1 · Participant
Open the person you are supporting. Important Information and What's New come first, so you walk in prepared.
From opening the app in the car to the invoice landing with the plan manager. Here is the whole loop, for both sides.
The core loop
Eight steps, start to paid
Every shift follows the same path. Once you have done it twice you stop thinking about it.
2 · Support
Do the shift. Start and finish times are there if they help. No clock-in requirement, no GPS.
3 · Shift note
Your formal record. Private to you and the coordinator, dated and exportable.
4 · Handover
Short, operational, for whoever is next. Separate from your formal note.
5 · Incident
Only if there was one. Flag it on the note and the form opens prefilled.
6 · Invoice
Built from the shift itself, with the correct weekday, weekend or public holiday rate.
7 · Paid
Sent to the plan manager address you saved once. Status moves to Sent, then Paid.
8 · Exported
Progress report PDFs and your invoice history, out as CSV or PDF whenever you need them.
For support workers
A support worker's day
From the car park to the plan manager, in about two minutes of admin.
Open My Day
Today's supports, upcoming events, new handovers, new messages, important updates. One screen — you know what needs you before you have put your seatbelt on.
Open the participant
Important Information and What's New first: preferences, key contacts, and whatever changed since you last supported this person.
Provide the support
Start and finish are there if they help you. There is no clock-in requirement, no GPS, and nobody watching where you are.
Write the shift note
Date and time prefilled, last support category preselected. Free-text fields sized for your phone's own dictation. Saves as you go while you are online.
Report an incident
Only if there was one. Flag it on the note and the incident form opens with the participant, date and time already filled. Your coordinator is notified straight away.
Leave a handover
"Anything the next worker needs to know?" Optional, short, operational — and separate from your formal note, which stays private.
Complete the shift note
Draft becomes Completed and locks. That is the professional record, dated and exportable, whether or not a coordinator ever sees it.
Create the invoice
Auto-filled from the shift with the correct rate. Add travel kilometres and expenses. Preview the PDF.
Send and track
Emailed to the plan manager address you saved once. Status moves to Sent, then Paid — and a paid invoice becomes an income record automatically.
For coordinators
A coordinator's loop
Answer one question — what needs me today? — and work the list until it is empty.
1 · Needs Attention
Open the dashboard. Incidents, missing notes, unread messages, overdue tasks and RFS, ranked in one list.
2 · Open the item
Straight into the participant, at the thing that needs you — not the top of their file.
3 · Act
Acknowledge the incident, remind the worker, post an update, assign a task, send an RFS.
4 · Next
Back to the list. When it is empty, you are actually done — and you can trust that.
In the field
What happens when the signal drops
Support work happens in basements, on country roads and inside concrete buildings. SW Ally will not pretend a note was saved when it was not.
You are told, not guessed at
The app detects when it is offline and says so plainly, instead of showing a spinner and failing quietly.
Notes are not queued
Notes, handovers and incidents are not stored up on the phone and sent automatically later. Submit once you are back online.
Autosave while you are online
While you have a connection, your writing is saved as you go — not only when you press submit.
Nothing lands twice
Each draft carries a unique ID, so a flaky connection cannot create duplicate notes or double-send an invoice.
Emergency numbers are always to hand
The numbers and the coordinator's card sit on the screen, so you are not searching for them. Tapping one opens your phone's dialler — SW Ally does not place the call or send your location, and is not an emergency service.
Nothing is lost on a flat battery
Drafts are on the device, not held in a browser tab.
Getting set up
Your first fifteen minutes
New accounts start with a clearly-marked demo participant, "Sam Example", already filled with notes, a handover, a calendar event and a draft invoice — so you see a working product instead of empty screens. Delete it with one tap when you are ready.
Sign up and verify your email
Two fields. No sales call, no onboarding demo you have to sit through.
Have a poke at Sam Example
Open a note, read a handover, look at the draft invoice. The fastest way to understand the shape of the thing.
Add your first real participant
Name, plan management type, plan manager details if they have one, and the Important Information you would want a stand-in worker to know.
Save your business details
ABN, business name, bank details, payment terms, and your rate presets by support item. You do this once, ever.
Write a note and send an invoice
That is the whole loop. The home-screen checklist tracks these steps, and when it is clear, you are properly set up.
Common questions
How long does the admin actually take?
The target is two to three minutes for a normal shift note, and the invoice is built from the shift so it adds very little. Prefilled fields and the structured layout do most of the work.
Do I have to use it on a phone?
No. It works on a desktop too. It is built mobile-first because that is where notes actually get written, but nothing is phone-only.
Does my coordinator see everything I write?
No. Your shift notes are your formal record — visible to you and the coordinator for that participant, not to other support workers. Handover is the channel built for sharing with the team.
What if I work without a coordinator?
Everything still works. You can manage participants, write notes and invoice entirely on your own.
Can I get my data out?
Yes. Notes and invoices export by date range, at any time, at no charge. Your records are yours.