Frequently Asked Questions
Learn more about what Mareto offers, how it works, and how it can help your organization deliver stronger services and achieve greater impact.
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Mareto is an advanced cloud-based case management software platform built specifically for the social services sector. Built in Canada with input from community partners and frontline workers, it’s designed to address the unique realities of nonprofits and social service agencies. Unlike general-purpose CRM software, Mareto is centered on improving client outcomes, making it an ideal fit for mission-driven organizations. It’s used by a wide range of agencies, from small grassroots nonprofits to regional multi-service providers and government-funded programs. If your work involves supporting individuals through services such as homelessness, housing support, mental health care, addiction recovery, domestic violence response, food support, or family and youth programming, Mareto is designed to help you manage client information, deliver services, track progress, and demonstrate impact.
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Mareto is built to align with the everyday realities of social service work. It offers fully customizable case management, allowing organizations to configure the system to match their programs, forms, workflows, and data requirements without needing to change how they operate. This means your team can use familiar language and processes from day one. Mareto also enables coordinated care by making it easy to track a client’s journey across programs, refer them to other services, and collaborate with partner agencies, all while maintaining privacy and compliance. Its role-based user access ensures that every user sees only what they’re authorized to see, and every action is logged for accountability. Mareto includes powerful real-time dashboards and reporting tools that help organizations monitor performance, generate reports for funders, and identify trends or service gaps. The interface is clean, mobile-friendly, and easy to use, reducing the learning curve for staff. Finally, Mareto is hosted securely with robust privacy protections and compliance with standards like PIPEDA, giving you peace of mind that client data is protected.
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Mareto’s pricing model is made for nonprofit budgets. It operates on a subscription basis, with user licenses starting at $40 per user per month. There is also a one-time setup and onboarding fee, which typically starts around $5,000, depending on the complexity of your configuration and amount of programs. This fee covers everything from implementation planning to data models, system configuration, form building, and automations. For organizations that require a formal Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), Mareto offers that as an optional service for an additional fee. Our support packages are flexible, and organizations can choose enhanced training or dedicated technical support based on their needs. Billing is annual, and discounts may be available for multi-year commitments and a higher volume of user licenses. One of Mareto’s major advantages is that ongoing changes to your programs, like adding new forms or services, don’t trigger surprise fees, making it scalable without added cost.
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Yes, Mareto can integrate with other systems and tools your organization may already be using. It supports importing and exporting data in standard formats, so you can easily move data in or out of the platform for use in funder reports, legacy system migrations, or third-party tools. If your organization participates in a collaborative network, Mareto makes it simple to manage referrals and data-sharing between agencies. Its design prioritizes interoperability, helping you avoid data silos and manual duplication.
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Mareto was built with strict data privacy and security requirements in mind. All client data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and the platform is hosted on secure Canadian servers. Access to sensitive information is tightly controlled through robust role-based permissions, ensuring that only authorized users can see or modify client records. The platform also maintains a full audit trail, tracking every action taken in the system to support accountability and regulatory compliance. Mareto complies with privacy legislation like PIPEDA, and it includes features to support consent tracking, data retention, and user authentication. Security updates, regular audits, and proactive monitoring are part of the service, so you can rest assured that data is safe and handled according to best practices.
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Mareto offers a highly supportive onboarding experience tailored to the specific needs of your organization. From the beginning, our team works closely with you to map your programs, workflows, forms, user roles, and reporting requirements. This is followed by configuration, testing, and training with workshops and training guides. The platform’s intuitive design allows frontline workers to become comfortable with the system quickly. After launch, basic ongoing support is available, while flexible support packages include help desk access, consultations, and system optimization. Many of our clients appreciate our responsive and knowledgeable support team, who are easy to reach and quick to respond. Updates are communicated clearly, and user feedback often informs new features. With Mareto, you're not just buying software, you're gaining a partner invested in your success and impact.
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Mareto distinguishes itself by being built specifically for social service organizations. Unlike some tools that were adapted from CRMs or government systems, Mareto was built with frontline workers and program managers, making it more relevant and user-friendly from day one. It also comes with more flexibility as organizations can customize many aspects of the platform, from intake forms to outcome reports. Compared to alternatives, Mareto is often more affordable, particularly when considering the absence of hidden fees for add-ons or configuration changes. It is also hosted in Canada, making it an excellent choice for organizations with strict data security requirements. Mareto is also significantly easier to learn and use, resulting in better staff engagement. For collaborative networks or agencies managing multiple programs, Mareto’s ability to coordinate referrals and support shared dashboards also sets it apart. It’s a modern, secure, and mission-aligned platform designed to grow with your organization while keeping your data safe and your reporting simple.
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Yes! You can configure separate workflows, forms, and dashboards for each program or department, all within Mareto. Caseworkers see what they need, and leadership can get the full picture.
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Mareto offers free personalized demos and in some cases, sandbox environments or pilots for real-world testing before full implementation.
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Most organizations are live within 6–10 weeks after purchasing, pending on the complexity of the implementation. The process includes discovery, configuration, training, testing, and launch, fully supported by our team.
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Yes. Create custom forms to gather feedback, tie responses to client files, and include them in outcome reports or evaluations.
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Yes, with secure, role-based logins, clients can access portals, and partners can submit referrals or update shared plans, all controlled by permissions.
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Your data is yours. You can export all data in standard formats, and we will help you transition securely with no hidden exit fees.
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Yes. Mareto’s reporting tools support the fast generation of compliance-ready data, including demographics, outputs, outcomes, and caseloads, for funder reports and audits.
