Not every software comparison starts from the same position. Acuitas 3 and Optinet Nova are both cloud-based systems built specifically for independent UK opticians, and both handle the core workflows a practice depends on every day. What differs is the context each platform comes from, how they are structured commercially, and what they are built to support as a practice grows.
The comparison below is drawn from publicly available feature and pricing documentation from both vendors and covers the areas most relevant to a purchasing decision. For anything specific to your setup, a demo with each vendor is the most reliable way to confirm fit.
Acuitas 3 vs Optinet Nova: Spotlight
Nova was launched in 2024 by Optinet, the IT services division of the National Eyecare Group (NEG), which describes itself as the UK’s largest buying group for independent opticians. It is designed to sit alongside the purchasing and support infrastructure NEG already provides to its members. Acuitas 3 is Ocuco’s platform for independent practices and groups, with a deployment footprint that spans the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and the US across more than 6,750 sites.
All feature and pricing information below is compiled from publicly available documentation on both vendors’ websites and is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. Feature availability may change; always verify directly with each vendor before making a decision.
Pricing and Commercial Structure
Optinet Nova operates on a monthly rental model at £325 per month for the first site; existing Optinet users and NEG members are eligible for a reduced rate of £305 per month. That fee includes multi-device access, in-practice training and support, 1TB of image and file storage, database backup, and unlimited email sending. Nova also offers a 12-month free software trial, details of which are available directly from Optinet.
Acuitas 3 is priced based on practice size, site count, user numbers, and modules required. Practices need to request a quote to get a figure tailored to their specific configuration. That approach means the price reflects what the practice actually uses rather than a flat rate applied across the board, which can be helpful when practices want pricing aligned to their chosen modules and scale.
Nova publishes its rental pricing directly on its website, giving practices a starting figure to work with before engaging with the vendor.
For practices with more complex configurations or multi-site operations, the Acuitas 3 quote-based structure is worth working through in detail before drawing conclusions on cost.
Platform Background and Market Position
Optinet Nova is a cloud-based platform from the same vendor as Optinet Flex, a platform that had an established presence among UK independent opticians before Nova launched in 2024. It is positioned as part of the broader NEG membership offering. For practices that are already NEG members, Nova sits within an ecosystem of purchasing terms, supplier relationships, and practice support that the group provides.
Acuitas 3 is developed by Ocuco, founded in Dublin in 1993 and now the largest optical retail software provider worldwide. Ocuco is a specialist software provider focused on the eyecare industry, building software specifically for optical businesses rather than offering general-purpose retail systems. The platform serves independent practices, optical chains, and multi-site groups, and its architecture reflects that breadth: clinical records, dispensing, eCommerce, omnichannel patient journeys, and reporting all sit within the same environment.
Clinical and Operational Features
The features that shape daily workflows are the most practical starting point for any side-by-side comparison.
| Feature | Acuitas 3 | Optinet Nova |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical records | Unified online and in-practice booking² | Appointment management; multiple diaries from one interface³ |
| Contact lens management | Configurable by visit type with data validation² | Customisable assessments; multiple refractions; IOP graphs; imaging³ |
| Recall & patient comms | Validated dispensing with pre-order error checking² | Prescription dispensing, billing, and payments³ |
| Business intelligence | Full contact lens management² | Not confirmed from public documentation³ |
| eCommerce | Multi-channel automated recall² | Email, SMS, and Docmail, and letter³ |
| Diary & scheduling | Power BI reporting & analytics; customisable KPI tracking through dashboards (with drill-down); accessible anytime, anywhere² | Cloud-based business insight; data accessible anytime³ |
| Dispensing | Synced online and in-practice product catalogues² | Not listed as a core feature³ |
² Acuitas 3 features: https://www.ocuco.com/industry-solutions/independents/acuitas-3/
³ Optinet Nova features: https://optinetuk.com/optinet-nova/
Note: Compiled from publicly available sources at the time of writing. Feature availability may change; always verify directly with each vendor before making a decision.
Clinical Records and Equipment Integration
Nova’s clinical record module covers customisable assessments, multiple refractions, IOP graphs, imaging, and clinical billing within a single scrolling patient screen. The design emphasis is on keeping all patient data visible in one place without navigating between separate views. For practices that want a straightforward clinical layout without extensive configuration, that approach reduces the setup burden.
Acuitas 3 structures clinical records around the full patient visit, with exam workflows configurable by visit type and documentation that spans every stage of the patient journey. The equipment integration catalogue is the largest in the optical industry, covering imaging, refraction, and dispensing devices from multiple manufacturers. For practices working with a mix of diagnostic equipment or planning to expand their device setup, compatibility is rarely a question that needs to be raised separately.
Nova’s public documentation does not list specific equipment integrations; practices with existing diagnostic equipment should confirm compatibility directly with Optinet before making a decision.
Dispensing and Stock Management
Acuitas 3 includes a validated dispensing layer that checks whether a specific frame and lens combination can be produced before the order is placed. For practices where dispensing errors and remakes generate recurring costs, that validation step has a direct operational benefit. Managing the right optical inventory management software sits alongside this: stock in Acuitas 3 is tracked in real time across all sites, which becomes increasingly important as practice complexity grows.
Nova covers prescription dispensing, billing, and payments as part of its core feature set. Its public documentation describes the dispensing module as covering all aspects of the dispensing workflow from a single interface, connected to the payments and patient records environment. Practices evaluating Nova for dispensing-heavy workflows should confirm the specifics of stock management and order tracking during a demo, as the level of detail available on those features publicly is limited.
NHS Workflows and eGOS
Both platforms support NHS sight test vouchers and eGOS for England. Nova’s public documentation references NHS workflows and GOS form handling as part of the platform’s capability. Acuitas 3 covers GOS forms and NHS payment reconciliation within its integrated workflow, with voucher management connected directly to the wider patient record and financial reconciliation handled in the same environment.
