CHARMS

Pros: CHARMS is a user-friendly system that can be easily tailored to meet the specific needs of our Charity. The UK-based support team is always available to assist at every stage and regular updates ensure the platform is continually improving with helpful new features.

Cons: Some development requests can take time to implement.

Overall: We have used Charms for many years and find the team at SCN to be friendly and approachable. This is greatly supported by the presence of our Account Manager Rik who is always available and ready to assist when needed.

Pros: CHARMS offers a comprehensive case management system which is easy to navigate, highly secure, and fully compliant. The support team is responsive and genuinely listens to user feedback to improve the platform. The account managers are always available and extremely supportive, providing excellent assistance whenever needed. CHARMS also features an enhanced reporting system, making it much easier to monitor the work done, track outcomes, and ensure accountability across teams.

Cons: At this stage, there’s nothing I’d consider a downside. The CHARMS team is proactive in refining and expanding the system’s capabilities, regularly rolling out updates.

Overall: Social Care Network consistently shows a commitment to innovation, with regular system updates and enhancements that genuinely improve the user experience. They are highly responsive to feedback and work closely with us to ensure the platform supports the realities of our work. Their team has a deep understanding of the social care sector, and using CHARMS as our data management system has made our day to day tasks more efficient and streamlined.

Pros: Easy to use system that is intuitive and logical
Secure and confidential
Easy to restrict records if needed
Good visibility of access
Friendly and helpful support team who are available and promptly respond to queries
Individual developer contact who understands our business
Specific reports written for us when needed to enable us to make use of our data
Forward thinking company who are always developing
Competitively priced and good value

Cons: There's no drawback for us in our contract with SCN for CHARMS. The system works well on a daily basis and they provide excellent value compared to other competitor providers.

Overall: Our experience with CHARMS has been really positive, they are a friendly, helpful and supportive company who are responsive and accessible. I really recommend it as a system.

Pros: An intuitive, easy to use system that can be tailored to meet your needs.
Friendly UK support on hand to guide you every step of the way.
Constant updates and improvements keep bringing additional useful features.

Cons: As with everything, it could be cheaper but you get what you pay for.

Overall: The team at Charms really know what they are doing and live and breath their product. They provide fantastic customer service.

Pros: Charms is very intuitive, with only a small amount of guidance you are able to quickly navigate the system.

The support team are always on hand for training or to offer solutions if you need to run reports quickly but can't find what you are looking for.

It is easy to set up users on the system and link records to provide a chronology.

Cons: There isn't anything that I don't like about the system, the team at Charms are constantly updating functionality and improving the system.

Overall: Overall a great experience in using Charms. I have coordinated system merges with the support of Charms staff which have always gone smoothly. There are always suggestions from our users for system improvements and these are taken on board by the development team in Charms.

Pros: SCN remain a consistent and invaluable source of support for our Agency and we have always found them to be responsive, proactive and helpful. This is greatly supported by the presence of our dedicated and approachable Project Coordinator and Account Manager who are always available and ready to assist when needed.

Cons: As Local Authorities and Professional Bodies continually ask for more detailed data from Agencies, sometimes there may not be a report to easily extract this information. But, as mentioned above, they are really receptive to any requests and this is usually rectified extremely quickly and a new report written for use!

Overall: SCN continue to demonstrate innovation, with regular updates to the system and ongoing developments which really benefit the end users experience and they remain really receptive to any feedback we give. They have an extremely knowledgeable team who understand the important work we do, and using CHARMS as our Data Management System just makes our roles that bit easier. Thank you, Social Care Network."

Pros: CHARMS has an intuitive user interface that is easy to use. You can customise most of the lookup lists, so the drop-down menus available suit your needs. The support team is very friendly and knowledgeable, and will go the extra mile to assist if you have problems.
There's so much you can do and new features are being developed all the time in response to the needs of real world users.

Cons: If you have large quantities of data, it can sometimes be a bit slow on searches, but not so much it becomes a problem.

