Why HarvestFlow Care doesn't take a percentage of what you bill

Because a percentage would mean our income grows when your hours grow, without us doing anything more for you. HarvestFlow Care is a flat monthly price per workspace, with unlimited clients, and you keep 100% of what you bill. That is not always the lowest bill for everyone, and this post says when it isn't.

What are the three ways care software gets paid for?

A percentage of what you bill. This is the marketplace model. The platform sits between you and the client, the money passes through it, and it keeps a share. Mable, one of the Australian marketplaces, publishes its own fees: a 10% support engagement fee taken out of the worker's agreed rate, and a 7.95% client platform fee added on top of it. Put the two together and the platform keeps somewhere around a sixth of what the client pays.

A fee per participant. Some practice-management tools charge by the number of clients on your books. Fewer clients, smaller bill. Take on one more, and the bill moves.

A flat price per workspace. One price a month for the practice, whatever you bill and however many clients you support, sometimes with extra logins on top. This is what HarvestFlow Care does.

Why does the model matter more than the number?

Because each one decides what the vendor is paid for, and that quietly shapes what the vendor wants.

Under a percentage, the software's income is a fixed share of yours. If you go from twenty hours a week to forty, the platform's take doubles. It did not do twice the work for you; it took its share of a bigger number. The incentive on the vendor's side is to keep the money passing through it, which is why marketplaces hold the client relationship and the payment.

A per-participant fee taxes growth in a different place. It makes the eleventh client a decision rather than a good week.

A flat price means the vendor is paid for the software, not for your revenue. Our income does not change when yours does. We are paid for whether the thing is worth its price to one person, every month. That is the only incentive we wanted.

What does the arithmetic look like in words?

On a percentage marketplace, roughly a sixth of what the client pays never reaches the worker, every month, for as long as they work there. It does not shrink as they get busier. It grows in step.

On a flat price, the software costs the same in a quiet month and a full one. As the practice grows, the price becomes a smaller and smaller share of what comes in. That is why the number on the pricing page is a figure and not a rate.

It matters more in NDIS work. The NDIA publishes a pricing schedule with a recommended maximum price for each support, and in most cases a plan-managed client cannot be charged more than that. When there is a ceiling on what you can charge, a share taken off the top cannot be passed on. It comes out of your side.

Why did we choose a flat price and unlimited clients?

Because one person is a completely normal customer, and we wanted the price to say so. No percentage of your invoices. No per-participant fee. No minimum number of users. Take on your eleventh client and your bill doesn't move. Your invoices go to your own bank account, and the relationship is between you and the person you support.

We are software, not a marketplace. That line comes with things we do not do.

What does that not mean?

It does not mean we are the lowest bill for everyone. A worker with two clients and a few hours a week may well pay less in marketplace fees than a monthly subscription, and the marketplace also finds them the clients, which we do not. The flat price starts to win as the hours grow, and the point at which it wins is different for every practice. NDIS software for sole traders walks through how the other tools in this market are priced, from the vendors' own pages.

What do we not do?

Three things, said now rather than found out later.

We do not interpret the SCHADS award. We record hours, visits and contractor self-billing, and hand the timesheet data to your payroll system.

We do not claim from the NDIA on your behalf. Your invoice goes to the self-managed client or their plan manager, and they pay you. If you work under a registered provider, the claim stays with them. Self-managed, plan-managed or agency-managed explains who pays whom.

We are not an NDIS digital platform. We do not match participants to workers, and we do not process plan funds. The money never passes through us, which is exactly why there is nothing to take a percentage of.

How is the price set, and where is it published?

It is set per workspace, it is the same for everyone, and it is on the pricing page, not behind a sales call. HarvestFlow Care is free for 2 months on your real clients, then from A$15 a month, ex GST, with no lock-in contract. You request the subscription in the app, we send an invoice with our bank details, and the plan switches on when the transfer clears. If you stop paying, your workspace goes read-only and nothing is deleted.

HarvestFlow is built and run in Australia by a small team, on a platform already running real organisations. If you would rather talk to a person before trusting your business to software, that is what the contact page is for.

— The HarvestFlow team

HarvestFlow Care is NDIS, home care and Support at Home software for Australian sole traders and small teams — clients, visits, progress notes, invoices and compliance in one place, built and hosted in Australia.