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Rotas, training records and daily checks for your care home, built around how you actually run it

One system for the registered manager: the rota, the training matrix, supervisions and the fire, water and fridge checks, kept up to date as a by-product of the working week, so the evidence is already there when the CQC asks for it.

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Sound familiar?

  • The rota is rebuilt in Excel every fortnight and swaps are agreed on WhatsApp, so nobody can prove the skill mix on a given night.
  • The training matrix is a colour-coded spreadsheet that drifts out of date between audits, and the certificates live in a filing cabinet.
  • Supervisions and appraisals are in a diary or a Word log, and 'overdue supervisions' came up at the last inspection.
  • Fire alarm tests, water temperatures and fridge temperatures are on paper sheets in ring binders, and finding six months of them takes an afternoon.
  • The care-planning supplier has quoted a per-bed price for a compliance add-on, and timesheets are still re-keyed into payroll.

What the system does

  • A rota that checks the skill mix

    A rota built around your shifts and your skill mix: every shift shows who is on, whether a senior and a medication-trained carer are covered, and warns you before you roster someone whose mandatory training has lapsed.

  • A training matrix that keeps itself current

    Your course list, your renewal periods, certificate uploads and overdue flags, with reminders sent to the manager rather than discovered at inspection.

  • Supervisions and appraisals, scheduled

    Supervision and appraisal scheduling with notes and sign-off, so the Regulation 18 evidence is a report you print, not a search through diaries.

  • Daily checks on a tablet

    Daily, weekly and monthly checks done on a tablet: fire alarm tests, water temperatures, fridge temperatures, call bells and anything else on your schedule, with gaps shown in red.

  • Timesheets from the rota as worked

    Timesheets produced from the rota that was actually worked, exported to your payroll software or bureau.

  • One-click CQC evidence packs

    An evidence pack for each CQC quality statement, produced in one click on the day the inspector arrives.

What a first build looks like

A 30-bed residential home with around 45 staff

Before
The rota is rebuilt in Excel every fortnight, the training matrix is a colour-coded spreadsheet, supervisions are in a Word log and the daily checks are on paper in ring binders.
What we build
  • A staff list with roles and contracted hours
  • A four-week rota with shift templates, a skill-mix check per shift, open-shift requests to bank staff and a phone view for carers
  • A course list with renewal periods, certificate uploads and overdue reminders
  • Supervision and appraisal scheduling with a sign-off step
  • Tablet checklists for the weekly fire alarm test and the water and fridge temperatures
  • A payroll export matched to your provider
  • A one-click evidence pack PDF per CQC quality statement
Outcome
The manager sees what is overdue each morning, the evidence pack for an inspector is produced in a click, and it all sits beside your existing care-planning system.
How long
The delivery date is in the proposal, not in a sales pitch.

More worked examples

Why not just buy something?

We already pay for a care-planning system.

Keep it. This sits beside it and covers the staff and governance side that most small homes still run in Excel and Word. We do not touch care notes or medication records.

Rota apps already exist and they are cheap.

They are, and if a generic rota app does what you need we will tell you so on the first call. The gap is care-specific: skill mix per shift, training-expiry warnings, supervision tracking and CQC evidence. Generic tools charge per user and do not know what Regulation 18 is.

You are one person. What if you are not around?

Your data is yours and you can export it at any time. The agreement sets out your rights to the software so you are never locked in. Your data is yours from day one. The system runs on the same platform we use for every build, and the handover documentation is part of the fixed price. We agree in writing what happens to hosting and support if either side wants to stop.

Our staff will not use another app.

We design the carer's view first, on a phone, with your deputy manager in the room. If it takes more than a couple of taps to swap a shift or tick a check, we have built it wrong.

Is our data safe?

Hosting we manage under UK GDPR, with a written data-processing agreement. Role-based access so a carer sees only what they need, a full audit trail of who changed what, and a data-processing agreement you can show the CQC.

  • Fixed price, agreed in writing before we start.
  • A working version in weeks, not months.
  • Hosted, backed up and supported afterwards.

What an inspector will ask to see

Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulation 17 (good governance)
Accurate, complete and up-to-date records for every resident and every member of staff.
Regulation 18 (staffing)
Evidence of sufficient staff on each shift, with the training, supervision and appraisal records that show they are competent.
Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment)
Records of the checks that keep people safe, from fire alarm tests to fridge temperatures.
CQC single assessment framework, 'processes' evidence category
Processes you can show working on the day, not policies on a shelf.
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
A record of alarm tests and drills.
HSE L8 and HSG274 (legionella)
Water temperature monitoring records.
Food hygiene
Fridge and freezer temperature records.
Skills for Care core and mandatory training framework
A training matrix showing who has done what and when it is due again.
Working Time Regulations 1998
Working-time records for every member of staff.
UK GDPR
Staff and resident data held securely, with access limited by role.

Correct to the best of our knowledge as at October 2026.

We build the record-keeping; we do not give regulatory advice. Your policies stay yours.

Questions we are often asked

Does this replace our care-planning or eMAR system?

No. It covers rota, training, supervision, checks and evidence. Care notes and medication records stay where they are.

How long does a first version take?

We agree a fixed scope and price up front and deliver a first working version in weeks, not months. Most homes start with the rota and the training matrix and add the checks and the evidence pack in a second phase.

Can it handle bank and agency staff?

Yes. Bank staff get their own login to pick up open shifts; agency shifts are recorded against the agency with the worker's name so the skill-mix check still works.

Is it CQC approved?

No software is approved by the CQC, and anyone who tells you otherwise is overselling. What it does is keep the records that Regulations 17 and 18 expect, in a form you can show an inspector on demand.

Can it export to our payroll?

Yes. Timesheets come from the rota as worked and export in the format your payroll software or bureau accepts.

What does it cost?

A fixed price agreed before we start, based on the scope we agree together, plus a flat monthly hosting and support fee. There are no per-bed or per-user charges.

Tell us what the inspector asked for last time.

A few lines is plenty. We reply within one working day.

If you would rather we rang you

What you do by hand today, roughly how many staff, and what prompted you to look now.

We use what you send us only to reply to your enquiry. We also record which page you sent it from and your IP address, so we can stop spam. We will not add you to a mailing list. How we look after your details.

or email hello@dowco.co

The form is never the only route. Email hello@dowco.co. We reply within one working day.