Overall: We started using CHARMS initially and then moved away to a rival database provider for a few years. During that time, CHARMS adapted so much and brought in so much innovation, whereas the rival remained stagnant. Coming back to CHARMS was mindblowing in terms of how much more user-friendly it was, with loads of really helpful functionality that the competition had not thought to include in their product.

Pros: Charms is intuitive and easy to use. SCN are quick to respond to requests for changes to reports which allows us to run management data. Certain parts of the system can be customised to suit agency need.

Cons: Some development requests can take time to implement

Overall: We have used Charms for over 10 years and find the team at SCN to be friendly, approachable and ready to listen.

Pros: Easy to use, reliable and customisable for your agencies needs. The system is constantly under development, improving its features but the best part is how knowledgeable, friendly and helpful the support team are.

Cons: I can't think of anything, the system works very well.

Overall: Overall, charms is reliable its rarely 'down', the team are open to suggestions for developments and are very helpful. We find charms works really well for us an agency.

Pros: You can adapt how you use Charms to a certain extent so it can fit your purpose best. There a more features of Charms than you will probably ever use, again showcasing its adaptability for various settings.

Cons: Sometimes what you think might be a great suggestion/ adaptation can take some time to come to fruition, if at all.

Some members of the support team are unable to answer queries which can result in a delay in getting your answer.

Overall: I have used Charms for over 8 years now and have supported an agency is setting their Charms up from scratch - slow loading can sometimes be an issue however, it is web based and you need to recognise that it may take a little while to access information (usually attachments), especially if they haven't been accessed in a long while. Couldn't envision using any system other than Charms within our agency.

Pros: The level of reporting available
The ability of SCN to respond to requests for suggestions made by users
The overall design
Very intuitive for users
Communication from SCN to its customers

Cons: Cant think of anything. Any issues I have had have always been resolved quickly and if a new feature does not work out as hoped, they are quick to amend.

Overall: I have been using Charms for 12 years and have seen the incredible evolution of the system. It now provides an intuitive model that fulfils the needs of the large, agency based organisation I work for. Their support team provides timely a response and the development team will listen to customer requests for changes. Recent updates have proven to be game changing and cant wait d to see what comes next!

Pros: - Easy to use and navigate for both foster parents and staff.
- Supports strong case management and helps us maintain high standards of care, safeguarding, and record-keeping.
- Great design and personalised to the needs of the fostering agency.
- Excellent induction and continued support to ensure ease.
- Great communication from CHARMS staff and regular check ins.

Cons: There hasn't been anything we have not liked as a Fostering agency. When we have had any uncertainties about how to do anything on the system, we had been able to contact CHARMS and they have always been available to support. - So no complaints!

Overall: We have find CHARMS to be user friendly and really effective. It helps us stay on top of tasks and it's designed with fostering in mind, which makes it practical and supportive for all!

Pros: Bespoke packages. Our own business manager.

Cons: Delays. Telephone contact from people who can't help.

Overall: Very good package and service.

Pros: Easy to use
Adaptable
Progress items can be adapted to the need of the business
Support on hand when needed.

Cons: Sometimes can be slow
Cannot have too many people on at once.

Overall: I have not used it to its full potential yet. But from I can see is a good tool for recording information.

Pros: We have two services within our project and this is so easy to switch between each service.
All the information is easy to access and stored in one place.
Uploading information is straightforward.
The team offer fantastic support whenever we have asked.

Cons: Can sometimes be a bit slow to log on but this can be down to how many of our team are trying to access this at one time.

Overall: The team have been fantastic and have always responded in a timeous manner to whatever we have asked. Would highly recommend this system to new users.

Pros: Extremely User Friendly
Helpful and Responsive – Relationship Team is great
Adaptable to our service
CHARMS provided regular updates on the ongoing events.
Structured Training provided to all (staff members)
CHARMS also offer us training anytime we require
CHARMS listens to us and our suggestions for improvement on the system
Helps staff improve their efficiency in a positive way (less admin required).

