An alternative to a spreadsheet for UK healthcare locums.

Most locums start with a spreadsheet: a row for each session, a column for whether it has been paid, and an invoice template in another file. Locbase is a premium iPhone app for UK healthcare locums, starting with pharmacy: log the session, send the invoice and see when you are paid, with mileage, expenses and compliance alongside.

Side by side

	Locbase	A spreadsheet
Made for	UK healthcare locums, pharmacy first	Anything, so nothing in particular
Runs on	iPhone. Android coming soon	A computer, awkwardly on a phone
Price	£14.99 a month or £119 a year. One plan	Free, and all of the work is still yours

Where Locbase is different

The invoice is made for you. In a spreadsheet you copy the sessions into a template, work out the total and export it yourself.
Overdue invoices are flagged. A spreadsheet only tells you what you remember to look for.
It is on your phone, so the session is logged on the way home, not at the end of the month from memory.

What Locbase does, screen by screen

Log the session. Add it to Locbase with the place, the hours and your rate. It takes about thirty seconds, or add a whole week in one go. How sessions work
Send the invoice. If you invoice the workplace yourself, Locbase turns the session, or a run of them, into a PDF with your details on it and emails it. How invoices work
See it paid. Mark the session paid when the money lands. Anything overdue is flagged, with a reminder ready to send. How payments work
Keep the rest in order. Add mileage and expenses to the session, and keep registration, DBS, indemnity and right to work in one checklist for the next time you are asked. How compliance works

Why locums move on from it

Example: The end of the month, two ways

In a spreadsheet: Find each session, copy it into the invoice template, work out the total, export a PDF and write the email. Then check the bank against the sheet.
In Locbase: Pick the sessions and send. Anything unpaid past its date is already flagged.

An example to show the difference in steps.

Questions

Why use Locbase when a spreadsheet is free?

Because the spreadsheet does not do the work. Locbase makes and emails the invoice, shows what is paid and what is overdue, works out mileage at HMRC rates and warns you before a compliance document runs out.

Can I get my records out of Locbase?

Yes. Locbase exports your sessions, income and expenses, so you are never locked in.

What does Locbase cost?

£14.99 a month or £119 a year, after a 1 month free trial. There is one plan and it has every feature in it.

Is Locbase accounting software?

No. Locbase keeps your sessions, invoices, payments, expenses and compliance documents. Accounts and tax returns are for an accountant or accounting software, and Locbase exports the year for them.