For practices where NHS volume drives a significant part of daily throughput, the question to bring to any demo is less whether eGOS is supported and more how each platform handles claim errors, rejections, and the connection between NHS activity and the rest of the practice data. Both vendors should be asked to demonstrate that workflow with realistic volume before a decision is made.
Recall and Patient Communication
Nova covers recall across email, SMS, Docmail, and letter. The inclusion of Docmail (a managed print-and-post service) within the core recall options means practices can send physical recall letters without managing a separate mailing supplier. For practices without dedicated administrative staff, that reduces the workload around postal recalls without adding another vendor relationship to manage.
Acuitas 3 handles automated recall across email, SMS, and letter, with marketing tools sitting within the same environment. It can also be extended with an advanced CRM module to support targeted recalls and marketing campaigns. Practices with multiple locations can monitor all communication activity centrally rather than managing it separately at each site. Acuitas 3 is backed by ISO 27001-certified practices and SOC 2 Type II certification, alongside GDPR compliance and a full audit trail. For practices operating in regulated environments or as part of larger groups with formal governance requirements, that certification layer matters. In the US, HIPAA-compliant patient communication for optometry is also covered within the same workflow.
Reporting and Business Intelligence
Acuitas 3 integrates Microsoft Power BI for reporting, giving practices dashboards they can customise by site, clinician, time period, and revenue stream. For multi-site practices, keeping performance visibility consolidated across locations is one of the harder problems a reporting tool needs to solve, and the Power BI layer handles it without requiring a separate platform.
Tracking the right optometry practice KPIs becomes more straightforward when the reporting is built to surface them across the whole business in one place.
Nova offers cloud-based business intelligence that gives practices access to their data anytime and from any device. The home screen pulls key practice metrics into a single consolidated view, keeping the information a practice needs for day-to-day decisions in one place rather than spread across separate reports or modules.
Nova’s public documentation lists specific dashboard metrics but does not detail the reporting architecture or how multi-site visibility is handled. Practices with more than one location, or those that rely on granular performance data to make staffing and commercial decisions, should ask Optinet to demonstrate the reporting layer in full during a demo rather than assuming coverage from the feature description alone.
Scale, Compliance, and Security
| Area | Acuitas 3 | Optinet Nova |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 27001 certification | Yes⁴ | Not listed on public pages |
| SOC 2 Type II certification | Yes⁵ | Not listed on public pages |
| Cyber Essentials | Not listed on public pages | Yes³ |
| GDPR compliance | Yes; full audit trail¹ | Not listed on public pages |
| Multi-device access | Yes¹ | Yes; included in rental fee³ |
| API access | Yes¹ | Not listed as a core feature |
| US market support | Yes¹ | No |
¹ Acuitas 3: https://www.ocuco.com/industry-solutions/independents/acuitas-3/
³ Optinet Nova: https://optinetuk.com/optinet-nova/
⁴ ISO 27001: https://www.ocuco.com/news/ocuco-receives-iso-270012017-certification-for-information-security-compliance/
⁵ SOC 2 Type II: https://www.ocuco.com/news/ocuco-awarded-soc-2-type-ii-certification-for-acuitas-3-omnichannel-edition/
Note: Compiled from publicly available sources at the time of writing. Always verify current certification and feature status directly with each vendor.
Data Security and Compliance
Acuitas 3 holds both ISO 27001:2017 and SOC 2 Type II certification, alongside GDPR and DPA compliance and a full in-platform audit trail. For practices operating under formal governance frameworks or as part of a larger group with compliance obligations, those certifications provide a documented standard rather than a general assurance.
Nova holds Cyber Essentials certification, the UK government-backed scheme overseen by the National Cyber Security Centre that sets a baseline standard of protection against common internet-based threats. Nova’s public documentation does not list ISO 27001 or SOC 2 equivalents. Practices with specific data governance requirements should ask Optinet directly for their current compliance position before making a decision.
Switching Platforms: What to Factor In
Switching practice management software carries more risk than a feature comparison suggests. Patient record continuity, data migration from an existing system, and staff retraining all need to be planned before a go-live date is realistic. Practices coming from other systems should confirm migration support directly with Optinet before committing to a timeline.
For practices considering Acuitas 3, Ocuco provides data migration support and on-site training as part of the implementation process, . Working through a switching EHR checklist specific to your setup helps surface those risks before they become problems mid-implementation, and understanding what transitioning to cloud-based optometry EHR involves operationally is worth doing well in advance of any contract decision. Confirming the scope of migration support, timeline expectations, and staff training provision with both vendors is the most reliable way to avoid surprises.
Which Platform Fits Your Practice
Nova suits independent opticians already within the NEG ecosystem who want a cloud-based system that sits alongside the group’s purchasing and support infrastructure. The transparent rental pricing, Docmail recall integration, and 1TB of included storage make the commercial proposition straightforward to evaluate. Practices considering Nova should ask specifically about equipment integrations, stock management depth, and multi-site reporting during the demo, as public documentation on those areas is limited.
Acuitas 3 suits practices that need clinical depth, a broad and tested equipment integration catalogue, validated dispensing to reduce remake costs, and reporting that scales as the business grows. The SOC 2 Type II certification and full audit trail make it the stronger choice for practices with formal compliance requirements, and the omnichannel architecture holds up across single-site independents and larger multi-site groups.
For practices building toward eCommerce alongside their in-practice workflows, Acuitas 3 is designed to support a joined-up online and in-store patient journey without relying on separate systems for core touchpoints. A demo is the most direct way to see how that looks with your specific workflows. Book a demo with Acuitas 3.
