A good social-care software demonstration shows what a product can do. A buying decision also needs to establish what it will take to keep that product useful: staff time, connectivity, support, recurring costs and a workable exit. England’s adult social-care guidance treats those as part of choosing and managing a supplier. DHSC supplier guidance
The guidance was published in September 2026, before its renewed specialist coverage in October. It offers a process for assessing needs, rather than a ranking of the best software.
Start with the job that needs doing
DHSC’s digital-record guidance puts staff and people receiving care at the centre of the decision. It recommends finding out what staff do day to day, where current processes frustrate them and which other systems a digital social care record needs to interact with.
That suggests a more useful demonstration request than a general tour: show how a relevant task works from beginning to end, including a correction or missing information. The task should come from the service’s actual requirements, rather than a fictional “typical” customer.
The guidance also warns that supplier-provided references may be the supplier’s most satisfied customers. Peer accounts are useful, but their selection matters. Choosing the right solution
Check the conditions behind a feature
The SOCRATES research team’s 2026 briefing reports difficulties choosing systems, concerns about affordability and uneven digital skills. It calls for clearer information about essentials such as offline working and the connectivity needed for a product to work well. This is qualitative implementation evidence, not a comparative product trial. Choosing a DSCR and affordability
“Works on a phone” leaves several questions open. Does the relevant task work without a connection? What is saved locally? What happens when the connection returns? Who helps a care worker resolve a failed submission? These are requirement questions prompted by the research, not assumptions that every service needs the same technical design.
Separate a quick response from a completed repair
DHSC distinguishes a response service-level agreement from a fix commitment. A supplier acknowledging a ticket quickly has not necessarily restored the service. The guidance also asks providers to check whether support covers third-party applications and what happens outside normal hours.
That distinction is especially useful when the record system and managed IT support come from different suppliers. A clear agreement identifies who receives the problem, who investigates it and where responsibility passes between them. Service levels and scope
Compare the cost of operating the service
The digital-record guidance describes pricing based on staff, users, clients or bed capacity, alongside potential costs for hardware, training, setup and customisation. The supplier guidance adds questions about support allowances, out-of-hours charges, contract duration and automatic renewal.
A comparison is more informative when each supplier answers the same questions. The following are selected buying questions drawn from the guidance and implementation briefing, not weighted scores or a legal checklist.
| Area | A question to put in writing |
|---|---|
| Everyday workflow | Which required tasks and integrations are included in this version? |
| Working conditions | What connectivity, devices and offline behaviour does it require? |
| Support | What is the response commitment, and what happens before a problem is fixed? |
| Ongoing cost | Which training, hardware, support and renewal costs sit outside the quoted subscription? |
| Transition and exit | What notice, data transfer, documentation and overlap with a successor supplier are needed? |
Specifications and prices, Contracts and changing suppliers, Implementation recommendations
Assurance and AI do not replace the local decision
The assured digital-record solutions list provides a national requirements baseline. It does not establish that every listed product fits every care setting or that purchasing it completes the provider’s wider responsibilities.
For AI features, DHSC’s separate guidance stresses checking outputs and keeping human oversight. A plausible care-plan paragraph is not evidence that it accurately describes the person receiving care. Ask how staff review and correct it within the ordinary workflow. Assured solutions and implementation, AI guidance
A useful specification follows the system beyond launch. It sets out staff preparation, the help available when work goes wrong and the information needed to change suppliers later. Those details are easier to compare before signing than after the service has become dependent on the product.