NEMT software for new companies: set up before the first contract
A new NEMT company should set up its software before the first contract. Brokers ask about your dispatch system during credentialing, and MTM's provider agreement expects each van to send its GPS position, trip events, and rider signatures live. Enter drivers, vehicles, and every credential date first, build a rate sheet for private-pay and facility rides, and keep every trip record exportable for ten years.
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Why software comes before the first contract
It is tempting to wait for the first trips before choosing software. The brokers who send those trips look at your systems before they send any. Two examples from broker paperwork show why:
- Alivi’s application asks. The callback form new transportation companies fill out has a field for the dispatch platform you use, alongside your NPI number, counties, driver count, and vehicle count.
- MTM’s contract sets the standard. The version of MTM’s Transportation Provider Services Agreement dated January 1, 2023 requires every vehicle carrying members to have GPS on a connected device that reports its position, each trip event, and the rider’s signature as they happen. Providers meet that with MTM’s own app, or with outside software that MTM reviews first and that can hand the GPS data to MTM.
The same agreement leaves a trip unpaid when its driver, attendant, or vehicle lacks credentials. So the order of work for a new company is records first, credentials second, broker applications third. Our broker credentialing guide covers the applications themselves.
Records to capture from the first trip
A one-van company’s first trip needs the same record as a large fleet’s thousandth. Set the software up so the driver’s phone captures each item while the trip happens:
| Record on each leg | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Arrival, pickup, and drop-off times | Proves the trip happened when billed, and shows on-time performance |
| GPS location and route | Backs up the miles and shows where the van actually went |
| Rider signature | Brokers such as MTM expect member signatures captured with the trip |
| Driver and vehicle | Ties the trip to a credentialed driver and an approved vehicle |
| No-show arrival and wait time | Your evidence when a no-show is disputed |
| Level of service | Shows the rider got the service the trip was booked for |
Plan to keep all of it for ten years. MTM’s agreement requires full records of its work for ten years, or longer when a law or client demands it. Alivi’s record retention policy also sets ten years, from the date a record was created or the last date of service, whichever is later. Alivi’s policy adds that any change to a record has to show the date, time, reason, and person behind it, which software can record automatically. The guide to NEMT documentation requirements goes deeper on what payers check.
Build the driver and vehicle file before credentialing
Every Medicaid NEMT company, however small, starts from a federal minimum. Section 209 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 added a rule that states need a way to confirm four things:
- The company and each of its drivers are not barred from federal health care programs and do not appear on the exclusion list kept by the HHS Inspector General.
- Every driver holds a valid license.
- The company has a process for dealing with state drug law violations.
- The company has a way to report every driver’s record behind the wheel, traffic tickets included, to the state’s Medicaid program.
Brokers build on that floor. MTM’s agreement lists the driver file contents it can ask to see, owner-drivers included, and each item has its own renewal clock:
| Driver file item | First needed | Renews |
|---|---|---|
| Driver’s license | Before the first trip | At expiration |
| Criminal background check | Before hiring | Every year |
| Three-year motor vehicle record | Before the first trip | Every year |
| Drug and alcohol screening | Before hiring | Random testing under FTA rules, plus after accidents and on suspicion |
| Training certificates, including fraud, waste and abuse and HIPAA | Before the first trip | As each program requires |
| OIG exclusion check | Before hiring | On a regular schedule; state Medicaid agencies check monthly |
Vehicles carry their own dates: registration, insurance certificates, and state or broker inspections. Enter every date into your software the day you gather the document, not the week an application is due. MTM’s handbook spells out the cost of a lapse: reduced work, or no work at all, until the credential is renewed and MTM has seen the evidence. The driver file checklist and the driver onboarding checklist help you build each file once.
Private-pay and facility rides while applications are pending
Broker approval does not come on your schedule. MTM, for example, says that when it has no need in your area it keeps your information on file and contacts you when an opening comes up. Private-pay riders and facility contracts pay the bills in the meantime, and they need software of their own:
- A rate sheet per payer. Private riders, each facility, and later each broker pay different rates. The rate sheet template is a starting point.
- Invoices for facilities. Monthly invoices built from completed trips, not from memory.
- Card payments for riders. A saved card or a pay link, collected with a signed card authorization form.
