Running a home care agency means keeping hundreds of moving parts in step: visits, carers, care plans, medication, invoices and payroll. When that lives in spreadsheets and paper folders, small mistakes add up, and they take hours you’d rather spend on care. That’s why most UK agencies now use home care management software.
This guide explains what care management software does, how to choose the right system for your agency, and compares 10 systems used by UK domiciliary care providers in 2026, with published pricing where it’s available.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
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What Home Care Management Software Does
Care management software brings your agency’s day-to-day running into one place, usually in the cloud, so office staff and carers see the same up-to-date information. Most home care agency software includes some or all of these:
- Rostering and scheduling. Plan visits, match carers to clients by skills and location, and handle last-minute changes.
- Digital care planning. Person-centred care plans and risk assessments that carers can read on their phone.
- eMAR. Electronic medication records with alerts for missed or late doses.
- Electronic call monitoring. Carers check in and out of visits, so you can see what was delivered and when.
- Invoicing and payroll. Turn completed visits into invoices for clients and councils, and pay data for staff.
- Family access. A portal or app where approved relatives can see visit notes and updates.
Home Care Management Apps for Carers
The carer app is where most of the work happens. Look for one that works offline, because signal is patchy in rural areas, and that’s simple enough for a new carer to use on their first shift.
How to Choose Care Management Software for Your Agency
The best care management software for one agency can be wrong for another. Before you book demos, write down the three problems you most want to fix. Then check each system against these points:
- Size and growth. Will it suit you now and at twice your current size, or across several branches?
- Your funding mix. Council-funded work often needs detailed call monitoring and invoicing. Private clients care more about family access and communication.
- NHS assurance. The NHS keeps an assured solutions list for digital social care records. Being on it shows a system has met national standards.
- Integrations. Does it link to your payroll, accounting software or GP records?
- Support and training. What’s included, and what happens out of hours?
- Contract and costs. Ask about set-up fees, minimum terms, price per user or client, and the cost of moving your data in and out.
Best Home Care Management Software in the UK: 10 Systems Compared
Listed alphabetically, not ranked. Features and prices come from each supplier’s own listing or the UK government’s G-Cloud 14 marketplace, checked in October 2026. “Ask” means the source didn’t mention it.
| System | Rostering | Care planning | eMAR | Family access | Published pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Access Care | Yes | Yes | Yes | Ask | On request |
| Access Webroster | Yes | Via Access Care Planning | Ask | Ask | £6 to £24 per person a month (G-Cloud 14) |
| Birdie | Yes | Assessments and care tasks | Yes | Yes, Family App | £0.20 to £0.40 per unit a month (G-Cloud 14) |
| Carebeans | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, portal | On request |
| Careberry | Yes | Yes | Yes | Ask | Monthly, no long-term contract |
| CareLineLive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, Care Circle | On request |
| Log my Care | Add-on | Yes | Add-on | Add-on | Free Starter plan, paid plans |
| Nourish | Yes | Yes | Ask | Ask | On request |
| PASS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, portal | £8.20 per user a month (G-Cloud 14) |
| unique IQ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, portal | Packages, on request |
1. Access Care
From The Access Group, Access Care is an all-in-one care planning, rostering and management system for domiciliary care. It covers customisable care plans, eMAR, electronic call monitoring, a mobile app that works offline, and a library of audits and mock CQC inspections. It suits agencies that want one supplier for care, HR, payroll and finance, since Access offers all of these.
2. Access Webroster
Also from The Access Group, Webroster focuses on rostering and workforce management, with an optimiser that matches client needs to carer skills, mileage calculations, payroll and invoicing. Its supplier listing says it serves over 300 care businesses, including local authority reablement services. Mobile check-in needs Access Care Planning alongside it.
3. Birdie
Birdie is built for domiciliary care providers of all sizes. It combines drag-and-drop scheduling, eMAR, digital assessments, real-time alerts and invoicing, with a carer app and a Family App for relatives. Its G-Cloud 14 listing shows pricing per unit per month, so ask how units are counted for your agency.
