The UK care sector is under immense pressure. With tight margins, workforce shortages, and complex funding structures, providers are being asked to do more with less — and fast.
Yet amid calls from central government for digitisation and transformation, one foundational process is routinely overlooked: payments.
From delays in paying staff salaries to time-consuming admin and inconsistent invoicing, payment inefficiencies are quietly draining time, money, and morale from care organisations.
To explore the scale of this issue — and what can be done about it — Modulr brought together a panel of industry experts:
- Richard Ayres, Social Care Advisor at Care England
- Victoria Ramsay, Founder and Director at Aequalis Accountancy
- Pav Selvaraj, Account Executive at Modulr
Their verdict? If the care sector wants to modernise, it needs to start with how money moves.
Jump to
A fragmented system, built on manual effort
Poor cash flow blocks progress
Transformation is expected — but unfunded
Automation unlocks immediate wins
The hidden opportunity: reclaiming time for care
Building a future-ready finance function
Final thoughts: Start with what you can change
1. A fragmented system, built on manual effort
Instead of a unified approach to care funding and payments, providers face a patchwork of systems and stakeholders — each with its own rules, timelines, and expectations.
Richard Ayres, Care England
"You're dealing with over 250,000 self-funders, 153 local authorities and 42 NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), all with a myriad of different ways to transact. Whether you're paying staff or receiving payments, these complexities are a daily challenge."
This complexity creates a ripple effect across the sector. Providers spend hours logging into multiple systems, manually reconciling payments, and firefighting errors. It’s not just inefficient — it’s demoralising, and it takes time away from delivering frontline care.
To understand more about the entire accounts payable process and how manual payments affect supplier relationships and operational resilience, explore our ultimate guide to accounts payable.
Modulr’s accounts payable solution reduces admin and improves accuracy across fragmented systems.
2. Poor cash flow blocks progress
Even providers with strong service models and committed teams can find their efforts undermined by one persistent challenge: getting paid on time.
Victoria Ramsay, Aequalis Accountancy
“There’s a vicious circle: lack of invoices being paid on time causes cash flow issues, meaning companies can’t always afford to upgrade systems and streamline the business.”
This isn’t just a financial problem. It’s an operational one. When care staff are paid late or inaccurately, morale suffers. When suppliers are delayed, relationships break down. And when leaders can’t see accurate, real-time financial data, strategic decision-making grinds to a halt.
That’s why payroll is personal — especially in sectors like care, where the workforce is stretched and sometimes feel undervalued.
3. Transformation is expected — but unfunded
The government has made digital transformation a policy priority, pushing providers to modernise their operations. But while expectations have risen, funding hasn’t.
“Commissioners look at the cost of care, not the cost of transformation,” Richard explained. “Care providers have to dig deep into their own pockets to invest in technology. When your net margin is 1–3%, even small efficiencies in payroll or back office processes can have a huge impact on your bottom line.”
Many providers want to embrace automation and digitisation — but simply don’t have the capacity to make it happen. As a result, transformation is often reactive and piecemeal, leaving core systems like payments lagging far behind.
However, solving payment challenges with technology doesn’t always require major investment — sometimes the right tools can deliver fast return on investment with minimal disruption.
4. Automation unlocks immediate wins
Among the tools that can make an immediate difference, automated payments are a clear standout. They’re often easy to implement, deliver fast returns, and remove hours of admin from weekly workflows.
Victoria seen first-hand how automating payments can free up hours of admin each week. “With Modulr, payments can be loaded and released within 90 seconds,” she said. “It saves hours of admin and helps with cash flow — if you receive funds from the council, you can make same-day payments to staff or suppliers. That kind of speed and efficiency is amazing.”
But automation isn’t just about speed — it’s about control.
Pav Selvaraj, Modulr
“Care providers don’t just need payments to be fast — they need them to be controlled, visible, and repeatable. What we hear from customers is that once they can see payments happening in real time, track what’s gone out, and automate the routine stuff, they can actually start planning ahead. It gives them control back — and that’s especially important in a sector where every penny and every minute count.”
When finance teams can act on real-time data — not just historical spreadsheets — they’re empowered to make better, faster decisions. It’s this kind of visibility that allows care organisations to shift from reactive fire-fighting to proactive planning.
Tools in the Modulr Portal such as dashboards, automation, and audit trails, simplify even the most complex back-office workflows.
5. The hidden opportunity: reclaiming time for care
The most overlooked cost of outdated systems isn’t financial. It’s human.
“You’ve got providers wasting time every week logging into different systems, manually cross-checking data, uploading payments,” Richard said. “That time could be spent improving the care they deliver.”
Even saving five hours a week could mean one more resident being supported or one more carer hired. That’s the real value of operational efficiency — it gives time back to people who need it most.
Reducing admin is a step towards a more resilient, scalable finance model. Learn more about business payment solutions for payroll and supplier payments.
6. Building a future-ready finance function
As the sector evolves, providers will need scalable, adaptable systems that grow with them. Automating payments and reporting isn’t just about solving today’s issues — it’s about setting a foundation for long-term sustainability.
“Whether a provider has 5 employees or 500, they need a system that grows with them,” Victoria noted. “It’s about preparing for what’s next — especially in a sector under pressure to adapt quickly.”
Future-ready care organisations will be the ones who invest in simplicity now — before complexity forces their hand.
Final thoughts: Start with what you can change
Transforming a sector as complex as care isn’t easy. But as this panel showed, one of the most impactful changes doesn’t require a massive overhaul. It starts with streamlining payments.
Whether you’re a care provider, an outsourced finance partner, or a technology supplier, there’s a shared responsibility to reduce admin, increase clarity, and empower those delivering care to focus on what matters most.
Want to learn more about automating care sector payments? Watch the full webinar here.
Book a call with a payments specialist today.
Modulr works with accountants and providers to make business payments simpler, faster, and more reliable.