- A written agreement with each facility. The facility transportation agreement covers rates, cancellations, and billing terms.
Keep these payers separate from the start. Once broker work begins, broker members are paid for by the broker. MTM’s agreement, for example, bars billing its members for trips it covers. The private pay guide covers pricing and collections.
What software should cost at one or two vans
A new company’s software bill should start small and grow with the fleet. Four pricing terms deserve a hard look before you sign:
- Setup or onboarding fees. Money spent before the first trip is money not spent on the van.
- Long contracts. A new company’s needs change fast, and an annual contract locks in a bad fit.
- Per-trip fees. They grow every time the business does well.
- Features held back. Billing, the driver app, or reports sold as add-ons raise the real price.
Per-vehicle pricing tends to fit a new company best, because adding a van is the moment revenue grows too. Compare vendors on NEMT software pricing, and put software into your budget with the startup cost calculator.
Growing from dragging trips to planning the whole day
A company’s scheduling needs change as the fleet grows. The stages below are an example, not a rule:
| Fleet size (example) | What scheduling looks like | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| One or two vans | The owner assigns trips by hand, often while driving | A simple board, recurring trips for standing orders, and a driver app |
| Three to five vans | Will-calls and driver call-outs start to collide | A live map and warnings when a trip will run late |
| Six vans and up | Assigning the whole day by hand takes hours | Software that plans and assigns the full day for review |
Pick software you will not have to replace at stage three. Moving riders, drivers, and a year of trip history between systems in the middle of growth is the kind of work a small office does not have time for. Our guide to running a NEMT company with one van covers the early stage in detail, and NEMT software for small fleets covers the next one.
A setup order for the first 30 days
- Add your vehicles with their seats, wheelchair spaces, and equipment.
- Add your drivers and every credential date from their files.
- Enter your rates for private riders and each facility.
- Run a practice trip end to end on a driver’s phone, including one with the phone in airplane mode, and check what reaches the office.
- Export a trip log and read it the way a broker reviewer would.
- Apply to brokers once the records and files are ready.
Starting out with HealthRide
HealthRide is $59 per vehicle per month with no contracts, and every core feature is included, so a one-van company pays $59. Credential dates for drivers and vehicles are tracked, with reminders before anything expires. Finished trips turn into invoices, and riders and facilities can pay by card with pay links and saved cards. When the fleet grows, Ryder Go plans your whole day in one click; see pricing for what the plan includes.
Frequently asked questions
- What software does a new NEMT company need before its first broker contract?
- Three things: a way to record each trip as it happens (times, GPS, and signatures from the driver's phone), a file for every driver and vehicle with each credential's expiration date, and a way to price and invoice rides. Brokers expect the first two from your first trip. The third keeps money coming in from private-pay and facility rides while broker applications are pending.
- Do NEMT brokers ask what dispatch software I use?
- Some ask directly. Alivi's callback form for new transportation companies has a field for the dispatch platform you use, next to your NPI and your driver and vehicle counts. MTM's provider agreement allows outside dispatch software on two conditions: MTM reviews it first, and the software can send GPS data to MTM. Have an answer ready before you apply.
- How often should I check my drivers against the OIG exclusion list?
- Check every new hire, then keep checking current staff on a schedule. HHS OIG says health care employers should check the list routinely for new hires and current employees, and anyone who hires an excluded person may face civil monetary penalties. State Medicaid agencies have to check it monthly, which is a sensible pace for a provider too.
- Can a new company run private-pay rides before its Medicaid approval?
- Yes, as long as your state and city operating licenses and your insurance are in place. Private-pay rides are paid by the rider, a family, or a facility, so Medicaid enrollment is not what makes them legal. Keep private-pay rides on their own rates, and never charge a broker's member for a trip the broker covers.
- How long should a new NEMT company keep trip records?
- Plan for ten years. MTM's provider agreement and Alivi's record retention policy each require ten years, and some states and plans set their own periods. Choose software that keeps records exportable in plain formats, so you can hand them over years later even if you change systems.
- What should a new company avoid in NEMT software pricing?
- Setup or onboarding fees, annual contracts you cannot leave, per-trip charges that grow as you do, and plans that put billing or the driver app behind an upgrade. A company with one or two vans needs a price that starts small and grows only when the fleet does.
