The aged care sector faces a litany of challenges that the majority of other industries will not have to encounter. While people management is never easy, managing people who are at their most vulnerable requires a different level of attention all together.
Financial management may not rank too highly on the priority list at aged care facilities, but undoubtedly it is an essential element of any professional and legitimate establishment.
Residents housed within facilities often require a level of care that’s sees everyday administrative tasks fall by the wayside, resulting in circumstances that can eventually become catastrophic to the financial stability of care providers.
Stuart Shaw, CEO of Victorian aged care provider Village Baxter, is well aware of the time and resources that can be lost due to use of improper financial management systems.
“Facilities need an integrated system to avoid double handling of data and to ensure the accuracy of data processing – enter other data once and it streams through the pertinent modules. They also need a package that is going to be easy to use for staff and that’s intuitive in its processing,” said Mr Shaw.
With the increased level of scrutiny currently being placed on the aged care sector, the frequency of unannounced spot checks will continue to rise. Forcing aged care providers to re-assess their current level of standards regarding policy, procedures and overall care.
While the standard of care being given to residents will be the main point of focus, the unannounced spot checks will also place a keen eye across the accounting and financial records of each facility.
Residents within facilities each require a varying and individualised level of care, these demands require staffing to be flexible. This ever changing approach to staffing requires a financial management system that has all the tools required to keep up with the inner workings of any facility.
Mr Shaw addressed these concerns for his facility by employing the use of AIM Software to handle financial management, due to their flexibility and capacity to tailor needs to suit changing legislatives.
“They may not be the biggest software provider but they are dedicated to the needs of the sector and the sector will always rely on software to meet the demands of the modern business and the demands of government and consumers,” he said.
The needs and nuances within the aged care industry require a level of attentiveness that you will not find with a generic service.
And that’s what makes having aged care specific systems in place so valuable.
Respect Aged Care, CEO, Jason Binder has long understood the added efficiency of industry specific software, and has utilised AIM Software within his organisation for the past 4 years.
“We are primarily a residential aged care organisation and have 9 aged care homes. We have tried multiple different aged care financial software packages and have found them to be too onerous and inefficient.”
“AIM is an important cog in our systems wheel because it ensures all of our aged care accounting requirements are met, at the same time as reducing overheads. We love it and can’t speak highly enough of the software,” he said.
Clients who utilise AIM also have access to the fully trained members of an after sales support and management team, as well as initial startup training and refresher courses.
So whether you’re an existing facility looking to avoid a crisis, or a start-up looking to progress in the right manner, when it comes to quality financial management software; You should set your sights, on AIM.