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This page walks through a visit in the Elate Care app, from reading the handover at the door to checking out. Who can do this: anyone whose role includes Check in and out, on visits they are assigned to. By default that is Organisation Owners, Service Provider Admins, Care Managers, Team Leads and Carers. Writing notes needs Visit notes and claiming expenses needs Expenses, which Carers and Team Leads have by default. Your organisation can change this in Settings > Permissions. Your organisation may use different words for some things, such as “Service users” instead of “Support recipients”. Elate shows your organisation’s words everywhere, so follow what you see.

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Open the visit

Tap the visit on My day or My week. At the top you see the person’s name, buttons to call them and get directions, and the visit time. The visit has four sections: Overview, Tasks, Notes and Expenses. A red dot on Notes means there is a handover.

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Before you go in

Overview puts what you need at the door first:
  • Handover notes. One written for this visit says Before you start; one carried forward from an earlier visit says which visit it came from. If a handover no longer applies, tap Turn off. It stops being carried forward and stays on the record.
  • A warning when the person has allergies, for example “2 allergies · Review before care”.
  • A link to the person’s profile, with the key safe, access notes and contacts. See My day, People and My week.
  • Assigned to, when more than one carer is on the visit.

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Check in

1

Tap Check in

On Overview, tap Check in at the bottom of the screen. The time and your location are recorded.
2

Answer the warning, if there is one

If something looks unusual, the app asks Check in anyway? and says why: the visit is not scheduled for today, you are not the assigned carer, or the visit was marked missed. Tap Check in anyway to carry on, or Cancel.
The first time you check in, your phone asks to use your location. If you say no, or the phone cannot get a fix, the check-in is still recorded without a location. Your location is only taken when you check in and when you check out.

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Tasks

Tasks lists what the office has planned for this visit, with a count of how many are done.
1

Do the task

Read any instructions under the task first. Some tasks carry a High risk or Critical risk label.
2

Tick it

Tap the task to tick it. The app records it as done, with the time, for example “Completed at 09:12”.
You cannot untick a task on the phone, so tick it only once it is done. If you could not do a task, leave it unticked and explain why in a note. If another outcome has been recorded for a task, such as Partly done, Declined, Not needed today or Could not do, the app shows it under the task with the reason. If your organisation records medicines in Elate, a Medication block sits at the top of Tasks. See Recording medication.

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Notes and handovers

1

Start a note

Tap Add note on Notes, or on the visit card on My day.
2

Choose the kind

Choose Care note for what happened today. The office sees it and it stays on the person’s record. Choose Handover for something the next carer must know: they see it before they start. When the office has asked for a handover, Handover is already chosen.
3

Write it

Write a clear, factual update. To add a picture, tap Take a photo or Choose a photo.
4

Save it

Tap Save note.
On Notes, saved notes show as Care note or Handover, with who wrote them and when.
If your organisation has AI features, you can tap Dictate and speak your note. Check the words before you save. See Dictation.

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Expenses

1

Add an expense

On Expenses, tap Add expense.
2

Choose Mileage or Purchase

For Mileage, enter the Distance in miles. For Purchase, choose Parking, Shopping or Other and enter the Amount paid. The ESTIMATED TOTAL updates as you type.
3

Describe it

Fill in Description. To add a receipt, tap Take a photo or Choose a photo.
4

Add more detail if you need to

Tap More expense details for where you travelled From and To, the Rate, £ per mile, or a Quantity and Unit price, £. The mileage rate comes from the person’s contract, or the standard rate, so change it only if the office has told you to.
5

Save it

Tap Save expense. The date is always the visit’s date.
Tap a saved expense to see its Expense details. Until the office approves it you can Edit expense or Delete expense. Editing and deleting need signal.

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Check out

1

Review the visit

Tap Review and check out at the bottom of the visit, or Check out on the My day card.
2

Read the summary

Ready to finish your visit? shows how many tasks are done, how many notes you wrote, and anything not completed. If you have not written a note, it suggests adding one.
3

Check out

Tap Check out, or Keep recording to go back and finish.
You then see Visit complete with your check-in and check-out times. Tap View visit record to look back over the visit, or Back to my day.

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If something worries you

On Overview, tap Report a concern to send an incident or safeguarding report to the office. See Reporting a concern.

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Common questions

The bottom of the visit says why. “Only the assigned carer can check in or out of this visit” means it is not your visit. “Your role cannot record arrivals or departures” means your role does not include Check in and out. In either case, call the office. Check in also disappears once a visit is completed or cancelled.
The visit is closed, so tasks can no longer be ticked. Tell the office if something needs changing.
Your phone has no saved copy and no signal. Tap Try again when you have signal. A visit you have opened once with signal is kept on your phone. See Working with poor signal.