Care Roster, Volunteer Ledger or Personnel Ledger: which do you need?
All three are Hospice Apps tools for the operational side of a hospice agency. They solve different problems, so the right choice depends on what your team is trying to fix.
The short answer
- Choose Care Roster when the problem is reaching people: contacts, on-call coverage and emergency notifications to your staff.
- Choose Volunteer Ledger when the problem is running the volunteer program: volunteers, hours, requirements, shifts and reports.
- Choose Personnel Ledger when the problem is staff files: competency, in-service hours, licenses, screenings and renewals.
- Choose more than one when your agency has more than one of these problems. The apps sit side by side without overlapping.
Match the problem to the app
Find the sentence that sounds like your office. The app next to it is the one built for that job.
- “We can’t find the pharmacy’s after-hours number.” Care Roster
- “Our volunteer hours live in a spreadsheet.” Volunteer Ledger
- “Nobody is sure who is on call tonight.” Care Roster
- “Volunteer requirements expire before anyone notices.” Volunteer Ledger
- “When the first call goes unanswered, people guess who is next.” Care Roster
- “Open volunteer shifts sit unfilled.” Volunteer Ledger
- “We need to send an urgent notice to our staff.” Care Roster
- “Leadership wants the volunteer numbers for the year.” Volunteer Ledger
- “A surveyor asks for an aide’s in-service hours.” Personnel Ledger
- “A license lapsed and nobody noticed.” Personnel Ledger
- “The monthly exclusion check lives in someone’s inbox.” Personnel Ledger
Problem not listed? The hospice software directory groups the hospice pages from all three apps by the job each one helps with.
Who uses each app
Another quick way to decide: think about who would open the app on an ordinary day.
Care Roster
Everyone on staff who needs to reach someone.
- Nurses and aides out in the field
- On-call staff at night and on weekends
- Intake, front desk and office managers
- Leaders sending an urgent notice to the staff they choose
Volunteer Ledger
The people who run and report on the volunteer program.
- Volunteer coordinators and managers
- Leaders who need the program’s numbers
- Staff who review volunteer applications
- Volunteers themselves, when your agency invites them to sign in
Personnel Ledger
The people who keep staff files ready for survey.
- HR and staff file coordinators
- Clinical managers who supervise aides
- Compliance and quality leads preparing for survey
- Leaders who need to know every file is current
Different jobs, so no overlap.
An agency can easily have more than one of these problems at once: a contact list nobody trusts, a volunteer program held together by spreadsheets, staff files nobody is sure are current. The apps are built to sit side by side, so using more than one never means doing the same work twice.
- Start with the problem that hurts most, then add another app
- Each app keeps its own records for your agency
- When you use Care Roster and Volunteer Ledger, one sign-in carries you across
What none of the apps does
Every app is deliberately focused. If you need one of these, you need a different kind of tool.
- Charting and patient records. Care plans, visit notes and medications belong in your EMR.
- Clinical or patient messaging. Care Roster’s alerts are operational notices to staff.
- Payroll and staff timekeeping. Volunteer Ledger records volunteer time, not paid hours, and Personnel Ledger keeps staff files, not payroll.
- Patient visit scheduling. Volunteer Ledger schedules volunteer shifts only.
- Billing and claims. None of the apps touches revenue or payer work.
Choosing between the apps
Can we start with one app and add another later?
Yes. The apps are separate products, so you can start with the problem that matters most and add another app whenever you are ready.
Do Care Roster and Volunteer Ledger share data?
No. Each app keeps its own records for your agency. When you use both, one sign-in carries you across, so moving between them is quick.
Does Care Roster track volunteer hours?
No. Care Roster is for reaching people: contacts, on-call coverage and emergency notifications to your staff. Volunteer hours, requirements, shifts and reports belong in Volunteer Ledger.
Can Volunteer Ledger handle staff on-call coverage?
No. Volunteer Ledger schedules volunteer shifts, not staff coverage. Care Roster handles on-call rotations, who is covering right now and who to call next.
Does Personnel Ledger schedule staff or track hours worked?
No. Personnel Ledger keeps staff files: competency, in-service training, licenses, screenings and renewals. Care Roster handles on-call coverage, and payroll and timekeeping stay in your payroll system.
The quickest way to decide is to try one.
Each app has its own free trial on its own site. Still unsure? Tell us about your agency and we will point you to the right one.