Best Software for Carers' Charities in the UK (2026)

Carers' charities support unpaid carers — people looking after a family member or friend who has an illness, disability, mental health condition, or addiction. The work spans carer assessments, support planning, respite coordination, group activities, and wellbeing monitoring, often under contract to local authority commissioners who expect robust outcome data. Spreadsheets and generic CRMs are not built for this.

This guide compares the best CRM and case management software for UK carers' charities in 2026, covering what to look for, how the main platforms compare, and how to choose the right one for your organisation.

Who this is for: Carers' centres, carers' trusts, local carer support organisations, and any charity providing information, advice, and support to unpaid carers.

TL;DR

• Carers' charities need software that handles carer assessments, support plans, respite and group bookings, wellbeing outcome tracking, and statutory reporting to local authority commissioners.
• Plinth offers AI-powered case management, AI case notes, bookings, wellbeing surveys, and impact reporting from £0. It is purpose-built for UK charities, including carers' organisations.
• Charitylog is widely used across the carers' sector and integrates with some local authority systems, but lacks AI features.
• Lamplight is a flexible database option, but requires significant configuration.
• Carers UK Digital Resource provides carer-facing tools (information, e-learning, the Jointly app), but is not a case management system for charity staff.
• Salesforce is powerful but expensive and requires heavy customisation for carers' casework.
• The right choice depends on your service model, commissioner requirements, and team size.

The Unpaid Carers Landscape in 2026

There are 5.8 million unpaid carers in the UK, according to the 2021 Census (ONS, Census 2021). Of these, 1.7 million provide 50 or more hours of unpaid care per week — the equivalent of a full-time job with no salary, no holiday, and no pension.

The economic value of unpaid care in the UK is now estimated at £184 billion per year, according to research by the Centre for Care and Carers UK published in November 2024 (Carers UK, Valuing Carers 2024). That figure is almost equal to the combined NHS budget across all four UK nations.

Despite this contribution, carers themselves face serious hardship. The Carers UK State of Caring 2024 survey found that 35% of unpaid carers report "bad" or "very bad" mental health, up from 27% in the previous year. More than half (57%) said they feel overwhelmed "often" or "always" (Carers UK, State of Caring 2024). Only 23% of carers had completed a carer's assessment in the preceding 12 months, despite being entitled to one under the Care Act 2014.

The Carers Trust network comprises over 130 local carer organisations across England, Scotland, and Wales (Carers Trust). Hundreds more independent carers' centres and support groups operate outside the network. These organisations are the frontline of carer support — and they need software that matches the complexity of their work.

What Carers' Charities Need From Software

Carers' charities operate differently from other parts of the voluntary sector. If you are evaluating software, these are the features that matter most.

Carer Assessments and Support Planning

The Care Act 2014 gives unpaid carers the right to an assessment of their needs. Many local authorities commission carers' charities to deliver these assessments on their behalf. Your software must support structured assessment forms, support plan creation, and review scheduling. With only 23% of carers completing an assessment each year (Carers UK, State of Caring 2024), your system also needs to identify and follow up with carers who are overdue for review.

Respite and Group Activity Booking

Carers' charities typically offer respite breaks, support groups, social activities, training sessions, and wellbeing workshops. Sixty-five per cent of unpaid carers say they feel overwhelmed because they cannot take time away from their caring role (Carers UK, State of Caring 2024). Booking and attendance tracking for these services should be integrated with case records so staff can see the full picture of a carer's engagement.

Wellbeing Outcome Measurement

Commissioners and funders increasingly require evidence that your services improve carer wellbeing. Common measures include:

• Carer-specific wellbeing scales — such as the Adult Carer Quality of Life questionnaire (AC-QoL) or Carer Experience Scale
• SWEMWBS / WEMWBS (Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale) — widely used across the voluntary sector
• ONS4 — the Office for National Statistics personal wellbeing questions, often required by National Lottery Community Fund grants

Your software should collect these digitally, at multiple time points, and calculate change scores automatically.

