If you run a domiciliary care agency in the UK, you're managing:
- Client visits (scheduling carers to specific clients at specific times)
- Carer rostering (who's working, when, what shifts)
- Digital care plans (what care each client needs, documented and updated)
- Medication administration records (MAR charts) (which medications, when, confirmation carer gave them)
- CQC compliance (evidence of care, training records, incident reporting)
- Vulnerable person safeguarding (lone worker check-ins, safeguarding concerns)
- GDPR (client data is sensitive health information)
Do this wrong and you fail CQC inspection. Do it in outdated systems and you waste time that should go to care.
The right care scheduling software documents everything, alerts you to problems, and keeps you compliant. The wrong one leaves you scrambling during CQC visits.
What you actually need from care software
- Visit scheduling — assign carers to clients, manage shifts, handle changes
- Digital care planning — document what care each client needs, updated in real-time
- Medication administration records (MAR) — log medications, confirm carer gave them
- Carer tracking — know where carers are, lone worker check-ins
- Incident and safeguarding reporting — document concerns, create audit trail
- CQC compliance — generate evidence of care delivery, training records
- Lone worker safety — regular check-ins during visits, emergency alerts
Anything else is secondary.
The main contenders
Birdie (Purpose-built, CQC-compliant)
Cost: Tiered, £200–£600+/month depending on number of carers and features
What it does:
- Visit scheduling and rostering
- Digital care plans (editable, real-time)
- MAR chart management (medications tracked, confirmed)
- Lone worker check-ins (carer confirms safe at start/end of visit)
- Incident and safeguarding reporting
- CQC compliance documentation
- Carer app (visit schedules, route planning, digital timesheets)
- Reporting and analytics
Why it's popular in UK care:
- Purpose-built for UK domiciliary care (not adapted from other industries)
- CQC compliance is built-in (not a bolted-on module)
- Strong focus on safeguarding and lone worker safety
- Digital care plans reduce paper
- Automatically generates CQC-ready evidence
Strengths:
- Excellent CQC compliance documentation
- Digital care plans are comprehensive
- Lone worker check-in features (important for safety)
- Good carer app
- Strong for larger agencies
- Growing rapidly in UK care sector
Weaknesses:
- More expensive than some competitors
- Can be over-engineered for very small agencies
- Longer onboarding process
- Requires proper training
Best for: Growing care agencies (20+ carers), agencies wanting strong CQC compliance documentation, agencies doing specialized care (end-of-life, dementia)
Verdict: Best overall for serious care agencies. Investment upfront pays off at CQC inspection.
Log my Care (Free tier, Popular with smaller agencies)
Cost: Free basic tier (up to 10 carers); Pro tier £50–£200/month depending on size
What it does:
- Visit scheduling (on web and mobile app)
- Carer check-in (app-based confirmation of visits)
- Basic care plan notes
- Incident reporting
- Carer timesheets
- GDPR-compliant data storage
Why it's popular:
- Free tier is genuinely useful (not crippled)
- Simple interface
- Low barrier to entry
- Good for testing before full investment
- Growing UK user base
Strengths:
- Free tier is excellent (£0 to start)
- Simple, clean app
- Good carer experience (easy to use)
- Flexible pricing (only pay as you grow)
- Quick to implement
Weaknesses:
- Weaker on digital care planning (mostly notes)
- MAR functionality is basic
- Less comprehensive CQC documentation than Birdie
- Smaller company (less enterprise support)
Best for: Small agencies (under 20 carers), agencies just adopting digital systems, startups wanting low cost
Verdict: Excellent entry point. Many agencies graduate to Birdie as they grow.
Nourish Care (Digital care planning focus)
Cost: £100–£400/month depending on size and features
What it does:
- Digital care plans (comprehensive, person-centred)
- Visit scheduling
- Care plan updates (carers update in real-time during visits)
- Incident reporting
- MAR functionality (basic)
- Carer app
- Reporting
Why it's used:
- Strong focus on person-centred care planning
- Care plans are detailed and compliant
- Good for supporting carers in understanding client needs
- Growing in UK market
Strengths:
- Excellent care plan templates
- Good focus on person-centred care
- Decent reporting
- Growing UK support
Weaknesses:
- Less specialized than Birdie (doesn't feel purpose-built for care in same way)
- MAR is less developed than dedicated care software
- Smaller user base
- Less CQC-specific documentation
Best for: Agencies prioritizing care quality and person-centred planning, agencies wanting good care documentation
Verdict: Good for specialized care (dementia, mental health support), weaker on CQC compliance documentation.
