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Picking between Portrait and Aesthetic Record for your med spa? Start with your main goal: Do you want your software to just handle patient records and clinical documentation, or do you want the whole business side streamlined too?
If you're looking for an all-in-one solution that combines scheduling, compliance, marketing, inventory management, and actual savings on supplies, Portrait will cover more of your needs. Let’s break down what each platform offers, how they work day-to-day, and which one fits your clinic best.
Understanding the Needs of Modern Aesthetic Practices
Running a med spa isn’t just about delivering great outcomes for patients. You have to juggle patient care, keep injectables organized, manage memberships, and stay compliant with every policy and regulation. If you’re still using spreadsheets and patching emails together, you already know how much time gets lost each week.
The right software should save you hours, not pile on more busywork. Look for things like before-and-after photo management, injectable templates, a sleek patient portal, and easy ways to track your Botox and fillers. If your software is clunky or missing tools, you’ll just create more chaos.
Most aesthetic clinics need built-in marketing too. Your calendar won’t fill itself, and paperwork shouldn’t be getting in the way of smooth patient experiences. The better the software fits with your business, the more time you can spend on actual clinical work.
Portrait vs Aesthetic Record: Key Feature Overview
- Portrait: EHR, scheduling, payments, inventory, compliance, built-in marketing, supply savings
- Aesthetic Record: Cloud-based EMR, scheduling, inventory, patient communication, strong photo charting
Portrait is an all-in-one operating system. You get EHR, scheduling, payments, inventory, compliance, built-in marketing, and access to bulk supply discounts all with one login.
Aesthetic Record is made for aesthetic clinics wanting charting and photo documentation. You get EMR, scheduling, CRM, inventory, and integrated payments.
The main split is that Portrait wraps its software with operational support and purchasing power, while Aesthetic Record delivers an EMR focused on photos and documentation.
Software Usability and Design
Portrait offers free Core EHR with Portrait membership. That covers records, smart scheduling, reporting, compliance, unlimited patient management, and more. No hidden fees or revenue sharing. No long-term contracts.
The dashboard is designed to be fast. You can go from booking to charting to payment without jumping between tabs. Portrait ships new features every two weeks, so you get upgrades without extra charges or headaches.
Aesthetic Record prices by user. You’ll pay $15 or $19 per month per user, depending on the plan, with a $399 setup fee. There’s also a custom plan for bigger groups. The platform covers a lot, but some users mention it takes time to learn. When support gets busy, you might wait a little longer for answers.
Compliance and Security
You can’t skip compliance in medical aesthetics. Both Portrait and Aesthetic Record are HIPAA-compliant, but they handle compliance in different ways.
- Portrait: Built-in compliance. The system automates Good Faith Exam scheduling and documentation. You also get up-to-date SOPs and policy templates.
- Aesthetic Record: HIPAA-secure storage, customizable templates, encryption. You set up your own compliance network and handle relationships with medical directors outside the software.
If you want the platform to handle compliance for you, Portrait makes it a lot simpler. You won’t need to manage compliance as its own project.
Streamlined Marketing and Growth Tools
It’s tough to keep your calendar full and grow your med spa unless you’re running regular marketing campaigns. But most owners don’t want to build websites or fiddle with ad accounts on their own.
- Portrait: Includes full marketing services. You get a branded website, managed Google and Meta ads, ready-to-go social media content, and automated booking reminders sent by email or text. All of this plugs right into scheduling and patient data.
- Aesthetic Record: Focuses on patient management and communication. For marketing, the system connects to other third-party tools like ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, and HubSpot, but you’ll run and manage those campaigns yourself.
If you want hands-off marketing that just works out of the box, Portrait does more for you. You won’t need to act as your own campaign manager on top of everything else.
Ongoing Business Support
Running a med spa comes with a lot of moving parts. You need compliance lined up, a website and branding, patient outreach, and supplier accounts all working together.
- Portrait: Gives you software plus compliance tools, help with your website and branding, and marketing campaigns as you run and grow your practice. You get access to supplier deals right away and can grow from one provider to several locations without changing systems.
- Aesthetic Record: Gives you software and training. For everything else like compliance, marketing, and supplier deals you’ll need to manage or hire separately.
If you’re new to med spa operations or want more hands-on help, Portrait offers more support.
Supply Chain and Member Pricing
Your operating margins can shrink fast if you’re paying full price for injectables and supplies.
- Portrait: Provides access to top pharma brands in one marketplace. Through their marketplace, you can save up to 60% on select products. You order inside the platform. Your orders also earn Marketplace Points.
- Aesthetic Record: Does not offer supplier discounts. You’ll use your current vendors and pay their listed prices.
Comprehensive Product Access
Portrait’s built-in supply marketplace goes big on choice. Over 2,000 SKUs are available: injectables, HRT products, IV/IM treatments, and skincare. You won’t have to go searching for new vendors each time you add a service.
Inventory connects directly to your EHR. You can track product use, match it to billing, and reorder fast—all from one place. This isn’t just nice to have; it’s how you keep your practice smooth and compliant.
Choosing the Right Solution for Your Practice
The right choice comes down to your size, goals, and how much you want your EHR to manage.
- Aesthetic Record: Great for practices that are already set up, just want a strong EMR with photos, and can take care of marketing and compliance with their own tools or partners. If you just want clinical documentation, this does the job.
- Portrait: Fits clinics launching now, planning to grow, or looking to cut costs. You get the full business package, including software, marketing, compliance help, supply deals, so you spend less time managing software and more time with patients. The core EHR is complimentary with Portrait membership.
If you’d rather focus on clinical care and skip hunting for extra vendors, Portrait helps you do exactly that.
Why an All-In-One Platform Matters
Most med spas end up stitching together five or more software tools just to run. You might have separate ones for scheduling, charting, payments, marketing, and inventory all with their own logins and learning curves. That means data never lines up and you’re stuck retyping details over and over.
Switching to an all-in-one platform can boost staff efficiency by 25% to 35%. Patient satisfaction often jumps by 20%. You’ll even recover up to 3% more profit per transaction by fixing front desk workflows and automating reminders.
With Portrait, everything’s in one place: EHR, scheduling, payments, inventory, compliance, and marketing. You’ve got one workflow and a single source of truth for your data. The support team also knows medical aesthetics inside out, not just generic software.
Portrait vs Aesthetic Record: The Bottom Line
Here’s what it all means: If you want a photo-heavy EMR and you’re happy running compliance, marketing, and supply deals yourself, Aesthetic Record will take care of your clinical documentation needs.
If you’re looking for a platform that does more, including software, business services, and actual cost savings, Portrait puts everything under one roof. Core EHR (complimentary with Portrait membership), hands-off marketing, built-in compliance tools, and real supply savings make it easy to run and grow.
If you want to grow faster and avoid all the extra admin, Portrait’s full-stack platform is set up to help you thrive. You’ll spend less time on busywork and more on what matters: patient care and clinic growth.
Savings vary by practice, product mix, and order volume. Figures reflect select products and are not guaranteed.
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