7. What's Missing: The Gap Between Built and Paid, Renewed, Referred
Date: 30 Sept 2026 · Back to WHAT-TO-DO-AND-AVOID.md
Assumption: nothing is built yet. So these are gaps between the plan and a business.
7.1 Gaps to pay
| Gap | Why it blocks payment | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No chosen sub-vertical | "Rental software" can't be priced or sold, and four of five candidates are closed | Pick small DME/HME suppliers that rent serialised equipment. See 02. |
| "We already have a module" | The buyer thinks they've already paid for this | Qualify on the first call: "When did someone last log a bed cleaning in your billing system?" Sell only where the answer is "never" or "on paper". |
| No pricing | Undefined | Suggested (verify with 15 owners): Single location $99/mo, Multi (up to 3) $199/mo, Group (4–10) $399/mo. Annual plans at ~12% off. Setup fee of $300 for the concierge serial import, waived on annual. No free plan. |
| No measurable value promise | "Better rental management" doesn't justify a new vendor | "Every unit's cleaning and maintenance record, ready for your surveyor in one export." Measure: survey equipment findings, minutes to find a unit's history, recalled units located. |
| No trust signals | Suppliers hand over patient addresses | BAA on the pricing page, a plain-English security page, a named DME insider on the About page, and testimonials from accredited suppliers. |
7.2 Gaps to renew
| Gap | Fix |
|---|---|
| Surveys happen every few years | Make the daily workflow the product: drivers tag pickups dirty, techs log cleaning, the morning PM due list. The survey export is the reward for using it daily. |
| Driver resistance | Under 60 seconds per delivery, offline mode, big buttons. Watch usage per driver weekly and call the owner when it drops. |
| Consolidation churn | Annual plans. Export everything on request, so an acquirer's IT team sees you as easy to keep rather than a risk. |
| No switching cost at first | Serial history accumulates. After 12 months, the log is the supplier's only complete equipment record. |
7.3 Gaps to refer
| Gap | Fix |
|---|---|
| Nothing visible to other suppliers | A consultant view: accreditation consultants see clients' survey packs (read-only, with the supplier's consent). Consultants are the referral loop. |
| No free hook | Free downloadable equipment cleaning log and PM templates (PDF and Excel). A "what surveyors check in your warehouse" guide. |
| No community presence | Talk at 2 state HME association meetings a year. Write for HME trade media. |
| No referral economics | One month free for each referred paying supplier. Consultants get a 20% recurring referral fee or free multi-client access. |
7.4 Non-product gaps
Distribution
- Missing from the idea. Channels that fit this buyer:
- accreditation consultants (trusted, and they arrive right before a survey);
- state HME associations and national groups (AAHomecare, VGM);
- search for survey-prep terms ("DMEPOS equipment cleaning log", "ACHC DRX7-12D");
- direct calls from an insider's network.
- Channels that burn money: paid search against billing suites, broad trade-show booths.
Positioning
- Weak: "rental management software for medical equipment."
- Better: "The equipment log your surveyor wants to see. Every bed, chair and concentrator: cleaned, maintained, recall-checked. It sits beside your billing system."
Sales motion
- Founder-led and phone-based. Each supplier needs a call and a serial import. At ~15 hrs/week, that caps new customers at about 3–4 a month.
Compliance and legal
| Area | Requirement |
|---|---|
| HIPAA | You're a business associate. You need a BAA with each customer, BAA-capable hosting, encryption, access logs, a risk assessment and breach procedures. |
| Wording | You provide records, checklists and exports. Never "compliant", "certified" or "guaranteed pass". |
| Recalls | Recall matching is an aid. The supplier remains responsible for acting on manufacturer and FDA notices. Say so. |
| Contracts | A limitation of liability, and data export and deletion terms on cancellation. |
| Insurance | Cyber liability plus errors and omissions cover. Cost is unverified. Get quotes before pilot 1. |
Team
- Minimum: one full-stack developer comfortable with offline mobile apps, and one DME insider (ops, warehouse or accreditation). Without the second person, don't start.
Metrics and instrumentation
- Activation: serial register imported, and 10+ state changes logged within 14 days.
- Weekly: share of deliveries and pickups logged in the app, PM tasks on time, drivers active.
- Outcome: equipment findings at the next survey, recalled units located.
- Business: MRR, logo churn, month-3 and month-12 retention, customers by channel.