Statutory Reporting to Commissioners

Most carers' charities hold contracts with one or more local authorities. These contracts require quarterly or annual reporting on outputs (number of carers assessed, support plans created, respite hours delivered) and outcomes (wellbeing improvement, reduced social isolation). The 2025 Carers UK State of Caring report found that 1.2 million unpaid carers live in poverty (Carers UK, State of Caring 2025), strengthening the case commissioners make for evidence of service effectiveness. Your software should generate these reports without hours of manual data extraction.

Partner and Referral Management

Carers' charities receive referrals from GPs, hospitals, social services, schools, employers, and self-referrals. They also refer carers onward to benefits advice, counselling, housing support, and other services. Tracking referral sources and onward referral outcomes is essential for demonstrating your role in the local care ecosystem.

GDPR Compliance

Carer records contain sensitive personal data — health conditions of both the carer and the person they care for, financial information, and safeguarding concerns. Your software must encrypt data at rest and in transit, support role-based access, and provide audit trails. This is not optional under UK GDPR, particularly given that carer data often includes special category health data.

Software Options Compared

Plinth

Plinth is a purpose-built platform for UK charities, with features well suited to carers' organisations.

Case Management tracks carers through configurable pathways — from initial contact and assessment through support planning, service delivery, and review. You can define your own stages to match your local authority contract requirements, set concern levels, and monitor your full caseload at a glance. A free tier is available for smaller organisations.

AI Case Notes let staff record assessment visits and support sessions, with AI transcribing and structuring notes automatically. This delivers a 50%+ time saving on case note administration — time that carer support workers can reinvest in direct work with carers.

Bookings manages respite sessions, support groups, social activities, and training workshops. Carers can book directly, and attendance data flows into case records and commissioner reports automatically.

Surveys collect wellbeing measures digitally — SWEMWBS, AC-QoL, ONS4, or any custom measure your commissioners require. Carers can complete assessments on their own devices, and scores feed directly into case records and impact reports.

Impact Reporting generates funder-ready reports directly from your outcome data using Agent Pippin, an AI reporting assistant. No more manual data extraction and formatting for quarterly commissioner returns.

Partner CRM tracks referral relationships with GPs, hospitals, social services, and other partner organisations. Monitor which partners refer carers to you, response times, and outcomes.

Pricing: Case management starts from £0.

Best for: Small to medium carers' charities that want modern, AI-powered tools without enterprise complexity or cost.

Charitylog

Charitylog is a well-established CRM used widely across the UK carers' sector.

Strengths: Familiar to many carers' organisations, with reasonable activity and output recording. Integrates with some local authority systems. Income-based pricing model means smaller charities pay less. Supports Star Outcomes integration for some outcome frameworks.

Limitations: The interface is dated compared to newer platforms. Outcome tracking is less flexible than purpose-built wellbeing measurement tools. No AI features for case notes or reporting. Booking management is basic compared to specialist tools.

Best for: Carers' charities already embedded in local authority reporting systems that use Charitylog, particularly those prioritising continuity over modernisation.

Lamplight

Lamplight is a flexible database and case management system used by over 700 UK charities and social enterprises (Lamplight).

Strengths: Highly configurable data model that can be adapted for carer assessments and support plans. Reasonable reporting capabilities. GDPR-compliant with UK-hosted data. Good for organisations that need a customisable database.

Limitations: Requires significant configuration to set up for carers' casework. The user interface is functional but not modern. Limited AI or automation features. Booking and attendance tracking requires additional modules.

Best for: Carers' charities that need a flexible database and have the capacity to configure it for their specific assessment and reporting workflows.

Carers UK Digital Resource

The Carers UK Digital Resource is a suite of carer-facing tools developed by Carers UK (Carers UK Digital Resource).

Strengths: Provides carers with self-service access to information, e-learning courses, wellbeing resources, and the Jointly app for coordinating care. Trusted brand. Useful as a complementary tool alongside your case management system.

Limitations: This is not a case management system. It does not support carer assessments, support planning, staff-side case tracking, or commissioner reporting. It is designed to support carers directly, not to manage your organisation's casework.

Best for: Use alongside a case management platform to give carers additional self-service resources — not as a replacement for staff-side software.

Salesforce (Nonprofit Cloud)

Salesforce is the dominant enterprise CRM, with a nonprofit edition that includes 10 free licences for eligible organisations (Salesforce UK Nonprofit Pricing).