Cons: This is not through the fault of CHARMS as they gave regular and comprehensive training. However, for an organisation of our size (50+ employees), many doing lone working, it took a while for some of the staff to understand how to use the system effectively. Implementation for a new organisation can take some time. (Do not think you can change over your whole organisation within a space of a month; it is a process). Think carefully about when you expect inspection and when you switch over. We made our changeover around a year and a half ago

Overall: CHARMS is excellent, the team is outstanding, and we have had brilliant experiences with them thus far. We have also saved money and time through the efficiency of the system. Although, you will definitely hear moans and groans from your staff with the introduction of a new system, once they fully understand it and utilise it for what it is. They will be telling you months later how great the system is (my colleagues did)!

Pros: I love the simplicity of the system and all it has to offer.
The staff are always on hand and no matter what the problem is its resolved quickly and effectively.
I have been using Charms for over a year and had 1 issue.
Everything in one place
Layout is lovely

Cons: The only downfall which is completely understandable is two people can not modify the same area, for example two children accounts but can only edit one at a time. Which again is understandable removes the room for error.

Overall: I really enjoyed working with the team at Charms to create what we need and bring our homes online system to life.
Caroline and Mathew are a dream team and always on hand to help which is amazing.

Pros: CHARMS manages everything from first point of contact, all the way through everyday case management. CHARMS is a secure cloud based system where we can hold all of our case management data as well as staff information, commissioners information, Social Workers and other professionals. CHARMS flows really well through all of the procedures required to accurately record and report on the day to day management of case files. Information is very easy to retrieve, each recording has it's own heading so phone calls, or emails are easily found using a number of easy to use search criteria. You can even search in Notes. Information within CHARMS can be easily and securely shared with partner agencies via a secure Portal, no emails or letters that could be intercepted or lost or even sent to the wrong person!

Cons: Had to write something so I'll pick on the orange colour but that can easily be changed to your own corporate colours.

Overall: I personally have used CHARMS for nearly 20 years, it has continually evolved during that time but has never lost it's primary focus. To make the recording and retrieval of information as easy as possible. Multiple members of staff can access records and easily follow the recording process within CHARMS reports can show at a glance if any vital information is not on a case recording making auditing a breeze. Without CHARMS we simply couldn't function being able to access CHARMS from anywhere you have an internet connection or on your phone means you always have access to the latest information for all of your cases.

Pros: We have been utilizing CHARMS for a number of years, and it has profoundly improved the way we deliver and manage social care services. The platform's user-friendly interface and comprehensive features enable seamless case management, efficient scheduling, and effective communication among care providers and clients.

Cons: As an agency we are happy with the product and the service provided.

Overall: The customer support team is excellent, always ready to assist with any queries and provide timely solutions. I highly recommend Social Care Network to any organization seeking a reliable and sophisticated solution for managing social care services

Pros: From vision to implementation the programme has moved from the ground up over the years by an individual who knew exactly what was needed having worked out in the field.
Who better could develop this superb programme other than someone who also possessed interest, motivation and determination to ensure fruition was reached irrespective of timeframe and hours of research and sheer hard work with a team of the same elk - This is the reason the programme is of such use to Fostering Agencies it ticks all the boxes and if it does'nt at this moment it will, as they all listen to the customer / end user and go out of their way to ensure resolution and and in all instances provide a first class customer service. Jim Moore's continued interest, enthusiasm and personable nature emulates around his entire staff team who, with his encouragement and with their value and worth cearly demonstrated display the same qualities and commitment to progression and growth. I feel I could ring the company at any time and still speak to the CEO with ease - more to the point he would take the call.

Cons: I would like it if you could use the back space arrow to go back and if we could remove old users so that they did not appear in the user list - but am confident that this will follow.
The rest of the programme is so integrated, useful and informative - everything at the touch of a button and effectively in one place.

Overall: I can honestly say first class - I have never been in the situation to say anything to the contrary