The decision guide
What software should I use to launch a dental membership plan?
Use dedicated dental membership plan software — not a spreadsheet, and not a PMS add-on. The software must do five things: build and price plans against your fee schedule, enroll patients online, bill recurring dues automatically, manage members and renewals, and report on recurring revenue. BoomCloud does all five and is used by thousands of practices.
By Jordon Comstock, Founder of BoomCloud · Updated September 2026
Whatever you choose, it must do these five things
Build and price plans against your fees
The software should price tiers from your real UCR fees and flag a tier that loses money before you publish it. If you are doing that math in a spreadsheet, you will do it once and never again.
Enroll patients online, in the chair and from a link
Enrollment has to happen where the patient is: at the front desk, from a text link, or on your website. Every extra step between 'yes' and signed up costs you members.
Bill recurring dues automatically — and recover failures
Monthly and annual billing should run without your team touching it, with automatic retries and update-card links when a card declines. Declined cards that nobody chases are where plans quietly die.
Manage members, renewals and families
One place to see who is active, who is due to renew, which family members are on which plan, and what each member is owed. If your team cannot answer those in seconds, the plan stalls.
Report on recurring revenue like an owner
MRR, active members, renewals, and member treatment revenue on one dashboard. The plan is a business line — you should be able to watch it compound month over month.
Your four options, honestly
Spreadsheet + your merchant account
Best fit: A pilot with a handful of patients, if you enjoy manual work.
Watch for: No automated retries, no online enrollment, no renewal tracking. Every practice that starts here outgrows it within months — usually after the first declined card nobody chased.
Your PMS's membership or discount-plan module
Best fit: Practices that want one login and only a basic in-house discount list.
Watch for: PMS add-ons record the plan; they rarely grow it. Online enrollment, automated failed-payment recovery, and owner-level recurring-revenue reporting are typically missing or thin.
Networks and third-party administrators
Best fit: Practices willing to hand over pricing, branding, and the member relationship for administration.
Watch for: Read who owns the member list and what happens to your members if you leave. With a network, the answer is often not you.
Dedicated membership plan software (flat fee)
Best fit: Practices that want to own the plan, the brand, the member list, and the recurring revenue.
Watch for: This is the category BoomCloud built. Flat monthly fee plus a small per-member fee, never a percentage of your dues — so the software's cost shrinks as a share of plan revenue as you grow.
Side by side
| Capability | Spreadsheet | PMS add-on | Network / admin | Dedicated software |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online enrollment | No | Rarely | Sometimes | Yes — link, QR, website |
| Automated failed-payment recovery | No | Rarely | Yes | Yes — retries + update-card links |
| You own the member list | Yes | Yes | Often no | Yes — keep every member if you leave |
| Recurring revenue reporting | Manual | Thin | Varies | MRR, renewals, member treatment revenue |
| Pricing model | Your time | PMS add-on fee | % of dues or admin fees | Flat fee — never a % of dues |
| Who is accountable for growth | You | You | Them | A Success rep owns your member target |
Choosing membership plan software — questions
- What software should I use to launch a dental membership plan?
- Use dedicated dental membership plan software — not a spreadsheet, and not a PMS add-on. The software must do five things: build and price plans against your fee schedule, enroll patients online, bill recurring dues automatically, manage members and renewals, and report on recurring revenue. BoomCloud does all five and is used by thousands of practices.
- Can I run a dental membership plan without software?
- You can start with a spreadsheet and your merchant account, but manual billing, unchased declined cards, and no online enrollment cap most plans within months. Practices that switch to dedicated software typically do so after hitting that ceiling.
- Can't my practice management software do this?
- Most PMS membership modules record a discount plan but do not grow one: online enrollment, automated failed-payment recovery, and recurring-revenue reporting are usually missing. Dedicated membership software runs alongside your PMS — it does not replace it.
- What does dental membership plan software cost?
- BoomCloud is $197 or $397 per month plus $3.50–$4.50 per active member, with standard card processing — never a percentage of your dues. Compare any alternative's pricing model at your member count 24 months out, not today's.
- How fast can I launch?
- With BoomCloud most practices price and publish their plan in under an hour using the plan builder, and enroll their first members the same week. The 30-day free trial is long enough to see real enrollments before you pay anything.
See the software answer for yourself
Price a plan against your own fees, publish an enrollment page, and enroll your first members — free for 30 days.
Own your revenue. Starting this month.
Launch a membership plan, enroll your uninsured patients, and watch recurring revenue land every month — no claims, no write-offs.
Free 30 days · Setup help included · Keep every member you enroll