See how forward-thinking finance teams are future-proofing their organizations through AP automation.
The healthcare industry needs to use the right healthcare accounting software as a financial management system. An integrated EMR system should ensure HIPAA privacy and data security, handle operations, insurance reimbursement claims, and accurate patient or customer billing. But your healthcare organization must also efficiently pay supplier invoices and contain costs in a challenging environment to optimize results.
In this guide, the term healthcare accounting software includes accounting software and more extensive, company-wide ERP systems with modules to manage organization-wide processes in a unified database. Healthcare industry solutions for financial software also include third-party add-on integrations like AP automation.
What is Healthcare Accounting Software?
Healthcare accounting software is unified accounting software for healthcare organizations to streamline and securely perform financial processes with reporting and achieve regulatory compliance. Compliance includes HIPAA for data privacy, tax compliance, and global payments compliance.
Healthcare financial software seamlessly integrates with third-party systems to enable submitting medical claims to insurers. It also includes third-party automation software for making payments and managing accounts payable spending with increased efficiency and visibility for back-office processes.
The Need for Custom Accounting Software in Healthcare
The healthcare industry includes many types of organizations and businesses that need specialized accounting software for healthcare systems that can be customized to fit their requirements. Healthcare industry members range from hospitals to healthcare providers and dentists, skilled care facilities, home healthcare, life sciences companies, and medical device manufacturers.
Today’s Best Healthcare Accounting Software
The best accounting software for healthcare includes:
- Tipalti
- Sage Intacct
- QuickBooks Online
- NetSuite ERP
- Acumatica
- Odoo
- Microsoft Dynamics 365
- SAP ERP
- SAP S/4HANA
- Sage 100
Tipalti
Overview
Tipalti provides cloud AP automation software for accounting automation that streamlines and automates workflows and replaces manual data entry and paper-based systems with digitization. Tipalti’s employee Expenses software combines with AP automation. Tipalti also offers mass payments software for payouts to creatives, affiliates, influencers, and freelancers.
Expenses includes a mobile app for employees to submit expense claims using digitized data from photos of receipts and for authorized approvers to approve or reject those expenses not in compliance with company policy, then reimburse employees through Tipalti’s AP automation software.
Tipalti automation software uses accounting software or ERP integration that syncs financial data between systems. As part of its unified platform of financial automation software, Tipalti also offers Procurement software and advanced FX products for cross-border payments called Multi-FX and FX Hedging.
The Tipalti finance automation software platform is used in the healthcare industry by clinical service providers, health-tech companies, and medical device manufacturers for their back-office operations. Tipalti automation software reduces payables processing time by 80% and errors by 66%. It also reduces fraudulent and duplicate invoice payment risks. The accounting close may be accelerated by 25% because Tipalti automates payment reconciliation to the general ledger in real-time.
Features
Features of Tipalti AP automation software include:
- Self-service supplier onboarding and TIN validation, including contact information, collection of W-9 or W-8 form information, and preferred payment method (with necessary payment information)
- Tax compliance reports relating to suppliers and independent contractors
- Automated accounts payable invoice processing, including verifications and matching, automated generative AI coding to GL accounts, approvals routing and communications, and global payments to 196 countries using a choice of 120 currencies
- Automated global regulatory compliance
- Real-time automated payment reconciliation
- Multi-entity with multi-entity ERPs or accounting software
- Spend analysis by category for decision-making and Ask Tipalti AIâ„ for queries about spending
- Enterprise-grade security
Tipalti gives your healthcare organization the option to automatically eFile 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC forms with imported Tipalti payment data by using partnered Tax1099 software by Zenwork for an additional SaaS subscription price.
Tipalti’s customer support is excellent. Tipalti has a 98% customer satisfaction rate and a 98% customer retention rate. These stats signify very high levels of software acceptance and support.
