In this version, the maximum number of Staff Grades has been increased from 5 to 10. This change provides home managers with additional flexibility to better represent the diversity of roles and skill levels typically found within a home’s staffing model.
While this added depth is available, we still recommend keeping configurations as streamlined as possible. Fewer, well-defined staff grades support clearer shift planning and make it easier to understand skill distribution at a glance.
In addition and as a major update to the way DepenSys works, hourly rates have now been assigned to Staff Grades, enabling business owners and managers to clearly understand the financial impact of their staffing decisions. This enhancement allows for accurate review of shift costs based on the allocation and mix of staff, while also providing deeper insight into the true cost of care delivered.
By linking staff costs to Resident Needs and skill requirements, the system can now calculate the cost of care at both a home-wide and individual resident level. This supports better-informed decisions around resource planning, budgeting, and long-term sustainability, while helping to ensure that care quality and staffing levels remain appropriate.
These cost insights help the business to:
Identify and predict how staffing allocations may affect overall operating costs
Understand the financial impact of changes in a Residents needs
Validate that skills are being deployed where they are most needed
Support evidence-based discussions around funding, fees, and care planning
Track cost trends over time as care requirements increase or decrease
These figures are automatically summarised and made available across multiple areas of the application for clarity and consistency:
Home Summary - Provides a daily care cost breakdown for the whole home and for each individual unit, calculated from resident needs and required skill mix.
Home Units - Shows a daily care cost breakdown for the whole home and each unit, allowing managers to compare units and understand variations in cost driven by resident dependency.
Residents - Displays a daily care cost breakdown for each individual resident, offering clear visibility into the cost of care based on their current needs.
Resident History - Tracks how the cost of care changes over time as a resident’s needs develop, supporting reviews, care planning, and longer-term financial forecasting