Essential software for care providers

Client:

Sector:

NDIS and Aged Care

Published

February 5, 2026

The care industry faces unique challenges

One of the biggest hurdles for care organisations that support seniors and NDIS participants is creating and maintaining a connected ‘chain’ to support back-end operations, payroll and reporting.

From rostering to providing service delivery evidence, and invoicing to submitting claims, if there are gaps or online systems fail to correctly ‘speak’ to each other, admin teams can lose hours every week.

When this chain works smoothly, providers are paid accurately and on time, staff are supported correctly, and clients receive consistent, high-quality care. When it doesn’t, risks increase, compliance requirements aren’t met, business sustainability is undermined and profit margins begin to drop. Having poor back end systems can even affect staff engagement and retention.

Patchwork solutions and non-specific software for care providers are no longer enough. Fortunately, there are modern options which create a more seamless flow across rostering, care management and admin.

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Essential software for care providers

At a minimum, every Australian provider needs three core solutions to oversee:

Rostering and care management
Payroll
Accounting and invoicing

Choosing the right solutions is not necessarily about finding the cheapest option, but about ensuring each platform delivers ROI by being intuitive and easy to use, and integrating with other tools.

Rostering, for example, is the operational source of truth for any care organisation. Rostering software should handle complex schedules, last-minute changes, travel and allowances, worker suitability and client requirements while producing clean outputs like timesheets, kilometres travelled, and service line items downstream that can ‘speak’ to other platforms like Xero.

Visualcare is one option that brings these pieces together by combining participant-focused care management, rostering and connected office-to-field workflows. Alternatives such as ShiftCare and Brevity can also support rostering needs for care providers.

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Side-by-side comparison of care worker rostering platforms

Category	Visualcare	ShiftCare	Brevity
What it is	End-to-end care management platform with rostering as the operational source of truth.	Rostering-first care software focused on scheduling and timesheets.	Practice management platform with rostering as part of a broader admin suite.
Capabilities	Built to manage complex, real-world care rosters.	Suitable for straightforward to moderately complex rostering.	Designed for practice-style or smaller provider models.
Downstream Automations	Roster → timesheet → payroll → invoicing flow.	Timesheets feed payroll with manual checks.	Billing supported with configuration.
Documentation & Shift Evidence	Shift notes, service delivery records and approvals tightly linked.	Basic shift notes and confirmations.	Documentation less embedded in rostering.
Change Management	Built for sick calls, swaps and emergency changes.	Changes supported but harder at scale.	Manageable with strong processes.

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Why choose Visualcare? This platform is purpose-designed for the care industry and frequent feature releases mean it is continually updated to suit modern workflow needs and compliance requirements. It includes a desktop and mobile application that can be used by admin and care staff.

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Payroll software for care organisations: Converting worked time into correct pay

In Australia, Xero, MYOB and Employment Hero are the most recommended software for care providers when it comes to payroll.

Visualcare integrates with all three to make payroll management easier, but here’s an overview of the benefits of each:

Category	Xero Payroll	MYOB	Employment Hero Payroll
What it is	Cloud-based payroll and accounting software.	Established payroll platform with deep award handling.	Payroll combined with HR and compliance.
Care Provider Fit	Small to mid-sized providers.	Providers with complex payroll rules.	Providers prioritising workforce compliance.
Timesheet Ingestion	Imports from rostering systems.	Imports with configuration.	Integrated timesheets within HR suite.
Care Pay Handling	Standard allowances and overtime.	Strong award interpretation.	Supports modern awards with setup.
Key Strength	Simplicity and financial visibility.	Payroll depth.	Compliance and lifecycle management.

Invoicing & accounting: turning services into revenue

Your bookkeeper and accounts management team need software that simplifies their workflows and provides ‘at a glance’ dashboards that highlight issues and showcase business-critical numbers.

Quickbooks and Xero are the most commonly used software platforms for care providers when it comes to accounting.

Again, Visualcare integrates with these platforms, as well as more niche solutions, and can be set up to automatically feed data into them.

Bookkeeping Solutions

Category	Xero (Australia)	QuickBooks (Australia)	Specialist Care Industry Bookkeeper
What it is	Australian cloud accounting platform.	Cloud accounting and invoicing software.	Local finance professional.
Care Provider Fit	NDIS and aged care providers.	Providers seeking automation.	Providers navigating NDIS and SCHADS.
NDIS Alignment	Commonly used for NDIS accounting.	Supported with configuration.	Validates claims and invoices.
BAS & GST	Aligned to Australian requirements.	BAS and GST capable.	Manages BAS and ATO deadlines.
Key Strength	Local ecosystem familiarity.	Automation and flexibility.	Sector expertise and judgement.

Integrating next-level systems and solutions to prevent admin bottlenecks

Using manual processes, disconnected systems and spreadsheet-heavy workflows to manage a care provider organisation may work at small scale, but it quickly leads to errors, delays and staff burnout.

Choosing the right software solutions helps prevent these setbacks by reducing friction, improving visibility and automating critical handoffs.

Key capabilities NDIS and aged care providers should look for when choosing software include:

Care worker and admin-friendly platforms

Software for care providers needs to work in the field and in the office, with an easy-to-use interface and in-app chat capabilities. The more simple it is for care workers to enter data and track activity, the easier the downstream workflow becomes for the admin team.

API-enabled claiming and submissions
Secure API integrations (including PRODA-linked claiming pathways) allow verified service data to flow directly from care systems into government portals, reducing rework, errors and payment delays.
Built-in reporting and operational visibility
While Excel remains useful, it relies on manual upkeep. Automated reporting tools enable non-technical teams to:
- Track delivered vs planned services at a glance
- Monitor utilisation and revenue leakage
- Identify payroll or claiming issues earlier
- Access PowerBI reporting
Reduced reliance on manual reconciliation
When systems surface issues and deliver notifications in real time, small issues can be resolved before they become big ones.

The best software for care providers builds resilience into everyday workflows, so providers can remain compliant and financially stable, and quickly adapt to new funding models and reporting requirements as they are introduced.

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Maximising data flow with smart software for care providers

Care providers improve efficiency when data is captured once before being distributed everywhere it’s needed.

Smart software for care providers ensures information flows cleanly across systems without the need for repeated manual handling.

A well-integrated technology stack follows a simple, logical sequence:

Rostering and care management
Time and attendance, with service evidence
Payroll export (including allowances and travel)
Pre-filled forms for accounting, invoicing and claiming
Data presentation for reporting and analysis

When each step feeds into the next, changes made at the roster level automatically flow downstream. If a shift is updated, cancelled, or extended, payroll, invoicing and reporting should reflect that change with minimal manual correction.

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Why care providers need modern software solutions

Without integration, NDIS and aged care providers face ongoing risks such as:

Mismatched timesheets and rosters
Incorrect staff payments or missed shift and penalty allowances
Delayed invoices or rejected claims
Reduced confidence in financial reporting
Audits that cost more time and money than necessary

Platforms like Visualcare are purpose-designed with the care industry in mind to act as a central source of truth. The benefits are simple:

Rostering data feeds time and attendance
Service evidence supports claiming
Validated information can be pushed to payroll, invoicing, and reporting tools without duplication.

For providers under increasing cost and compliance pressure, maximising data flow isn’t about adding more software or trying to extract information from a basic, generic platform, it’s about choosing systems that work together reliably to minimise manual handling and overcome administrative time-wasters.

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