The verdict in three sentences
A London group of 4 dental practices and 22 dentists typically leaves 35 % of its private treatment plans unsigned, often more than 1.5 million GBP of proposed care never delivered over a year. Practice management software, at 150 to 300 GBP per dentist per month, handles the chair well but rarely the group view: cross-site diaries, treatment plan follow-up, practice comparison. A custom dashboard connected to that software (40,000 to 100,000 GBP from London agencies, 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA at Kolonell) fills the gap without changing clinical habits.
Where a multi-site dental group loses margin
The pattern is the same across London: each practice has its own reception team, diary and follow-up habits. Implant and restorative treatment plans are handed over at the end of the appointment, then nobody calls the patient back. The owner only sees consolidated figures at month end, practice by practice, in spreadsheet exports.
| Indicator | Group without consolidated reporting | Group with dashboard and follow-ups | Typical gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsigned treatment plans | 35 % | 22 to 27 % | 8 to 13 points |
| Average time to acceptance | 21 to 35 days | 10 to 14 days | cash flow |
| Chair utilisation | 75 to 82 % | 85 to 90 % | productive hours |
| Failed appointments | 6 to 9 % | 3 to 4 % | SMS reminders D-2 and D-1 |
| Monthly consolidation time | 2 to 3 days | automatic | owner time freed |
| Visibility on revenue per dentist | monthly | daily | faster decisions |
These gaps are 2026 estimates for mid-sized private dental groups, to be checked against your own exports.
Practice software, add-on or custom: 2026 costs
Practice management software remains essential: patient records, charting, imaging, NHS claims where relevant. The question is the reporting layer on top.
| Option | Upfront cost | Annual cost for 22 dentists | What it covers | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice software alone (market estimate) | 2,000 to 5,000 GBP per site | 150 to 300 GBP x 22 x 12 = 39,600 to 79,200 GBP | chair, records, billing | weak group view |
| Vendor reporting add-on (market estimate) | 1,000 to 3,000 GBP | 3,000 to 8,000 GBP | standard reports | little follow-up |
| SaaS recall tool (market estimate) | 0 to 2,000 GBP | 50 to 120 GBP per dentist per month | SMS, emails | no consolidation |
| Custom dashboard, London agency (market estimate) | 40,000 to 100,000 GBP | 6,000 to 15,000 GBP | consolidation and follow-ups | 4 to 6 months |
| Custom dashboard, Kolonell (medium app) | 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR, about 5,200 to 9,100 GBP) | maintenance 75,000 FCFA/month (about 1,370 EUR a year) | consolidation, follow-ups, alerts | UK GDPR hosting to plan |
Regulatory point: health data falls under UK GDPR special category rules, and the CQC expects robust information governance. The dashboard can work on pseudonymised data for reporting and fetch patient contact details only for follow-ups, with full audit logging.
Features that change the result
- Treatment plan follow-up queue: every unsigned plan at D+7 creates a task for reception, then an SMS at D+14 with a booking link.
- Cross-site diaries: a patient in Clapham can be offered a slot in Battersea if one opens up.
- Group dashboard: revenue, plan acceptance and chair utilisation by practice and by dentist.
- Alerts: a chair under 70 % for the week, a dentist whose acceptance rate drops.
- Finance simulator: monthly instalment over 12 or 24 months shown for plans above 2,500 GBP.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: James, owner of a group of 4 dental practices in south London, 22 dentists. Each month, 330 private treatment plans are issued at an average of 1,500 GBP. At 35 % unsigned, 115 plans and 172,500 GBP of care sit pending every month.
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If structured follow-up recovers only 10 % of those plans, that is about 11 plans and 17,250 GBP of monthly revenue, or around 207,000 GBP a year. The custom dashboard at 7,000,000 FCFA (about 9,100 GBP) plus roughly 1,200 GBP of annual maintenance pays back within one month of recovered revenue, before counting the drop in failed appointments.
FAQ
How much does software for a multi-site dental group cost?
Practice software costs 150 to 300 GBP per dentist per month, so 39,600 to 79,200 GBP a year for 22 dentists. A custom reporting dashboard costs 40,000 to 100,000 GBP from London agencies, and 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR) at Kolonell.
Do we need to change our practice software?
No, the dashboard connects to the existing system through scheduled exports or an API, depending on the vendor. Dentists keep their chairside routine; only the reporting layer changes.
Is patient data handled compliantly?
Health data must be hosted in the UK or EU with UK GDPR safeguards, which typically adds 80 to 350 GBP a month depending on volume. Access is named and logged, in line with CQC information governance expectations.
Do SMS reminders really work?
Reminders at D-2 and D-1 often bring failed appointments down from 6 to 9 % to 3 or 4 %. For treatment plans, a call followed by an SMS at D+14 recovers the most acceptances.
How long until a first dashboard?
Allow 8 to 12 weeks: 2 weeks to analyse the practice software exports, 5 to 8 weeks of development, then 2 weeks of testing in a pilot practice before rolling out to the other three.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your practice software, number of sites and dentists: we price a group dashboard with treatment plan follow-up at 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR), delivered in 8 to 12 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
