How Carers Get Paid on PrimeCarers, and When It Arrives

The short answer

The invoice is compiled from the bookingsYou do not write or send invoices. You and the client are both responsible for the bookings being right before the invoice is issued, and a disagreement is for the two of you to settle.
Pay dates follow your client’s billing dayEach client has their own billing day. A card payment normally reaches you eight calendar days after it, and a Direct Debit normally the banking day after it clears.
What reaches you is your rate less our commissionEvery payment goes through the platform. From a £20 hourly visit, £16 reaches you once our 20% commission is taken off.
Keep your statements and both sets of invoicesYour Payments page holds a statement for every payment, the invoices raised to your clients and our commission invoices to you. HMRC expects records to be kept for at least five years.

Timings are from the PrimeCarers Help Hub article on getting paid, and rates are what carers on PrimeCarers advertise with our fee included, checked September 2026. This is general information for carers in England, not tax advice.

Invoices

You do not write invoices for work booked through PrimeCarers

Search for how a self-employed carer gets paid and most of what comes back is about writing your own invoices and chasing families for payment. For work booked through PrimeCarers there is nothing to write, and no template to find.

Accept each visit before it starts

A visit you never accepted is not charged to the client and not paid to you. Once a visit has started it can no longer be accepted, so check your schedule for visits marked To Accept.

Check the bookings match what happened

The times, the length and anything extra you agreed should be right in the booking before the client’s billing day, because that is what the invoice is built from.

Some visits are never billed

An introductory visit is never charged. A visit on hold while a query is looked into is not billed until a decision is made.

Settle any disagreement with your client

If you and the client disagree about a booking or a charge, the two of you resolve it and update the booking. PrimeCarers does not decide who is right.

The contract between you and each client says that invoices are compiled automatically from the information you and the client enter on PrimeCarers. PrimeCarers does not write, check or verify what an invoice says, and relies on what the two of you put in. You and the client are jointly responsible for making sure the bookings are right before an invoice is issued, and payment is then taken automatically from those bookings.

On your Payments page these appear as invoices to your clients, raised on your behalf. They are your sales invoices, so you do not need a second one of your own for the same work. Families are told the same thing from their side, and what families are told about paying a self-employed carer is worth reading so you know what your clients expect to see. The carer resources hub has the rest of the guides on pay, tax and finding work.

When the money arrives

When the money reaches you depends on your client’s billing day and how they pay

There is no single payday on PrimeCarers. Each client is billed on their own billing day, and for most clients that is a Sunday. From there the money follows a set route, and how long it takes depends on whether the client pays by card, Direct Debit or bank transfer.

From a finished visit to money in your bank

1The visit
You accept the visit before it starts, then work it
Accepting is how the platform records who gave the care. A visit that was never accepted is not charged to the client and not paid to you.
2The client’s billing day
The invoice is compiled and the payment is requested
Completed, accepted visits wait for that client’s billing day. The invoice is built from the bookings you and the client entered, and the client’s card or Direct Debit is charged.
3Days later
The client’s payment clears
How long this takes depends on how the client pays, as the table below shows.
4Payout
Your share reaches your bank
What arrives is the booked rate less our commission. Each payment comes with a statement listing the visits it covers.

Card

Payment clears: Taken on the billing day
Reaches you: Normally eight calendar days after the billing day
Example: client billed on a Sunday: In your bank the following Monday

Direct Debit

Payment clears: Normally four banking days after the request
Reaches you: Normally the next banking day after it clears
Example: client billed on a Sunday: Clears Thursday, in your bank Friday

Invoiced, paid by bank transfer

Payment clears: When the client pays, so there is no set date
Reaches you: Accounts are checked every Tuesday, and anything received is sent to you by 23:59 that Tuesday
Example: client billed on a Sunday: No set billing day, so no date until the client pays

Estimates from the PrimeCarers Help Hub article “Getting paid”, checked September 2026. A bank holiday adds a day, and late payment, a client’s bank asking them to approve a card payment, or a hold on a visit can move the dates. Your Payments page shows the dates for each of your clients.

