Eldermark CRM Challenge & Solutions

Overview

Cordwainer's current CRM, Eldermark, does not expose a reliable API, blocking automation of data exports and custom workflows. This article documents the problem, the interim workaround, and the long-term solutions under consideration as of the internal sync on 2026-03-17.

The Problem

Eldermark serves as Cordwainer's all-in-one platform for CRM, clinical, and billing functions. The team attempted to automate the weekly Excel data export using a browser automation bot, but the effort failed after approximately four hours of work due to:

Session/cookie inconsistency: The bot's view of the UI differed from a fresh login session (e.g., sidebar state varied), making reliable element targeting impossible.
No API access: Eldermark does not publish a REST API. A request was submitted to Eldermark support, but the expectation is low — withholding API access is likely a deliberate product decision to prevent disintermediation.
UI complexity: Browser scraping is fragile on apps with many menus, dropdowns, and dynamic state. It works well for simple, stable interfaces (e.g., Gmail) but not for Eldermark's layout.

"They've got a database and then they've got a front end on the database. All we want to do is just go to the database and not look at the front end. If they wanted to let you do that, they could do it."
— Mark Hope

Interim Workaround

Until API access is granted or a replacement solution is in place:

Cordwainer contact (Bodo) will manually export the required Excel file on a weekly or biweekly basis and send it to the team.
Mark will continue researching web scraping alternatives in parallel, though this is considered a low-probability path given the UI complexity.

Action: Karly to contact Cordwainer's point of contact and request the recurring manual export. (@Karly Oykhman)

Long-Term Solutions

Option 1: Eldermark API Access

Mark submitted a formal REST API access request to Eldermark support. If granted, this resolves the problem entirely — all automation, cron jobs, and custom workflows become straightforward.

Probability: Low. Eldermark's business model likely depends on keeping integrations locked.
Status: Request submitted 2026-03-17. Awaiting response.

Action: Karly to inform Bodo that the API request has been sent. (@Karly Oykhman)

Option 2: Third-Party CRM (e.g., Welcome Home)

Claude research surfaced Welcome Home as a senior living-specific CRM with a documented REST API and listed Eldermark integrations. The tradeoff:

Automation and custom workflows become possible via the Welcome Home API.
Clinical and billing data would still need to be manually entered into Eldermark, since there is no programmatic bridge.
At Cordwainer's scale (~60 beds, ~1–2 move-ins per month), the manual entry burden may be acceptable.

Other general CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive) were also noted as viable for the sales/prospect workflow, with the same Eldermark manual-entry caveat.

Option 3: Custom HIPAA-Compliant CRM Build ⭐ Recommended

Build a purpose-built CRM for Cordwainer tailored to their exact workflow.

Attribute	Detail
Estimated cost	~$2,500 (one-time build fee)
Timeline	~1 week to initial working version
Compliance	HIPAA-compliant, fully encrypted
Integrations	Email (replacing MailChimp), billing, automations, custom fields
Flexibility	Fields and workflows can be modified on demand
Scope	Initially: sales/prospect CRM. Potentially expandable to clinical and billing, replacing Eldermark entirely.

This option provides full control, eliminates recurring SaaS licensing costs, and enables all desired automation. The clinical and billing scope would require a deeper requirements-gathering session before committing.

Action: Karly to email Bodo proposing the custom CRM build at ~$2,500, framing it as a tailored solution with email integration and full automation capability. Also mention the Eldermark API request as a parallel track. (@Karly Oykhman)

Key Decisions

Short term: Manual exports from Cordwainer contact while API request is pending.
Recommended path: Propose custom CRM build to Bodo at ~$2,500.
Process note: Welcome Home is a viable interim option if Bodo wants a faster off-the-shelf solution before a custom build is scoped.

Action Items

[ ] Ask Cordwainer contact to send weekly/biweekly Eldermark Excel exports (@Karly Oykhman)
[ ] Continue Eldermark bot dev; research web scraping alternatives (@Mark Hope)
[ ] Email Bodo re: Eldermark API request status and propose custom CRM build (~$2,500) (@Karly Oykhman)

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