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Yes. It’s ideal for community-wide or collaborative initiatives, enabling cross-agency referrals, shared dashboards, and standardized reporting.
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Yes. It’s web-based and mobile-responsive, allowing caseworkers to access and update data from phones or tablets in the field with no app download required.
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You can continue customizing forms, workflows, and dashboards yourself. Admin users have the tools to update as you evolve, with no tech skills required.
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Yes. Track short and long-term outcomes aligned with your logic model. Analyze results by program, client group, or timeframe to improve services and show impact.
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Yes. It is possible for Mareto to be configured in multiple languages.
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No. Mareto is a cloud-based platform hosted securely in Canada. This ensures better performance, reliability, compliance, and automatic updates.
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Yes. It was built with funder compliance in mind and supports privacy laws, consent tracking, required fields, audit logs, and standardized KPI reporting.
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Yes. Use Mareto dashboards and reports to show reach, outcomes, and trends. Generate visuals or data summaries that tell your story clearly.
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Yes! You can add new users, programs, departments, or partner agencies as you grow. Mareto is built to scale without reimplementation or big fees.
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Mareto is configured for your organization. During implementation, we take your existing workflows, reporting requirements, and program structures and customize the platform around them.
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Mareto maintains a single file for each person in the system. When a participant is registered, the platform uses identifiers like first name, last name, and date of birth to check for existing records. If someone is already in the system through another program, their record is reconciled rather than duplicated. This means you always know the full picture of what services a person is receiving across your entire organization.
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Mareto supports fully customizable, role-based access control (RBAC). Permissions can be set by program, by position, or even down to individual data fields. For example, a manager might see restricted case notes that a community program worker cannot, or a volunteer might only see a participant's first name and last name. Every role is configured to match the specific access needs of your organization.
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Absolutely. We can create a dedicated board role that only has access to specific dashboards and reporting metrics, with no visibility into individual participant records. Board members can log in, filter by date range or program, and see high-level data like intake referral sources, demographic breakdowns, or progress against organizational goals. They can also download dashboard images for use in board reports.
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Yes. Single sign-on is available as a configurable option, so your team can log in using their existing organizational credentials.
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Internally, Mareto manages referrals through in-system notifications and email alerts. When a referral is made from one program to another, the relevant program manager receives a notification with the client's details and referral status. Externally, we can build web-based intake forms that can be embedded on your website or shared directly with partner organizations. When a form is submitted, the information flows into the system and triggers notifications to the right people on your team.
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Yes. Mareto includes a form builder that creates front-facing intake forms. These forms can be embedded directly on your organization's website or shared via link with external referral partners. When someone submits a form, the data flows into the software, and notifications are sent to the appropriate staff.
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Definitely. Implementing new technology is as much about refining your processes as it is about the software. Our founding team has decades of experience in the social services sector, including coordinated access and centralized intake design. We can help you assess your current intake workflows, identify friction points, and design a streamlined process, then build Mareto around it.
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Yes. Not every program involves formal intake and ongoing case management, and Mareto is flexible enough to handle both. For drop-in programs, you can track aggregate attendance (e.g., 10 people attended a peer support session) without capturing individual names. For participants who do consent to being identified, you can capture individual attendance and link it to their profile. Both approaches work within the same software.
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Yes. If a participant does not wish to disclose their identity, you can still record their attendance as part of an aggregate headcount. This gives you the data you need for funder reporting and program planning, for example, knowing that 82 people attended your programs last month, without requiring personal information from every individual.
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Mareto supports both manual and automated record archiving. You can set rules, for example, automatically moving records to an inactive folder after one year with no service activity. Inactive records remain searchable and can be reactivated with one click if a participant returns. The system also provides separate views for active and inactive records, with sorting by last name, date of birth, or last activity date. For records that must be permanently deleted (e.g., after a seven-year retention period), the software supports hard deletion from the database.
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There are a few approaches. Staff can always manually edit records directly in the system. For a more scalable approach, Mareto can support a semi-automated update process: an email goes out to participants periodically (e.g., every six months) with a link to an update form. When the form is submitted, the changes come into the system for a staff member to review, approve, and reconcile. We recommend keeping a human in the loop for this step to ensure data accuracy.
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Mareto keeps a detailed activity log covering every login (including failed attempts), who viewed or changed which records and when, administrative changes like updates to user permissions, and system-level events. Everything is tied to an individual user account, so there is always a clear trail for routine audits, privacy investigations, or legal requests.
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No, not unless you explicitly authorize it. Your data belongs to you. HelpSeeker staff do not access client records, even for support purposes, without your written permission. When access is granted, it is limited in scope, logged, and tied to a named staff member who has signed confidentiality agreements and completed privacy training.
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Mareto's infrastructure holds a current SOC 2 Type II certification. Mareto itself is PIPEDA and PHIPA compliant, with our own SOC 2 certification currently in progress. We also engage an independent Canadian cybersecurity firm to conduct regular penetration testing, and we are happy to share summaries of findings and remediation outcomes under a mutual NDA.
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All client data is fully deleted as part of our offboarding process, including any personal information held by HelpSeeker or its subcontractors. Upon request, we will provide written certification that data has been destroyed. You can also export all of your data in standard formats at any time before termination; your data is always yours.
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Yes. Backups are encrypted using the same strong encryption standards as the live system and remain within the Canadian hosting environment. Encryption keys are managed securely and under HelpSeeker's control. No one outside of the authorized infrastructure team can access them, and no HelpSeeker staff can read backup data without your authorization.