By Mike Roberts, PhD · Founder, VA Claim Commander · Disabled veteran · Updated October 31, 2026
To choose VA claims software, test it against the work only VA practice has: deadlines tracked by decided issue, a full claims file read with page citations, VA's own forms filled from the record, fee agreements under 38 C.F.R. § 14.636, and records kept confidential under § 14.632. Then ask every vendor the same security, AI, pricing, and exit questions in writing, and run the trial on your hardest real file, not a demo case.
This checklist names no products, including ours, so it works for any comparison. It is not legal advice. VA Claim Commander makes software for representatives; the author is not a VA-accredited representative, and no software represents a veteran.
Start with what you actually need
Before you look at any vendor, write down where the time goes today. For most practices it is one of four places:
- Reading files. Claims files of thousands of pages, read again for each new issue.
- Deadlines. Second and third issues on older decisions whose one-year clocks are hard to see (§ 3.2500).
- Paperwork. Forms, statements, signatures, and fee agreements done by hand.
- Follow-up. Cases stuck waiting on the veteran, a provider, or a witness with nobody chasing.
A tool that is excellent at the wrong one of these is the wrong tool. A five-case practice may need only a spreadsheet and a calendar. See starting a VA claims agent practice.
The VA-specific checklist
General practice software can store contacts and documents. VA work needs these, and a demo should show each one:
| Capability | What to check |
|---|---|
| Deadlines by issue | Does it build each issue's deadline from the decision's notice date, or keep one date per client? Does it handle intent-to-file dates (§ 3.155) and C&P exams? |
| The claims file | Can it take a full electronic claims file export in one upload? Does it cite document and page for what it finds, so you can check it? |
| Decision letters | Does it break a decision down issue by issue: granted, denied, the reasons, and the evidence listed? |
| VA forms | Which forms does it fill from the record (21-22a, 20-0995, 20-0996, 10182)? Are they VA's current editions? |
| Signatures | Can the veteran sign forms and statements without paper? Does the representative sign only the representative's blocks? |
| Fees | Does the fee agreement carry every element § 14.636(g) requires, and does the 30-day filing deadline land on the calendar? Is there a fee ledger by veteran and issue? |
| Staff | Can you add support staff, limit who sees which cases, and give someone read-only access? |
| Diary | Is there a record of what was filed, sent, and signed, and when, that nobody can quietly edit? |
| Veteran contact | Is there a way to collect records and statements from the veteran without email attachments? |
Security and data questions to ask in writing
A claims file holds medical records and Social Security numbers, and § 14.632(c) bars disclosing information VA provided for representation without the claimant's authorization. Ask each vendor:
- 1Where is client data stored, in what country, and with which hosting provider?
- 2Is it encrypted at rest and in transit? Are especially sensitive fields encrypted separately?
- 3Is there a signed business associate agreement with the hosting provider for health records?
- 4Can each office see only its own clients, and can staff be limited to assigned cases?
- 5Which third parties process client data? Ask for the list.
- 6How long are backups kept, and how long until deleted data leaves them?
- 7What happens to data when you cancel? Can you export it first, and how is it deleted?
- 8Do they have an independent audit report, such as SOC 2? If not, what can they show you instead?
A vendor that cannot answer these in writing has not had to yet.
AI questions, if the tool uses AI
Many tools now draft or summarize with AI. You remain responsible for what you file. Ask:
- Training. Is client data ever used to train the vendor's models, or any model provider's? Which AI providers see it, and what are their retention terms?
- Grounding. Does each statement in a draft point to the page it came from, so you can check it?
- Citations. How does the tool keep it from citing a regulation, case, or rating criterion that does not exist or does not say what the draft claims?
- Limits. What does it refuse to do, such as inventing facts the record does not support?
- Review. Can you edit everything before it leaves the office?
For attorneys, ABA Formal Opinion 512 sets out how the professional conduct rules apply to these tools. See using AI in a VA practice.
Run the trial on a real file
A demo case is built to look good. Your hardest real file is the test that counts:
- 1Pick one big, messy file with several decisions on it, ideally one you already know well.
- 2Check what it found against what you know. Did it catch the second issue's deadline? Does every page citation open the right page?
- 3Draft one real filing and time the edit. A draft you rewrite from scratch saved nothing.
- 4Have a staff member use it without your help for an afternoon.
- 5Try to export everything for that veteran before the trial ends.
Make sure the trial lets you use real client records under the vendor's normal security terms, and that the vendor's terms allow the use.
How pricing behaves on a caseload
The same practice can pay very different amounts depending on the pricing model. Work out a year, not a month:
| Model | How it charges | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Per user seat | A monthly fee for each login | Shared logins; a one-person practice with a large caseload pays the same as a small one |
| Per case on the books | A monthly fee for every client you carry | Cases waiting on VA for a year cost the same as active ones |
| Per case worked | A fee only in months a case is worked | How "worked" is defined, and whether it is visible on the invoice |
| Per case, one time | A fee to open or read a case | Whether large files cost extra, and what a re-read costs |
| Credits or tokens | Prepaid usage, topped up | Hard to budget; thorough work costs more than thin work |
Ask for a written example of your first three bills at your real caseload, and ask what happens to the price at renewal.
Can you leave?
Before you sign, find out how you would leave:
- Can you export the client list and every document, in ordinary formats, without asking support?
- Does access continue for a period after you cancel?
- How is your data deleted, and do you get confirmation?
- Is there a long contract, a minimum term, or a cancellation fee?
Frequently asked questions
What software do VA-accredited claims agents use?
Practices use everything from spreadsheets and document folders to general law-practice software and tools built for VA claims. What matters is whether the tool tracks deadlines by decided issue, reads and cites the claims file, fills VA's forms, handles fee agreements under 38 C.F.R. § 14.636, and keeps client records confidential.
What questions should I ask a VA claims software vendor about security?
Where the data is stored and with whom, whether it is encrypted at rest and in transit, whether there is a business associate agreement for health records, whether staff can be limited to assigned cases, which third parties process the data, how long backups last, and how data is exported and deleted when you leave.
Should a VA practice use AI software?
That is a professional judgment for each practice. If you do, confirm that client data is not used for model training, that every draft points to the pages it relies on, and that you review and edit everything before filing. You remain responsible for the work under the standards of conduct in 38 C.F.R. § 14.632.
How should I test VA claims software before buying?
On your hardest real file, during the trial: check its findings and page citations against what you already know, draft one real filing and time the edit, have a staff member use it alone, and export the veteran's file before the trial ends.
Which pricing model is cheapest for a VA caseload?
It depends on how many cases are active in a given month. Many VA cases sit for months waiting on a decision, so a per-seat or per-case-on-the-books price can cost far more than a per-case-worked price for the same practice. Ask each vendor for a written example of your first three bills at your real caseload.
VA forms mentioned in this guide
Written for accredited representatives
This guide is for VA-accredited claims agents, attorneys, and VSO representatives. Commander for Advocates is case management software built around this work: reading the C-file, choosing the lane, and assembling the packet. See how it works →
Free, no sign-up: a sample case, the effective date estimator and the C-file review estimator.
This guide is educational information about the VA claims system — it is not legal or medical advice, and it does not predict or promise any claim outcome. Regulations and procedures change; always verify current requirements at VA.gov. VA Claim Commander is a self-service documentation tool, not a VSO, law firm, or VA-accredited representative.