Best care staffing agency software for UK agencies
For most UK care and nursing agencies in 2026, the best care staffing agency software is CareOS: one system runs the whole agency flow — shift booking and fill, a worker app with shift acceptance, a client portal, timesheets with client sign-off, charge and pay rates by client, role and time band, invoicing, payroll, compliance gating and built-in recruitment — and the same platform can also run home care or supported living if your agency does both. The honest picture has nuance: Panther is the one system here that documents NHS framework rate caps, Access Recruitment is the broadest suite for larger agencies, AsanWork is the cheapest self-serve option, Carionex is a very new vendor that also combines staffing and home care, and Florence is a marketplace and a tool for care providers rather than agency back-office software. The ranked comparison and full capability table are below.
How we compared — and an honest disclosure
CareOS publishes this page and ranks itself first, so read it critically. Every capability below was rated from publicly available vendor documentation — Sirenum, Access Vincere Evo and Panther in July 2026, and Florence, AsanWork, Carionex and the NHS framework, AWR and care-delivery rows in October 2026 — and we show where competitors match or beat us. Where a vendor doesn't publicly document a feature it is shown as "not documented"; it may still exist, so verify it in a demo. Florence is rated from an agency's point of view. Zeel, which appears on our care staffing page, is not ranked here because its product information could not be re-verified in October 2026, and we have left out 20X, a nursing-agency system from the same founder as CareOS.
The seven systems at a glance
Best all-in-one for agencies that want one system from booking to payslip
The full agency flow in one platform, plus recruitment and the option to run home care alongside; NHS framework caps and AWR are handled by rate cards rather than automated.
Best for larger agencies wanting a broad recruitment suite
A mature recruitment suite with full timesheets, rates, invoicing and payroll; the worker app and scheduler views are less documented, and NHS rates sit in a sister product.
Best for agencies supplying NHS frameworks
The only system here documenting NHS framework rate caps, with shift booking, a worker app and compliance; invoicing and in-platform payroll are less documented.
Best for agencies already on Bullhorn
Strong shift, scheduling and client-console tools; payroll relies on integrations and recruitment sits in Bullhorn's wider platform.
Best for small agencies wanting cheap, self-serve tools
Public, low pricing with a free trial and the core shift-to-payroll flow; not built for UK healthcare frameworks, and no public reviews yet.
Best for small agencies combining staffing and home care, if a new vendor suits you
Staffing and home care in one platform with invoicing, payroll and recruitment; a very new company with no public reviews yet.
Best for care providers controlling their agency use — not agency back-office software
A marketplace and provider-side workforce tool; for an agency it is a panel to receive shifts from, with its agency tools still in beta.
| # | System | Best for | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CareOS | Best all-in-one for agencies that want one system from booking to payslip | The full agency flow in one platform, plus recruitment and the option to run home care alongside; NHS framework caps and AWR are handled by rate cards rather than automated. |
| 2 | Access Recruitment (Vincere Evo) | Best for larger agencies wanting a broad recruitment suite | A mature recruitment suite with full timesheets, rates, invoicing and payroll; the worker app and scheduler views are less documented, and NHS rates sit in a sister product. |
| 3 | Panther | Best for agencies supplying NHS frameworks | The only system here documenting NHS framework rate caps, with shift booking, a worker app and compliance; invoicing and in-platform payroll are less documented. |
| 4 | Bullhorn Sirenum | Best for agencies already on Bullhorn | Strong shift, scheduling and client-console tools; payroll relies on integrations and recruitment sits in Bullhorn's wider platform. |
| 5 | AsanWork | Best for small agencies wanting cheap, self-serve tools | Public, low pricing with a free trial and the core shift-to-payroll flow; not built for UK healthcare frameworks, and no public reviews yet. |
| 6 | Carionex | Best for small agencies combining staffing and home care, if a new vendor suits you | Staffing and home care in one platform with invoicing, payroll and recruitment; a very new company with no public reviews yet. |
| 7 | Florence | Best for care providers controlling their agency use — not agency back-office software | A marketplace and provider-side workforce tool; for an agency it is a panel to receive shifts from, with its agency tools still in beta. |
CareOS vs care staffing software
See how CareOS compares with Bullhorn Sirenum, Access Vincere Evo, Panther, Florence, AsanWork and Carionex across the capabilities a care or nursing staffing agency runs on every day.
Comparison based on publicly available product information at the time of writing (July 2026; Florence, AsanWork, Carionex and the framework, AWR and care-delivery rows October 2026). A dash means the capability is not publicly documented by that vendor — it may exist; verify in a demo. Products evolve, so always confirm current capabilities with each vendor.
