defne Demir,
Psychologist
"Love Power Diary – easy to use /navigate for both myself & my clients. Clients love the reminder text messages. I don’t have a web page, but I was still able to set up the diary & my clients found it easy to access & the convenience of booking themselves in. Thank you for making it easy for me."
Michelle Rademaker,
Remedial Massage,
Michelle Rademaker Therapies
"Power Diary is my virtual business partner! As a sole trader I need a CRM that I can trust, one that gives me the functionality necessary to manage my diary, client communications and financial reporting. My favourite features include; Automated client messages, Financial reporting, and Customer service excellence."
Sally Chantler,
No Regrets Laser Tattoo Removal
"PD is going great!! I absolutely love it. We've changed practice management software twice this year. Then found Power Diary from an OT friend who said she used it. It suits what we need as a business perfectly :)"
Ryan Dreves,
Exercise Physiologist,
Physically Active
"Quick and Easy! Makes payments and Medicare rebates so simple and fast you might rethink your need for an admin assistant. I did."
Dr. Alanda Thompson,
Sunshine Psychology
Happy customers are our lifeblood. We’d love you to join us.
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