How We Research Our Guides

Where the comparisons come from, how the facts are checked, and how to tell us if something is wrong.

ESRE Media publishes buying guides that compare the software actually used in a given sector: the products a care home, a letting agency or a veterinary practice would put on a shortlist, set side by side on price, features and fit. Each guide looks at the market as a whole, not a single vendor's pitch.

How the facts are checked

Pricing and feature claims are checked against each vendor's own published materials: their pricing pages, product pages and documentation. Where a vendor does not publish a price, the guide says "pricing on application" rather than printing a figure we cannot stand behind. Regulatory points, such as an eMAR requirement, a Natasha's Law obligation or a DSPT deadline, are linked to the primary government or regulator source in the "Sources and further reading" section at the foot of each article, so you can read the rule yourself rather than take our word for it.

Review scores

Where a guide quotes a third-party review score, it names the source, for example Capterra, and the point at which the score was read, because those numbers move over time. If we could not find a genuine score for a product, we say nothing rather than estimate one.

Where we stand

We are not a neutral directory, and we do not pretend to be. ESRE Media builds bespoke systems for organisations that have outgrown off-the-shelf software. So each guide says plainly when a ready-made product is the right answer, which it often is, and when a business is better served by something built around how it actually works. Where a guide points to a bespoke build, it is marked as our own option, not slipped in as neutral advice.

Corrections and contact

If you are a vendor and a detail about your product is out of date, or a reader who has spotted a mistake, tell us. Use the address on our contact page and we will check the point against its source and correct it. Getting the facts right matters to us more than getting them first.

Have a question about a guide?

Tell us what you are comparing and we will point you to the right one.

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