The leading care staffing agency systems, reviewed
CareOS
Best all-in-one for agencies that want one system from booking to payslip
CareOS is a UK care management platform made by Byte River Ltd (careos.uk). For a staffing agency it runs one connected flow: client homes request shifts in their own branded portal, workers get offers and accept them in the app, timesheets are signed off by the client, and the same shift carries through to the invoice and the pay summary without re-keying. Charge and pay rates are set per client, role and time band — weekday, weekend, nights and bank holidays. Every worker's training, DBS, right-to-work and documents are tracked with expiry alerts, and a worker who falls out of compliance can be excluded from shift offers automatically. Recruitment is built in, so a hire ends in a compliant worker record rather than a spreadsheet hand-off. Agencies that also run home care or supported living run each service in its own workspace with shared staff records and cross-service clash checking — something the staffing-only systems here do not document. Where rivals lead: Panther documents NHS framework rate caps, which CareOS handles as per-client rate cards without automatic cap enforcement; and AWR 12-week parity is recorded as a per-worker rate with its history kept, not tracked by an automatic 12-week clock. Migration is free and handled by the CareOS team.
Explore CareOS for care staffing agenciesAccess Recruitment (Vincere Evo)
Best for larger agencies wanting a broad recruitment suite
The Access Group's recruitment offer combines Vincere Evo (CRM and applicant tracking) with timesheet and pay-and-bill tools, and is one of the established names for UK healthcare staffing. It documents client portals, timesheets with client sign-off, charge and pay rate rules, invoicing, payroll, compliance and a full applicant-tracking system — level with CareOS on most rows. Its healthcare page lists NHS framework rates, handled by FastTrack 360, a sister Access product. A dedicated worker app with shift acceptance and scheduler dashboards are less documented, and AWR tracking and care delivery are not documented. Pricing is quote-based.
Panther
Best for agencies supplying NHS frameworks
Panther (panther-software.com) is shift-booking and compliance software for recruitment and staffing agencies, with a healthcare edition. It is the one system in this comparison that documents framework and off-framework rates managed automatically, including framework rate caps, and it adds working-time and fatigue checks. Shift booking, a worker app, scheduler views, timesheets, rate rules, compliance gating and recruitment are documented. Its client portal is more limited, invoicing from timesheets is not documented and payroll is partial. AWR tracking and care delivery are not documented. Pricing is quote-based.
Bullhorn Sirenum
Best for agencies already on Bullhorn
Sirenum is a workforce-scheduling and shift platform now part of Bullhorn — the sirenum.com site redirects into Bullhorn. It documents shift booking and fill, a worker app, scheduler dashboards, a client console, timesheets with client sign-off, rate rules and invoicing, and compliance gating. Payroll runs through accounting integrations such as Sage rather than in the platform, and recruitment is Bullhorn's separate applicant-tracking product. NHS framework rates, AWR tracking and care delivery are not documented. Pricing is quote-based.
AsanWork
Best for small agencies wanting cheap, self-serve tools
AsanWork describes itself as a workforce platform for care agencies, home care and staffing providers, and also sells to hospitality, retail, construction and other sectors in the UK, US, Australia and Ireland; it says it was founded in London in 2021. It documents shift broadcasting to a compliant pool, a worker app to claim shifts, an availability calendar, timesheets with mobile signatures and one-click client approval, invoicing from approved timesheets, payroll, and gating that stops staff being scheduled until their documents are verified. Rate rules cover day, night, weekend and holiday multipliers; client- and role-specific rates are not documented, the client portal is timesheet approval only, and recruitment is limited to a pipeline and reference requests. NHS framework rates, AWR and care delivery are not documented. Pricing is public and tiered by the number of active staff, with a 14-day free trial. We found no Capterra, G2 or Trustpilot reviews.
Carionex
Best for small agencies combining staffing and home care, if a new vendor suits you
Carionex is a UK home care platform that also runs staffing agencies, built by TradeAlgoSuite Technologies Ltd, a company incorporated in April 2026. Like CareOS, it combines the two: a live bookings board, a client portal for requesting bookings and downloading invoices, invoicing from verified bookings, a payroll engine with HMRC RTI, compliance gating, recruitment, and care plans with an electronic MAR chart. Shift acceptance in the worker app and client sign-off of timesheets are not documented, and its rate rules cover client and role but not time bands. NHS framework rates and AWR are not documented. Pricing for staffing agencies is based on the number of staff on the books, on a 12-month initial term. It has no Trustpilot reviews yet, so ask for references.