Before any of this can happen, your payout account has to be set up. PrimeCarers pays carers through Stripe, and nothing can be sent to your bank until Stripe has verified you. It asks for your name and address, your date of birth and the bank account you want paying, and it usually takes a couple of minutes. Earnings still build up while you wait, but they cannot be transferred, so it is best done before your first visit.

So two clients can pay you on different days of the same week. Your Payments page shows each batch of money on its way to you, with what you keep after commission and the date it is expected in your bank. A date marked as done has happened; one marked as expected is an estimate, and the page says so if a step is running late.

A client paying by bank transfer is the one case with no expected date. The money moves once they have paid, and not before. The Help Hub article Getting paid explains each stage of the tracker.

What reaches you

What reaches you is the booked rate less our commission

The rate on the booking is what the client pays. Our commission comes out of it, and the rest is paid to you. Nothing is added on top for the client, and no tax is deducted before it reaches you.

£16

reaches you from a £20 hourly visit, after our 20% commission. It is 15% on a single visit of six hours or more and 12.5% on live-in care.

Commission rates as applied by the platform. £20 is the typical hourly rate carers on PrimeCarers advertise, with our fee included, checked September 2026.

Under the carer terms of service, every payment for work with a client you met through PrimeCarers goes through PrimeCarers. That includes work for anybody that client refers you to. Offers to pay you another way have to be reported to PrimeCarers, whoever makes them. The terms also say our commission is due when a booking is created and invoiced, and it stays due even if you and the client later agree a deduction or a refund between you.

Anything else you agreed with the client goes on the booking and is paid the same way. Bank holidays are charged at one and a half times your normal rate and Christmas Day at twice, under the contract. Mileage, at the usual 55p a mile, and out-of-pocket expenses are charged only where the client agreed them in advance. Travel time and mileage for carers covers how to agree them in writing.

Every payment comes with a statement that lists the visits it covers and the commission taken off. What carers earn on PrimeCarers sets out the commission in full, with worked weeks of hourly, shift and live-in work, and how much to charge covers setting the rate in the first place. When you are ready, you can register as a carer on PrimeCarers and set your rate on your profile, or see the carer jobs open near you first.

If something is wrong

What to do when a booking is wrong or a payment has not arrived

Most problems with pay come from a booking that did not match the visit, a client’s payment that has not cleared, or bank details that need correcting. Each has a different fix, and some of them are yours to make.

Common pay problems, and who fixes them

	What happens	What you do
A booking does not match the visit	The invoice is built from the booking as it stands on the billing day.	Agree the correction with the client and update the booking before their billing day.
You worked a visit you never accepted	It is not billed, and you are emailed a few hours later listing it.	Call PrimeCarers. A visit that has ended cannot be put back into billing from your side.
A visit is put on hold	You are not paid for it and the client is not charged while it is checked. Your other visits are paid as normal.	Help with the check if you can. It ends in a decision to pay it as booked, pay a corrected amount, or not pay it.
The client has not paid yet	Your share goes out once the client’s payment clears. The Payments page shows it as waiting for the client.	Nothing is needed from you. Chasing an unpaid invoice is part of what the commission covers.
A payment to you fails	You are emailed, usually because the bank details are wrong or the account is closed.	Correct your bank details in your Stripe account. The payment is tried again on the next run.

A booking does not match the visit

What happens: The invoice is built from the booking as it stands on the billing day.
What you do: Agree the correction with the client and update the booking before their billing day.

You worked a visit you never accepted

What happens: It is not billed, and you are emailed a few hours later listing it.
What you do: Call PrimeCarers. A visit that has ended cannot be put back into billing from your side.

A visit is put on hold

What happens: You are not paid for it and the client is not charged while it is checked. Your other visits are paid as normal.
What you do: Help with the check if you can. It ends in a decision to pay it as booked, pay a corrected amount, or not pay it.

