Monthly Burn Calculator
Add your tools, see your total monthly technology spend, and compare it against what's possible with a consolidated stack. Every dollar you save on overhead is a dollar you take home.
EMR / Practice Management
Typical range: $149 - $700/month
I pay $349/month for an all-in-one because it folds in billing, phones, and messaging. A leaner EMR plus separate services is just as valid if you'd rather not put everything with one vendor.
Billing Service
Typical range: $500 - $2,500/month (or 4-8% of collections)
Integrated billing engines have gotten good enough that many solo docs can skip the separate service. If you have a biller you trust at a fair rate, keeping them is a legitimate call.
Phone / Answering
Typical range: $200 - $800/month
An AI phone agent (mine comes bundled with my EMR) or a modest answering service. Whatever you do, don't pay $800/month for this.
Patient Communication
Typical range: $100 - $400/month
Works best when it's built into your EMR. Standalone tools create data silos and ask patients to download yet another app.
Internet
Typical range: $80 - $200/month
Business-grade primary + cellular backup. Redundancy is worth the cost.
Fax
Typical range: $20 - $50/month
SRFax at $30/month. Simple, reliable, HIPAA-compliant.
Security
Typical range: $0 - $50/month
Bitwarden ($10) + Cloudflare Zero Trust (free). Most security essentials are free or cheap.
Accounting
Typical range: $0 - $50/month
Wave (free invoicing) + QuickBooks Self-Employed ($15/month).
Website
Typical range: $0 - $50/month
Squarespace ($16/month) for a simple, fast practice site. Don't over-engineer it.
| Approach | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | Tools to Manage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Separate tools, picked without a plan (what I used to run) | $2,500 - $4,000 | $30,000 - $48,000 | 6 - 10 |
| Lean best-of-breed (cheap EMR + biller you trust + a few small tools) | $700 - $1,200 | $8,400 - $14,400 | 4 - 6 |
| All-in-one EMR + a few small tools (what I run now) | $500 - $700 | $6,000 - $8,400 | 3 - 5 |