Florence
Best for care providers controlling their agency use — not agency back-office software
Florence started as a staffing marketplace and now describes itself as a workforce management platform for UK health and social care organisations. Most of what it sells is bought by care providers: rota, HR and payroll, a staff bank, and Agency Manager, a neutral-vendor tool that lets a provider manage its agencies and enforce its own rate caps. It also runs Florence Temporary Staffing, a marketplace of vetted health and care professionals that competes with agencies. For an agency, Florence is mainly a free panel to join and receive shifts from providers using Agency Manager, submitting timesheets online; its agency-side Staff Manager tools are in beta. It is included because buyers and AI answers often name it, but it is not a system to run an agency on, and it can sit between an agency and that agency's own clients.
How these systems charge
We do not publish rivals' prices, which change and are often negotiated, but the charging model tells you what a quote will scale with. These are the models each vendor publishes.
- CareOS
- One all-inclusive subscription with every module — staffing, recruitment and care delivery — included and no add-on tiers; ask us for a staffing-agency quote.
- AsanWork
- Public pricing tiered by the number of active staff, billed monthly or yearly, with a 14-day free trial.
- Carionex
- For staffing agencies, based on the number of staff on your books; 12-month initial term.
- Florence
- Free for agencies to join its panel, with optional agency tools priced per worker per month; provider-side tools are sold to care organisations.
- Access Recruitment, Panther and Bullhorn Sirenum
- Quote-based; none publishes pricing.
What to look for in care staffing agency software
One flow from shift to invoice and payslip
A shift entered once should carry through the timesheet, the client invoice and the worker's pay without re-keying — that is where agency offices lose hours and margin.
Compliance that blocks, not just reminds
DBS, right to work and training tracked per worker with expiry alerts, and out-of-date workers kept out of shift offers automatically.
Rates that match your contracts
Charge and pay rates per client, role and time band — and, if you supply the NHS, framework rates and caps. Ask to see a bank holiday night shift priced end to end.
Evidence for AWR and pay challenges
Ask how the system records a worker's rate after 12 weeks on an assignment, and whether it keeps the history of what a rate was on a given date.
Portals your clients and workers will use
Client homes should request shifts and sign off timesheets themselves; workers should see offers, accept them and clock in from their phone.
Room to run care services too
If you also deliver home care or supported living, or plan to, check whether one platform can run both with shared staff records — or whether you will run two systems.
Switching without the pain
Migration fear keeps agencies on software they’ve outgrown. With CareOS it’s free and handled by our team: your records move across into CareOS for care staffing and nursing agencies, with nothing going live until you’ve reviewed it. See how migration works.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best care staffing agency software in the UK?
For most UK care and nursing staffing agencies, CareOS — it runs shift booking, the worker app, client portal, timesheets with client sign-off, rate rules, invoicing, payroll, compliance gating and recruitment in one platform, and can also run home care or supported living. The best fit depends on your priorities: Panther documents NHS framework rate caps, Access Recruitment suits larger agencies wanting a broad recruitment suite, and AsanWork is the cheapest self-serve option.
Is Florence software for staffing agencies?
Mostly not. Florence is a staffing marketplace and a set of workforce tools bought by care providers, including Agency Manager, which providers use to manage and cap their agencies. Agencies can join its panel for free to receive shifts, and its agency-side Staff Manager tools are in beta, but it is not a back-office system to run an agency on.
Which care staffing software handles NHS framework rates?
Of the systems compared here, Panther documents framework and off-framework rates with framework rate caps, and Access lists NHS framework rates through its FastTrack 360 product. CareOS handles framework rates as per-client rate cards without automatic cap enforcement. Ask any vendor to show a framework shift priced and invoiced end to end.
Does care staffing software track the AWR 12-week rule?
None of the systems compared here publicly documents an automatic AWR 12-week clock. CareOS records AWR parity as a per-worker rate with the reason and rate history kept, which is what you need if a rate is challenged. Ask each vendor how they evidence AWR parity.
Can one system run a staffing agency and home care together?
Yes, two of the seven document it: CareOS, where each service runs in its own workspace with shared staff records and cross-service clash checking, and Carionex, a new vendor that also runs home care and staffing agencies. The staffing-only systems compared here do not document care delivery.
Who makes CareOS?
CareOS is a UK care management platform made by Byte River Ltd and sold at careos.uk. It runs care staffing agencies, home care, supported living, care homes and children's homes, with built-in recruitment.
More questions? Read the full FAQ or talk to our team.