4. Carebeans
Carebeans serves home care, supported living and care homes from one system. It offers person-centred care plans, eMAR, drag-and-drop rostering, an offline carers app and portals for families and professionals. It was one of the first suppliers on the NHS assured list for digital social care records and links with GP Connect.
5. Careberry
Careberry describes itself as built by a care provider for care providers across the UK. It covers home care rostering, care planning, eMAR and gross payroll, with automated invoicing. It’s an NHS England assured supplier and offers monthly pricing with no long-term contract.
6. CareLineLive
CareLineLive is a cloud platform for home care agencies, covering rostering, care planning, electronic call monitoring, eMAR, payroll and invoicing, plus a Care Circle portal for family. It says it is used by over 650 home care agencies, is an NHS England assured supplier, and includes a CQC and CIW compliance benchmarking tool in its subscriptions. Read our interview on how Josh Hough built CareLineLive.
7. Log my Care
Log my Care is a good place to start for smaller or newer agencies, because it has a free Starter plan. Care plans and the carer app are included, with eMAR, rostering and a family app available as add-ons, and paid Pro, Outstanding and Group plans as you grow.
8. Nourish
Nourish bought CarePlanner, a long-standing home care rostering system, in 2023. Its home care tools cover rota planning, call monitoring, invoicing, payroll and a carer app, with care plans and point-of-care recording added through Nourish Better Care at Home. Nourish says its technology supports a third of all home care hours in Britain.
9. PASS
PASS, from everyLIFE Technologies, is an all-in-one digital care platform covering care planning, eMAR, rostering, invoicing and payroll. Carers use an app that works offline, approved family members get a secure portal, and it connects to GP records through GP Connect. Its G-Cloud 14 listing shows £8.20 per user a month.
10. unique IQ
unique IQ has provided home care management software since 2006. Its IQ:caremanager platform covers rostering, care planning, eMAR, invoicing, payroll and HR, with a carer app and a client and family portal. It suits agencies from around 10 carers to several hundred, including multi-branch, live-in and complex care providers.
Getting More From Your Software
Your software can help you grow, not just run day to day. Use it to show families what they’ll get, for example by mentioning your family app on your website. Record where each new client heard about you, so you know which marketing is bringing in enquiries. And keep your care records in good shape, because a strong inspection rating is one of the most persuasive things you can show a family.
Your Home Care Software Questions Answered
What is home care management software?
It’s a system that runs the day-to-day work of a home care agency in one place: rostering visits, digital care plans, medication records, call monitoring, invoicing and payroll. Office staff use it on a computer and carers use an app on their phone.
What is the best care management software in the UK?
There isn’t one best system for every agency. A small private-pay agency, a council-funded provider and a multi-branch group need different things. Shortlist two or three that fit your size and funding, see demos using your own rota, and speak to an agency already using each one.
How much does home care software cost?
Most suppliers quote individually. Where prices are published, they’re usually per user, per carer or per client each month, and some systems offer a free starter plan. Ask for a written quote that includes set-up, training and moving your data across.
Is domiciliary care management software different from care home software?
Yes. Domiciliary care software is built around visits in people’s own homes, so rostering, travel time and call monitoring matter most. Care home software is built around residents in one building. Some suppliers offer both, but check the product is designed for home care.
What is the NHS assured list for care software?
It’s a list of digital social care record systems that have met national standards for things like data security and usability. Choosing a supplier on the list gives you extra confidence that the basics are covered.
Do carers need training to use a care management app?
A little. Most apps are designed to be picked up quickly, but plan a short training session and give new carers a buddy for their first shifts. Ask each supplier what training and support is included in the price.
Your systems run the care. Is your marketing bringing in the clients?
If your agency is ready to grow, we’ll talk through where your enquiries come from now and what would bring in more of the right ones.
Or email team@careconnectmarketing.co.uk
