Q: I understand that you will convert the data from my present program to your (Stratford) program free. Is that correct?

A: NO. We must charge for any labor we do.

Q: You do not now have a conversion program for my data (I emailed and that was what I was told). I have entered a lot of data into my present program and I don't want to re-enter the data. Can you convert it to your (Stratford) program?

A: Yes, probably. We can write a custom program to convert your data. Our charges for this range from $1500 for conversion of patient demographic information only to $3500 or more for a full conversion with transactions and our best effort to get the A/R to balance with the A/R in your old system. We generally quote 10 working days to write the conversion program.

If you think you are interested, there is more information below. If you don't understand anything here, please ask as many questions as you need to ask in order to fully understand. We do not want to contract and pay a programmer to do a job and then find out that you did not understand this or that. If we contract and pay a programmer for a conversion, we are not able to get any of that money back and so we cannot refund any amounts to you. 

1. We must receive a copy of the data to be converted so we can give you a quote and an idea of the quality of conversion that we can do. You must send a full copy of the actual data to be converted. If we agree on a dollar amount and time frame, we will write the program with this copy of your data. If later, we find that you need changes, because of items that were not in this copy of the data, you will be charged an additional amount to make the necessary changes. If you do not wish to pay the additional amount, you will not receive any refund at all, not even one dollar, and you probably will not be able to convert your data to your satisfaction. This is why you must send a full copy of the actual data to be converted.

2. We do not write any code at all until we receive full payment in advance. Once we start writing the program, no refund of any amounts will be made. Converted data is almost never perfect. It is likely that you will NOT be absolutely, 100% satisfied. We have converted a lot of data from a lot of sources. We will do our best. We will try to give you an honest evaluation of the quality of the conversion at the same time that we give you a quote. If we start the conversion and realize that there is something that we missed on the initial evaluation that would make a material difference in the price, quality or time frame, we will tell you and stop working immediately and wait for your decision. You may decide to continue or not. If you decide not to continue, the contract is terminated and you will get a full refund of all amounts paid, and we will not do any more work. As of January 01, 2009 this has not happened, but we must leave ourselves a way out of a difficult or impossible situation. How could this happen? Often we convert 5,000 patients or more. We have converted more than 50,000 patients for a single customer. There is no way to look through that much data in advance and not potentially miss something. We can only look at a sample of the data. If you know of a certain patient or group of patients that have data that other patients do not have, please advise us so we do not overlook something that is important to you.

3. The time frame and price we quote will assume some things, of course.

• In most cases, we will want to attach the conversion program and documentation to an email. It is possible that we may have 2 or more programmers in different locations working on the conversion. We cannot have phone calls or mailed letters. This is extremely inconvenient for us and will cause delays that are not included in our quote. We will provide pre and post-conversion support by email for up to 45 days. 
• The data we receive will be used for writing the conversion program and a "trial" conversion.
• If your data contains a lot of codes that are specific to your old software program, we need to receive as much information as possible about those codes as soon as possible.
• When we believe the program is working satisfactorily, we will give it to you.
• You will do one or more trial runs and the "real" conversion on your computer.
• If you find a significant problem with the conversion, we will re-do it a reasonable number of times during the first 30 - 45 days. We advise you to do a "trial" conversion yourself and check the data to make sure you are happy before you do the "real" conversion. This will allow you to plan a "cut-off" date. Before the "cut-off" date/"real conversion" you should print all your statements and send out all the insurance claims. If something happens with the conversion that causes an unplanned delay in your bookkeeping, you want to minimize any negative effect on your cash-flow. We will do our best to help you get through any problems but you are responsible for keeping adequate backups and recovering any lost data.
• We cannot keep copies of your data very long. In fact, we will purposely destroy it after we believe that your conversion is finished. It is not our data and you cannot depend on us to keep a copy of your data for any length of time. After 30 days, the information will get "cold". People move onto other projects and forget many of the details concerning your conversion. The programmer(s) who wrote your conversion program may contract for another long term project so that he/she cannot continue to work on your conversion. This is why you need to know what your time frame is before you start. We cannot guarantee that we will do any more work on your conversion after 45 days.
• Once you get the conversion program, it will be yours to use. You may convert as much data as you want. You may convert data as many times as you want.
• If someone else has the same "old" software that you had, and they are a licensed Stratford user, you may convert their data also with no additional cost. If you require any additional support from Stratford there will be an additional charge. Keep in mind that the conversion program will be custom designed to convert the data that we were given by you and may not work correctly for other data. We have found that some software developers make custom changes for their customers. If this is the case with your "old" software, then a single conversion program may not work for more than one customer.

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Last modified: 09/04/13