How care consultants, trainers and accountants earn referral income from care software

1. Who gets asked

A new or growing home care provider asks the same question of whoever it trusts: what should we use for the rota, call monitoring and records? The people asked are often not software people. They are the care consultant helping with a CQC registration or an inspection, the trainer running mandatory training, the accountant who sees the payroll and invoices, the recruiter who knows every care manager in the region, or another provider who has been through the same choice. Their advice carries weight because it is independent of the supplier.

2. How referral income works

A referral arrangement is simple in outline. You introduce a provider to a supplier. If the provider becomes a paying customer, the supplier pays you a share of what the customer pays. The details differ between suppliers and are worth reading before you sign anything:

• One-off or ongoing. Some pay once when the customer signs. Others pay a share for a set number of months.
• What the share is calculated on. Money actually received, excluding VAT, is the clearest basis. A percentage of a list price that the customer never pays is not.
• Refunds and cancellations. Commission on a payment that is refunded is normally taken back.
• How you are paid and when. Look for any holding period and minimum withdrawal.
• How the referral is recorded. If the customer cannot name you or use your link, you may not be credited.
• Your tax position. Referral income is normally the partner's to report; take your own advice.

3. Recommending for money, honestly

If you are paid when someone buys, say so. Tell the provider you may receive a referral payment, recommend software you would put in front of your own clients anyway, and encourage them to compare more than one product. Our guide to choosing home care software and our comparison pages are written to help a reader do exactly that. A recommendation that survives the provider checking it is worth more to you than one that does not.

4. What Carelo's programme pays

These are Carelo's own programme terms. They apply to Carelo only and do not describe the wider market.

• Who can apply: anyone, including consultants, trainers, accountants and care providers themselves. Carelo reviews every application, and an approved partner signs the agreement online.
• What you earn: 20% of the referred company's subscription, excluding VAT, for 24 months.
• How you are credited: each partner has a referral link, and the referred company can also name who referred them at sign-up.
• How you are paid: by bank transfer when you request a withdrawal. The agreement sets out the holding period and minimum.
• Cost to join: none.

As a worked example using Carelo's published prices, a provider on the up-to-15-carers band pays £59 a month excluding VAT, so 20% is £11.80 a month for 24 months. Actual earnings depend on the customers who join and keep paying; nothing here is guaranteed. Families on the Personal Plan can be referred too. The full terms are on the partner programme page, and the agreement is shown there in full before you apply.

5. Partners are independent

Partners are independent. A partner is not an employee, worker or agent of Carelo, and is responsible for their own tax. The agreement states that it creates no partnership, joint venture or employment. Carelo runs the demo, the onboarding and the contract with the customer; the partner makes the introduction. Read the agreement on the partner page for the exact wording, which is what governs.