Access Care Planning (Larger agencies)
Cost: Tiered, £300–£800+/month depending on size and modules
What it does:
- Full care planning system
- Visit scheduling
- MAR management
- Risk assessments
- Reporting and analytics
- Compliance documentation
- Mobile app for carers
Why it's used:
- Established in UK care sector
- Good for compliance-heavy environments
- Strong reporting capabilities
- Used by some larger agencies
Strengths:
- Comprehensive reporting
- Good for compliance documentation
- Scalable for larger agencies
- Established track record
Weaknesses:
- More expensive
- Can feel over-engineered
- Smaller user base than Birdie
- Longer implementation
Best for: Larger agencies (50+ carers), agencies with complex compliance requirements
Verdict: Good option for large agencies, but Birdie is probably better value.
CarePlanner (Scheduling focus)
Cost: £100–£300/month depending on carers
What it does:
- Visit scheduling and rostering
- Carer shift management
- Client notes
- Timesheets
- Basic reporting
- Mobile app
Why it's used:
- Simple, focused on scheduling
- Lower cost than full systems
- Good for roster management
- Used by smaller agencies
Strengths:
- Affordable
- Simple scheduling interface
- Good for roster management
- Quick to implement
Weaknesses:
- Weak on care planning (mostly a scheduler)
- Limited MAR functionality
- Minimal CQC documentation
- Less comprehensive than dedicated care software
Best for: Very small agencies (under 15 carers), agencies wanting scheduling only, budget-conscious operations
Verdict: Adequate for simple scheduling, but insufficient for CQC compliance requirements. Most agencies need more.
Key features comparison
| Software | Price | Care Plans | MAR | CQC Docs | Lone Worker | Best for | |----------|-------|-----------|-----|----------|-------------|----------| | Birdie | £200–600 | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Growing agencies | | Log my Care | Free–£200 | Basic | Basic | Basic | Yes | Small agencies | | Nourish | £100–400 | Excellent | Basic | Good | Yes | Specialized care | | Access | £300–800 | Excellent | Good | Excellent | Yes | Large agencies | | CarePlanner | £100–300 | Basic | Basic | Basic | No | Very small |
The critical feature: CQC Compliance Documentation
CQC will ask:
- "Show me evidence that care was delivered"
- "Show me care plans"
- "Show me medication administration records"
- "Show me safeguarding incident documentation"
Your software must generate this automatically. If it doesn't, you're building CQC evidence manually during inspection (chaos).
Who handles this best: Birdie (purpose-built for CQC), Access (good), Nourish (adequate)
Who handles this poorly: CarePlanner, Log my Care (basic only)
If CQC is coming, you need software that documents everything.
The critical feature: MAR charts
You must document every medication given. CQC will check:
- Is the medication recorded?
- Is the time recorded?
- Is the carer's confirmation recorded?
- Are there gaps or missing entries?
Who handles this well: Birdie (purpose-built), Access (good), Nourish (basic)
Who handles this poorly: CarePlanner (minimal), Log my Care (basic)
MAR compliance is non-negotiable.
The critical feature: Lone worker safety
Carers often work alone in vulnerable people's homes. You need:
- Check-in at start of visit (carer confirms they've arrived safely)
- Check-in at end of visit (carer confirms they've left safely)
- Emergency alerts (if carer doesn't check in, system alerts you)
- Location tracking (optional, but good for safety)
Who handles this well: Birdie, Log my Care, Nourish, Access
Who lacks this: CarePlanner
Safeguarding is your responsibility. Choose software that supports it.
My recommendation by agency size
Very small agency (5–10 carers): Log my Care free tier. Start free, upgrade to Pro as you grow. £0–£100/month.
Small agency (10–25 carers): Log my Care Pro or Nourish. Log my Care if you want simplicity, Nourish if you want detailed care planning. £50–£200/month.
Growing agency (25–50 carers): Birdie. Purpose-built for this size. Investment upfront saves time and passes CQC. £300–£400/month.
Large agency (50+ carers): Birdie or Access. Birdie for growing agencies, Access for established large operations. £400–£600+/month.
GDPR and safeguarding
You hold sensitive health information about vulnerable people. Your software must:
- Encrypt data (in transit and at rest)
- Provide access controls (who can see what)
- Maintain audit logs (who accessed what, when)
- Comply with GDPR (data subject rights, retention policies)
All major systems handle this. But verify before signing up.
Hidden costs
- Training: Getting carers to use the app — £500–£2,000 in staff time
- Devices: If you provide tablets or phones to carers — £200–£500 per carer
- Integration: Linking to your accounting or CRM — may be extra
- Implementation: Setting up care plans, initial data entry — staff time
Budget for the full cost, not just monthly fee.
The honest bit
Birdie is the best system for serious care agencies (it's why it's growing rapidly). Log my Care is the best entry point for small agencies. Nourish is good for specialized care. Access is solid for large agencies.
For most UK care agencies, Birdie is worth the investment. It's purpose-built for UK care, passes CQC inspections, and scales as you grow.
Start with Log my Care if you're small and budget-conscious. But plan to move to Birdie as you grow. The difference in CQC compliance is worth it.
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