Question 1

What is CareAH?

Accepted Answer

CareAH (pronounced "Care-Ah") is short for Care At Home. It's a free marketplace for families in England to find CQC-registered home care agencies by postcode. The brand is always written CareAH (capital A and capital H). For agencies, CareAH is also a complete operating system covering rotas, timesheets, GPS-verified visits, DBS tracking and CQC compliance. CareAH is built and operated by IIT Software Limited, a UK technology company founded in 2007.

Question 2

Is CareAH free for families?

Accepted Answer

Yes — completely free. There are no sign-up fees, no search fees and no hidden charges for families. You only pay for care that is actually delivered — at the hourly rate agreed with your chosen agency and in line with your booking agreement.

Question 3

How does the matching work?

Accepted Answer

You tell us what care is needed — who needs care, what type, when and your budget. We match you with CQC-registered agencies within 25 miles that are available and can help. Agencies respond with structured bids showing their rate and availability. You compare and choose.

Question 4

What is CQC registration and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is England's independent regulator of health and social care. By law, any organisation providing home care must be CQC registered. Every agency listed on CareAH is registered with the CQC based on our most recent sync of the CQC public register. Data from the CQC public register may be subject to delays outside our control — always verify an agency's current status at cqc.org.uk before arranging care.

Question 5

How do I pay for care?

Accepted Answer

You save a payment card when you confirm your booking. After care is delivered each week, you are automatically charged for the GPS-verified hours delivered at the agreed hourly rate. You are never charged before care happens.

Question 6

What if my carer doesn't show up?

Accepted Answer

Every visit requires a GPS clock-in and clock-out. If there is no GPS record, the visit was not billed and you were not charged. You can raise a concern via your family dashboard or contact us directly.

Question 7

Can I cancel a booking?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can cancel by giving at least 48 hours' notice via the platform. Cancellations with less than 48 hours' notice may be subject to a cancellation fee as agreed with the agency at time of booking.

Question 8

How are reviews verified?

Accepted Answer

Every review on CareAH is tied to a verified booking ID. It is impossible to leave a review without a completed booking — no fake ratings, no paid placements.

Question 9

What funding options are available?

Accepted Answer

Home care may be partly or fully funded depending on your circumstances. You may qualify for local authority funding based on a financial assessment — contact your local council for a needs assessment. NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding may also be available for those with complex medical needs. You can also arrange self-funded care directly through CareAH.

Question 10

What is CareAH?

Accepted Answer

CareAH (pronounced "Care-Ah") is short for Care At Home. It's a free marketplace for families in England to find CQC-registered home care agencies by postcode. The brand is always written CareAH (capital A and capital H). For agencies, CareAH is also a complete operating system covering rotas, timesheets, GPS-verified visits, DBS tracking and CQC compliance. CareAH is built and operated by IIT Software Limited, a UK technology company founded in 2007.

Question 11

How do I claim my agency profile?

Accepted Answer

All 15,600+ CQC-registered agencies in England are already on CareAH. Search for your agency by name or postcode, click 'Claim this profile' and register with your agency email. We verify your CQC registration. Takes about 10 minutes.

Question 12

What does the 10% commission mean?

Accepted Answer

CareAH collects payment from families for care delivered. We retain 10% as a platform fee and pay you 90% directly to your connected Stripe account. You never pay commission upfront — it is only deducted from payments for GPS-verified care.

Question 13

When do I get paid?

Accepted Answer

Payouts are processed automatically every Monday. CareAH charges families for the previous week's GPS-verified visits and transfers 90% to your Stripe Connect account.

Question 14

What is included in each plan?

Accepted Answer

All plans include HR records, DBS tracking, rotas, timesheets, GPS clock-in (ECM compliant), compliance tracker, care notes, messaging and audit log. Starter £49/mo (5 staff), Growth £99/mo (25 staff), Enterprise £199/mo (100 staff). All + VAT.

Question 15

What is ECM and is it really free?

Accepted Answer

Electronic Call Monitoring (ECM) is the CQC requirement for timestamped, location-verified visit records. CareAH's GPS clock-in satisfies ECM requirements and is included free on all plans — unlike other platforms that charge extra for this.

Question 16

How do GPS clock-ins work?

Accepted Answer

Carers use the CareAH staff app (a PWA on their phone) to clock in and out of every visit. The app records GPS location and timestamp. These records are available for CQC inspection purposes and trigger family arrival notifications.

Question 17

Can I cancel my subscription?

Accepted Answer

Yes — cancel anytime. Your access continues until end of your current billing period. Data retained for 90 days after cancellation. No cancellation fees. You can also pause for 1 month.

Frequently asked questions