These are not the same kind of thing
Providers often come to this page expecting a head-to-head. It isn't one. In Minnesota, HHAeXchange is the state's EVV aggregator — the destination your visit data has to reach. Sothcare is an agency platform that sends data there.
You will be enrolled with HHAeXchange either way. Enrollment is mandatory for providers delivering EVV-covered services, regardless of payer and regardless of what software you run.
The real question is narrower: is the free HHAeXchange system enough on its own?
When the free system is genuinely enough
Minnesota sponsors HHAeXchange at no cost to providers, and it is not a stripped-down thing. You get a mobile app in several languages, telephony in English and Spanish, scheduling and compliance tooling.
If your agency delivers personal care visits and that is the whole documentation burden, the free system is a reasonable answer and we will say so on a call. Paying for software you don't need is not a strategy.
We would rather lose that deal than sell against a free product that fits.
When it stops being enough
The moment EVV is not the only record you keep. A 245D residential provider also documents medication administration, ISP progress notes, incident and behavior reports, DSP schedules and handoffs, and staff training with expiry dates.
None of that lives in the free EVV tool. So it goes somewhere else — a second system, a spreadsheet, a shared drive — and then someone reconciles between them. Forever.
The cost of free is not zero. It is paid in the hours spent keeping four systems agreeing with each other, and in the gaps that appear when they stop agreeing. Those gaps are what a licensor finds.
What each one actually does
HHAeXchange — the aggregator
Receives and validates EVV data for Minnesota DHS. Mandatory enrollment. Provides a free EVV capture system as one option.
Sothcare — the agency platform
Captures visits with GPS and all six required data elements, submits to HHAeXchange, and holds the rest of your record in the same system.
Both, together
This is the normal arrangement. You enrol with HHAeXchange, then choose whether their free tool or a third-party system feeds it.
What we add on top
eMAR with audit trail, ISP documentation, incident and EUMR/VAMRA reporting, DSP scheduling, training expiry tracking, and 837 billing from verified visits.
The open model, plainly
Minnesota gives providers a choice. Use the free state-sponsored HHAeXchange system, or use a third-party EVV system that meets state requirements and integrates with HHAeXchange. Third-party costs are the provider's responsibility.
Enrollment steps are the same either way: complete the Minnesota Provider Enrollment Form, choose your system, submit an API configuration ticket if third-party, work through the training material, and make sure your agency has an MN-ITS mailbox — that is where DHS sends corrective action notices.
Full Minnesota EVV detail →Common questions
Is HHAeXchange a competitor to Sothcare?
Not really. In Minnesota, HHAeXchange is the state-designated EVV aggregator — every provider must be enrolled with it regardless of which software they use. We submit to it. The question is not which one you pick; it is whether the free HHAeXchange system alone covers what you document.
Do I have to enrol with HHAeXchange?
Yes, if you deliver EVV-covered services in Minnesota. Enrollment is required regardless of payer and regardless of which EVV system you use.
What does the free HHAeXchange system include?
Minnesota sponsors it at no cost: a mobile app in several languages, telephony in English and Spanish, scheduling and compliance tools. For an agency that only does personal care visits, it is a genuinely reasonable answer.
So why would I pay for anything?
Because EVV is rarely the only thing you document. A 245D group home also needs eMAR, ISP progress notes, incident and behavior reporting, DSP scheduling and training records. None of that is in the free EVV tool, so you end up running three or four systems and reconciling between them by hand.
Can I use Sothcare and still be HHAeXchange compliant?
Yes. Minnesota runs an open model: use the free state system, or a third-party system that meets state requirements and integrates with HHAeXchange. Sothcare is the second kind — visits are captured with GPS and submitted to HHAeXchange, including non-compliant visits, because DHS wants complete data.
What is the current compliance threshold?
80% of all visits billed, effective July 1, 2026, up from 50% on January 1. DHS began issuing corrective action notices in April 2026.
Not sure which side of that line you're on?
20 minutes, founder-led. Describe what you document and we will tell you honestly whether the free system covers it.
Book my 20-min demoWellSky, Axxess, Homecare Homebase, Alora, AlayaCare, Therap and HHAeXchange are trademarks of their respective owners. Sothcare is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them; their names are used here solely to identify the products being compared.
Competitor pricing figures are drawn from public software directories, not from the vendors themselves, and vary by contract, module selection and agency size. Verify directly before making a decision on cost. Last checked August 2026.