The client has not paid yet

What happens: Your share goes out once the client’s payment clears. The Payments page shows it as waiting for the client.
What you do: Nothing is needed from you. Chasing an unpaid invoice is part of what the commission covers.

A payment to you fails

What happens: You are emailed, usually because the bank details are wrong or the account is closed.
What you do: Correct your bank details in your Stripe account. The payment is tried again on the next run.

From the PrimeCarers Help Hub article on getting paid and the carer terms of service.

If you and a client cannot agree about a visit, the carer terms let PrimeCarers pause payments while the two of you sort it out. Any deduction or refund then follows what you and the client agree, and PrimeCarers does not decide who is at fault. An issue has to be raised with PrimeCarers within 10 working days of the incident. The terms also allow PrimeCarers to take back money paid to you in error, such as an overpayment or a chargeback, and you are sent a statement explaining any deduction.

Records for HMRC

What to keep for your tax return

You are self-employed, so nothing is taken off for tax before you are paid, and you declare your income through Self Assessment. The papers you need for your PrimeCarers work are already on your Payments page. The job is to download them and keep them.

The records for your PrimeCarers work

	What it shows	Why you keep it
Invoices to your clients	The care invoices raised to your clients on your behalf.	They are your sales invoices, the income side of your records.
Commission invoices	Our VAT invoices to you for the commission taken off.	They show the fee deducted, which the Help Hub treats as a business expense of yours.
Statements	One for every payment, listing the visits, what you earned and the fees taken off.	They link each payment in your bank to the visits it covers.
Your bank statements and receipts	The money arriving, and what you spent on your work.	gov.uk lists receipts and bank statements among the proof a sole trader should keep.

Invoices to your clients

What it shows: The care invoices raised to your clients on your behalf.
Why you keep it: They are your sales invoices, the income side of your records.

Commission invoices

What it shows: Our VAT invoices to you for the commission taken off.
Why you keep it: They show the fee deducted, which the Help Hub treats as a business expense of yours.

Statements

What it shows: One for every payment, listing the visits, what you earned and the fees taken off.
Why you keep it: They link each payment in your bank to the visits it covers.

Your bank statements and receipts

What it shows: The money arriving, and what you spent on your work.
Why you keep it: gov.uk lists receipts and bank statements among the proof a sole trader should keep.

Each invoice and statement downloads as a PDF from your Payments page, or from Earnings in the carer app.

HMRC's page on business records if you're self-employed says you must keep your records for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year. Download the PDFs as they arrive and keep them in one place. An accountant will want the invoices to your clients and our commission invoices as a pair.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is arriving in stages. Checked on gov.uk on 22 September 2026, it applies from 6 April 2026 if your qualifying income was over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025, from 6 April 2027 if it is over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026, and from 6 April 2028 if it is over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027.

How to pay tax as a self-employed carer goes through registering and paying, tax and money as a self-employed carer covers the rates and deadlines, and allowable expenses for self-employed carers covers the costs you can set against your profit.

Questions

Questions carers ask about getting paid

No. The invoice to your client is compiled automatically from the bookings you and the client enter, and it is raised on your behalf. Your part is to accept each visit before it starts and make sure the bookings are right before the client’s billing day.

Because billing is set for each client. Each has their own billing day, and a card payment, a Direct Debit and a bank transfer each take a different time to clear. Your Payments page shows the expected date for each batch of money.

No. Under the carer terms, every payment for work with a client you met through PrimeCarers goes through the platform, and an offer to pay any other way has to be reported to PrimeCarers.

No. You are self-employed, so you receive your share after our commission and declare it yourself through Self Assessment. How to pay tax as a self-employed carer goes through it.

Sometimes. An advance is an early payment against care you have already delivered, arranged with PrimeCarers. No fees are charged on it, and it comes off your next statement automatically.

How you get paid as a carer on PrimeCarers