Sage Intacct
Overview
Sage Intacct offers an industry-specific healthcare & hospital accounting solution as one of its cloud accounting software configurations. Sage Intacct medical accounting software is peer-reviewed by the Financial Management Association to ensure it meets their healthcare requirements. Sage Intacct accounting software is endorsed by the AICPA. Besides healthcare & hospital accounting, Sage Intacct offers a software solution for nonprofit healthcare organizations.
Features
- HIPAA compliant, using Advanced Audit Trail
- A dimensional general ledger for a slimmer chart of accounts
- Real-time financial reporting and dashboards with KPI metrics
- Accounts receivable and accounts payable
- Revenue recognition to comply with accounting standards
- Multi-currency, multi-entity financial consolidation with inter-entity eliminations
- Integrates with third-party software
QuickBooks Online
Cloud-based QuickBooks Online accounting and bookkeeping software for small businesses is enhanced with some third-party apps from its App Store to add healthcare accounting and finance automation features. QuickBooks Online provides optional payroll software that healthcare organizations can use to pay their employees. QuickBooks Online also offers an Accountant version for CPAs to review their client’s accounting or bookkeepers to keep the books.
QuickBooks Online doesn’t provide HIPAA compliance or the robust functionality of a costly EMR (electronic medical record) system used by medical practices. The low-cost QuickBooks Online accounting system can be configured to perform limited back-office functions like inventory management and inventory tracking. Still, it should not be used to enter personally identifiable information because it lacks features for complying with HIPAA privacy regulations.
NetSuite ERP
Overview
NetSuite ERP is a cloud ERP system for growth companies that are generally midsized or larger. NetSuite has industry-specific healthcare accounting software and other ERP modules for the healthcare and life sciences industries.
Features
NetSuite’s healthcare accounting software has these features:
- HIPAA compliance for the privacy of patient or customer data
- Customization for different types of healthcare or life sciences organizations
- Real-time dashboards with role permissions for visibility
- Real-time reporting and analysis
- internal controls and audit trails
- Integrates with third-party healthcare accounting systems and add-on software
- Integrates with NetSuite CRM or Salesforce for customer relationship management
Acumatica
Overview
Acumatica is a true cloud ERP system that can be used as business management and accounting software for healthcare organizations, although it doesn’t have a Healthcare Edition.
Features
- Core, fixed assets, inventory, and advanced accounting modular features
- Real-time reporting and dashboards
- Multi-entity accounting with intercompany eliminations
- Security and data encryption
- Customization
- Mobile app
- Seamless integration with third-party software
Odoo
Overview
Odoo is a low-cost, modular accounting software and ERP system that’s used in a wide variety of industries. Although Odoo doesn’t have its own in-house accounting software for healthcare, it can be integrated with a third-party app solution. Odoo integrates with third-party healthcare management software modules from Pragmatic Techsoft, Pvt. Ltd, a software company from India.
Pragmatic Techsoft offers three modules for Odoo Healthcare Management:
- Electronic medical record (EMR)
- Hospital Information System (HIS)
- Health Information System
Features
- Patient record system for quick access
- Hospital records and clinical management tools
- Automation
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Overview
The healthcare accounting software system that includes Microsoft Dynamics 365 is called Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. It’s a unified healthcare system consisting of Microsoft Dynamics 365, MS Power Platform, Microsoft 365, Fabric, and Azure that provides AI applications.
Features
- Microsoft Dynamics 365-based healthcare templates and applications
- Patient outreach and marketing automation
- Patient Portal
- Patient communication center
- Virtual appointment (with Microsoft Teams), with scheduling using Azure Health Bot
- Data exchange through integration with all patient data systems using FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) and APIs (application programming interfaces)
SAP ERP
Overview
SAP for Healthcare can be implemented with on-premises SAP ERP for large enterprises to include healthcare accounting software and comprehensive healthcare organization operations functionality with optional modules and third-party integrations.
