One Step Software alternative for sober living homes

One Step Software describes itself as operations software for sober living and recovery residences. Its homepage headline is “Easy and Affordable Software for Your Recovery Program,” and its site description says it lets operators “track curfew, rent, meetings, testing, and residents in one place.” Everything below is as listed on their website in October 2026, checked on October 15, 2026.

• Features it lists: program outcomes and data, customizable forms and workflows, resident check-ins and accountability, automated rent payments and rent tracking, and digitized intake forms. Its menu highlights geolocation and check-ins, and the site's description of the features page adds drug testing and messaging. (features page ↗)
• Outcomes: an outcomes dashboard that tracks “length of stay, referrals, move outs, employment, and dozens more metrics.”
• Rent: “Collect rent on autopilot,” with a real-time view of every resident's balance. The site does not list processing fees.
• Security: the features page lists “HIPAA compliant.”
• Pricing: not published. The site has no pricing page (onestepsoftware.com/pricing returns the homepage); it offers a demo booking, and its terms of use ↗ say current rates can be requested by email.
• Resident side: the features page lists resident check-ins with geolocation, and reviews on its site refer to using “the app.” The site does not say whether the resident side costs anything.
• Size and reviews: the site says “Join 200,000+ people who use One Step,” and its reviews page shows “4.9 average · 1,250+ verified reviews.” These are One Step's own figures; we have not checked them. (reviews page ↗)
• Website: onestepsoftware.com ↗

We describe One Step only from its public website. Its product may do more than the marketing site shows, so treat a One Step demo as the best source on any detail here.

If One Step is working for your homes and the price is fine, staying is a reasonable choice. A switch costs you time, and residents have to learn a new app. One Step may also be the better fit if:

• You want a vendor that states HIPAA compliance. One Step's features page lists it. Sober Living Companion is housing-operations software, not an EHR, and does not make that claim.
• Your program reaches beyond the house. Reviews on One Step's site include house managers, a residence owner, a drug court case manager and a peer support specialist; one reviewer writes that the platform “easily expanded to include the needs of peer support specialists and RCOs.” If your work includes peer support or court-involved participants, ask One Step how it handles them.
• You rely on in-app messaging. One Step's features page description includes messaging. Sober Living Companion has announcements to everyone in your organization, not direct messages or group chats.
• You want a hands-on vendor relationship. One Step's homepage says, “One Step is More than a Software Company. We are Your Partner.” If that relationship is working, it counts.

When an operator compares One Step with other software, common questions come down to cost you can plan around and what residents get. They are fair questions to put to any vendor, One Step included.

1. A price you can see before a sales call. One Step does not publish prices, so cost comes from a demo or by asking for its current rates. Sober Living Companion's price is on the pricing page: $60 a month for the whole organization.
2. How the price changes as you grow. Because One Step's pricing is not public, its site does not say whether cost rises with beds, residents, houses or staff. Ask for that in writing. Ours stays $60 whether you run one house or forty, with unlimited managers.
3. What residents pay, if anything. One Step's site does not state the cost of the resident side. Ours is free on iPhone and Android, and residents never pay for it.
4. Where rent money goes, and what it costs. One Step lists automated rent payments but not processing fees. With us, card payments go through your own Stripe account and we take no platform fee. Stripe's standard fee applies (2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card payment, as listed on stripe.com in October 2026), and you can choose to add that fee to the resident's card payment where your state allows card surcharges (never on debit cards).
5. Setup cost and terms. One Step's site does not list a setup fee, contract length or trial. We have no setup fee, the membership is month-to-month, and the first month is free with code FIRSTMONTHFREE.

None of this makes One Step the wrong choice. These are the questions that decide whether a switch actually saves you money or time.

Sober Living Companion is housing-operations software for peer-run sober living homes and recovery residences, on the web and on iPhone and Android. It covers the resident roster across houses, a bed board, rent and fees, drug and breath tests, passes, curfew GPS check-ins, meeting attendance, chores, documents, custom forms and e-signed agreements, an online application link for each home, and an outcomes dashboard for funders. Owners choose which houses each manager can see. It is run by Empower Next Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and the price is the same $60 a month for every organization. Full feature walkthrough →

What it is not: an EHR. There is no clinical charting, no insurance billing and no public API, and we make no HIPAA compliance claim. Online meeting check-ins are self-reported; only in-person check-ins carry a location. There is no direct messaging between residents and staff; staff post announcements to everyone in the organization instead. If any of those is a requirement, weigh it before you switch.

1. Export from One Step. Start with your resident list, current and past, as a CSV or spreadsheet. Add a payments or ledger report and your documents if you can get them. Operators have sent us One Step's resident export before, so we know its columns.
2. Send it to us. Email info@empowernextproject.org or call (916) 877-6237. A person goes through the file with you, and new operators can book a free onboarding call. There is no implementation fee.
3. We import it. Current residents go on your roster in the right house. Past residents stay on record with their move-out dates and reasons where your export has them. For operators coming from One Step we have also moved documents, drug-test history and payment logs over, not just the roster.
4. Set up money. Connect a Stripe account you already have, or create one, so card payments go straight to you. Set each resident's weekly or monthly fee, and add your Cash App, Zelle and Venmo handles if you take them.
5. Residents join. Each resident downloads the free app and enters the house join code or opens the join link. No per-person invites to manage.
6. Send agreements. Send your house agreement for e-signature. Residents without the app can sign from an emailed link. If your agreement is a PDF, we can turn it into a reusable template.
7. Check, then cancel. Compare the imported records with One Step before you end your One Step account.

How long it takes depends on how much you are moving. A roster import is often done the same day; years of documents and payment history across many houses take longer.

What comes with you

Residents, current and past, with their houses, move-in and move-out dates, and contact details; payment history where your export includes it; and documents you can export or we can move. Anything that is not in an export does not move, so look before you cancel.

What changes

• Saved cards and autopay do not transfer. Card details stay with the old payment system. Residents set up card payments again in the new app.
• Reports are rebuilt, not copied. Dates from your export come over, but outcome questionnaires and follow-ups in Sober Living Companion start when you enroll residents (a campaign can enroll everyone automatically). Pull any One Step reports you need for a grant before you leave.
• Messaging becomes announcements. If your staff message residents one-to-one in One Step today, plan another channel for that.

Checklist before you switch

1. Export everything first, including documents and signed agreements, and keep a copy offline.
2. Read your One Step agreement for the term, any notice period and auto-renewal. The terms of use on One Step's website do not cover subscription length or cancellation, so your agreement is the source.
3. Overlap for a few weeks. Run both while residents move over. The first month on Sober Living Companion is free with code FIRSTMONTHFREE, so the overlap costs nothing on our side.
4. Turn off automated rent in One Step before the first rent date in the new app, so no resident is charged twice.
5. Pick a start date and one house to go first, tell residents, and let that house manager learn the app before the rest follow.
6. Check privacy requirements. If a funder or your counsel requires a vendor HIPAA commitment, settle that before you move records.