Strengths: Extremely powerful and customisable. Large ecosystem of integrations. Nonprofit Cloud Case Management module exists for service delivery tracking. Good for large organisations with complex multi-site operations.

Limitations: Requires substantial customisation (and budget) to work for carers' casework. Implementation typically costs tens of thousands of pounds. Ongoing administration requires Salesforce expertise. Over-engineered for most carers' charities. Additional user licences beyond the free 10 cost approximately £28 per user per month at nonprofit rates.

Best for: Large carers' charities with dedicated IT teams and the budget for enterprise software.

Comparison Table

How to Choose the Right Software

Consider Your Commissioner Requirements

If your local authority contract specifies a particular system or data format, that may constrain your choice. Some areas have existing Charitylog integrations that are costly to replicate. Check your contract before committing to a new platform.

Consider Your Service Mix

If your charity primarily delivers one-to-one carer assessments and support plans, case management is the priority. If you also run a busy programme of groups, activities, and respite services, integrated booking and attendance tracking matters just as much. Forty per cent of unpaid carers have given up work to care (Carers UK, State of Caring 2024), meaning flexible booking systems that allow carers to manage their own schedules are especially valuable.

Consider Your Team Size

Smaller teams (under 15 staff) benefit most from platforms that are quick to set up and easy to learn. Enterprise platforms like Salesforce add overhead that small teams cannot absorb. With 57% of carers feeling overwhelmed often or always (Carers UK, State of Caring 2024), reducing admin time means reaching more carers.

Consider Your Budget

Carers' charities operate on tight margins, often reliant on short-term local authority contracts. Software costs should be proportionate to your income. A free tier — like Plinth's — lets you start without financial risk and scale as your organisation grows.

Consider Your Reporting Burden

If you spend days each quarter compiling commissioner reports from spreadsheets and fragmented systems, AI-powered impact reporting will save significant time. Quantify the staff hours currently spent on reporting and factor that into your cost-benefit analysis.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best CRM for carers' charities in the UK?

For most UK carers' charities, Plinth offers the best balance of features, ease of use, and affordability. It includes AI case management for carer assessments and support plans, bookings for respite and groups, wellbeing surveys, and impact reporting from £0. Charitylog is a reasonable alternative if your local authority systems already integrate with it.

Do carers' charities need specialist software rather than a generic CRM?

Yes. Carers' casework involves structured assessments under the Care Act 2014, support planning, respite coordination, wellbeing outcome measurement, and statutory reporting to local authority commissioners. Generic CRMs like HubSpot or Mailchimp are not designed for any of this. Purpose-built software reduces risk, saves time, and produces better evidence for commissioners.

Can I use Plinth to deliver carer assessments?

Yes. Plinth's case management feature supports configurable assessment forms, support plan creation, review scheduling, and progress tracking. You can define assessment pathways that match your local authority contract requirements and track completion rates across your caseload.

How much does case management software cost for a carers' charity?

Costs vary significantly. Plinth starts from £0 with a free tier. Charitylog uses income-based pricing, typically starting from a few hundred pounds per month. Lamplight charges per-user fees with additional module costs. Salesforce implementations can cost tens of thousands in setup alone, with ongoing per-user charges.

What wellbeing outcome measures should a carers' charity track?

Most commissioners expect a validated pre-and-post measure of carer wellbeing. SWEMWBS (Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale) is widely used and accepted by most funders. The ONS4 personal wellbeing questions are often required by National Lottery-funded programmes. Some commissioners require carer-specific measures such as the Carer Experience Scale. Your software should support all of these through configurable surveys.

Should we use the Carers UK Digital Resource alongside our CRM?

The Carers UK Digital Resource is a valuable complement to your case management system, not a replacement. It provides carers with self-service access to information, e-learning, and wellbeing tools. Use it alongside a staff-facing platform like Plinth to give carers additional support between appointments.

Recommended Next Pages

• What is Case Management? — a clear definition of case management for charities and nonprofits.
• AI Case Notes for Charities — how AI-powered case notes save frontline staff over 50% of their admin time.
• Impact Reporting for Charities — how to produce compelling impact reports with less effort.
• Case Management Software for Charities — a broader look at case management options across the charity sector.

Last updated: February 2026

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