Features
- Accounting, reports, general ledger, and financial statements
- Procurement model with sourcing and purchasing
- Human resources module
- Combined patient data access, billing, and care with information sharing
- Electronic medical record (EHR)
- Healthcare analytics
- Healthcare information exchange (HIE)
SAP S/4HANA
Overview
SAP S/4HANA is a modern, real-time ERP system with top-tier features and pricing. SAP Healthcare Solutions includes healthcare accounting software and modules for additional functionality throughout the organization.
Features
- Digital, real-time communication with patients or customers
- Real-time access to point-of-care data
- Unifies access to data for patient access, billing, and clinical care
- Real-time reporting and advanced analytics
- Simplified sourcing and purchasing processes for procurement
Sage 100
Overview
Sage 100 is on-premises or cloud-hosted ERP software that can be used by some healthcare industry organizations, although Sage Intacct may be a more modern cloud solution with HIPAA compliance for consideration. Sage 100 is used in various industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, and distribution.
Features
- Integrates with finance, HR, and EMR (electronic medical records) solutions
- Accounting, financial reporting
- Cash flow management
- Inventory tracking
- Distribution and manufacturing module tools
How to Choose the Best Software for Your Organization
The process for choosing the best software for your organization is as follows:
- Get feedback from key users, the CFO, and other stakeholders.
- Compile a list of must-have and desired features, security, and regulatory compliance needs.
- Look for a system that can be improved and completed with third-party integrations.
- Gain an understanding of the price range of needed systems.
- Create and get approval for a budget that fits your organization’s size and needs.
- Obtain pricing and evaluate the software under consideration by reading reviews and customer testimonials or contacting existing customers.
- Assess the software’s customer service satisfaction and customer retention rate.
- Choose the best software products.
The new software budget should include customization, data migration, system implementation, training costs and add-on third-party software integrations with your accounting software or ERP system. Third-party integrations like Tipalti finance automation software provide visibility, improve efficiency through automation, and help your organization control and reduce spending.
Tipalti Healthcare Industry Testimonials
Next, we present two testimonials with linked case studies for Tipalti finance automation software that’s used in the healthcare industry and many other industries.
Sensei Testimonial
Sensei, a company in the health and wellness industry, has been a Tipalti customer since 2018. With Tipalti AP automation integrated with NetSuite ERP, Sensei saved 40 hours a month on accounts payable workload and eliminated the need to hire additional financial resources as volume increased.
Our goal was to keep the team lean by implementing technology solutions that would grow with us—eliminating the need to hire more headcount. Partnering with Tipalti as our accounts payable solution was one of the best things we could have done. We’re developing our human capital internally as opposed to spending money on manual, error-prone, processes where people can’t keep up with growing volumes.
Courtney Santry, Controller, Sensei
Acuity Eye Group Testimonial
Tipalti’s customer, Acuity Eye Group, has been using Tipalti AP automation software integrated with NetSuite ERP since 2018. Acuity Eye Group reduced its 80% payables workload across 12 subsidiaries and 50 locations by implementing Tipalti AP automation with multi-entity capabilities.
Tipalti automatically processes invoices for all of our entities and provides a consistent vendor onboarding program—it’s a lifesaver.
Samantha Chi, Financial Controller, Acuity Eye Group
Summing It Up
Healthcare accounting software, including ERP systems and integrated third-party add-ons, must best meet the needs of healthcare organizations by going beyond their EMR functionality to manage complex financial processes, ensure secure data, and provide regulatory compliance and customization. This article describes some of the best healthcare finance software that your healthcare organization should consider.
Effective back office software integrated with your healthcare accounting software or ERP includes Tipalti’s healthcare accounts payable automation solution called AP automation and other products available in Tipalti’s unified financial automation platform.
AP automation expands basic functionality, adds controls, replaces manual processes with AI-driven automation and paperless digitization, and enables efficient global payments. Learn more about the benefits of using cloud-based Tipalti AP automation software integrated with your accounting software or ERP system.
