When a homecare agency grows tenfold – from 350 to 3,500 hours of care per week – the systems that once supported it can quickly become its biggest obstacle. For Wiltshire-based Spire Homecare, this successful expansion led them to a strategic decision: they needed a new technology partner that could cope with its  next phase of growth.

Spire's previous care management software had been designed for the needs of residential care, and that's where the problems began to show as the business grew.

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As Luke Donohue, Director at Spire Home Care, explains, it only took them part of the way there. "[It] had the ability to give us information to create workarounds for payroll, for invoicing, for reports, data... it would get us only 30, 40% the way there."

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This mismatch meant that the team was forced into compensating through manual processes: "lots of spreadsheets and run reports to cross-match data," and the insights they could gather were limited. For an agency of their size and ambition, making strategic decisions required a more powerful data solution.

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Recognising their technology was holding them back, Spire Home Care began looking for a new all-in-one system that could be implemented with minimal disruption. "We wanted to have everything on one system," says Gemma, Care Manager at Spire Home Care.

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They chose Birdie's smart technology because it's a system designed specifically for homecare - and because it's built as one, so it works as one. It brings care management, scheduling, and finance together into one system so the team can save time, reduce mistakes, and keep everyone on the same page.

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A seamless, 22-day implementation

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Spire Home Care went live on Birdie in just 22 days – an incredibly fast transition for an agency with over 180 clients and 150 carers. Luke credits the "good planning and hard work" of his team, supported by a close partnership with Birdie’s implementation specialists.

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Immediate operational efficiency

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With a single, unified platform, Spire has saved 8-12 hours of administrative time every week. Payroll preparation is now up to 12 hours faster each month, and the need for internal calls and emails to cross-check information has been drastically reduced, saving up to six hours per week.

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"The biggest time save has been client rotas being emailed out," notes Gemma, "Once set up, you don't have to touch them and they just go each week."

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From spreadsheets to strategy: data that drives decisions

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One of the biggest transformations for Spire has been the move to Birdie Analytics. They now have high-quality, easily accessible data to manage their rapid expansion and can see everything in one place. As Luke shares, "The biggest benefit is the confidence that nothing is being missed — the system gives us proactive assurance rather than reactive checking.”

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The speed of reporting has also been completely transformed. Pulling management reports from spreadsheets used to take 2-4 hours - it now takes less than 5 minutes.

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This newfound visibility has had a tangible impact on care quality. By using Birdie Analytics to monitor care planning, Spire has increased its on-time review rate from 75% to over 95%.

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"With our previous software, we would be able to know which client had a care review, but that's as far as that data went," Luke explains. "Versus Birdie Analytics, which gives you a percentage of completion for both care plans and additional documents. It's only going to make our care plans more accurate and better."

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A true partnership approach

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For Spire, choosing a new system was about more than just software – it was about finding the right partner. This was a key factor, especially after experiencing "quite major problems with support" from their previous provider.

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With Birdie, they found a team that was responsive, transparent, and invested in their success from day one, as the only care technology system that promises quarterly one-to-ones with a Birdie expert to every customer.

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"The support from Birdie is good and always helpful," shares Gemma. "You can ask questions and get answers straight away and if you have an issue you have someone to go to."

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By partnering with Birdie, Spire Home Care has built a technology foundation that matches the scale and quality of its care. The hours saved on administration are now hours they can reinvest in their core mission: helping people live independently, safely, and happily in their own homes.

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Looking to the future, they are confident they have a platform and a partner that will continue to grow with them. As Gemma advises other providers who are considering a switch:

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"Just do it! It will make your life easier, and from a management overview, Birdie is so much better than the other systems."

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