This article is for organisations that use Access People Planner, Access Care Rostering, or another integrated rostering system. When service user records are created or updated by integration, they behave differently to records created manually in ACP. This guide covers the most common issues and what you can do to resolve them.
How integration creates service user records
When a service user is created or updated in your rostering system, ACP receives the record automatically via the integration. The record lands in ACP with the name, branch, and external identifier set by the rostering system.
The integration uses the service user's external ID to match records. If a record with that ID already exists in ACP, it is updated. If no match is found, a new record is created. This happens automatically without any action from your team.
Integration timing varies. For records linked to visits starting within the next 72 hours, allow up to 20 minutes for the record to appear in ACP. For records linked to visits further ahead, allow up to 24 hours.
Service user record arrived in the wrong service or branch
If an integrated service user record appears in the wrong service or branch in ACP, the cause is almost always the branch assignment in the rostering system. The rostering system sets the branch, and ACP places the record accordingly.
What to do:
Do not change the branch in ACP. The integration controls this field and will overwrite any change you make on the next sync.
Log in to your rostering system and correct the branch or service assignment there.
Wait for the next integration sync (up to 20 minutes for near-term records, up to 24 hours otherwise). ACP will update the record automatically.
If the record does not move to the correct service after the expected sync window, raise a support case via the Access Digital Assistant. Include the service user's name, their current service in ACP, the correct service, and the name of your rostering system.
📌 Note: If a service user record needs to be moved between services after care has started and records exist in ACP (forms, care plans, activity history), the move requires Support intervention. The data associated with the record does not transfer automatically. Contact Support before making any changes to avoid data loss.
Duplicate service user records
Duplicate records occur when the integration creates a second record rather than updating an existing one. This typically happens when the external identifier in the rostering system does not match any existing record in ACP — often because the service user was previously created manually in ACP under a different identifier.
Signs of a duplicate: two records for the same person appearing in ACP, one with care history and one newly created with no history, or a service user's visits appearing under a different record to their care plan.
What to do:
Do not delete either record until Support has reviewed both. Deleting the wrong record will remove care history.
Note the names, record IDs, and services of both records.
Raise a support case with this information. Support can merge or deactivate the duplicate without losing data.
How to prevent future duplicates: always create new service users in your rostering system rather than directly in ACP. If a service user already exists in ACP before your integration goes live, confirm with your implementation team that the external identifier has been correctly mapped to avoid a duplicate being created on first sync.
What a Tenant Administrator can and cannot change on an integration-created record
You can change these fields directly in ACP without risk of overwrite:
Contact details (phone numbers, email addresses added manually in ACP)
Address fields added or supplemented in ACP
Role access assignments (which groups and users can view the record)
Care plan content, forms, and activities
Notes and documents added directly in ACP
These fields are controlled by the rostering system and may be overwritten on the next sync:
Service user name
Branch or service assignment
Core demographic fields originating from the rostering system (date of birth, NHS number, where managed by the integration)
If a core demographic field such as date of birth is showing incorrectly and you need to correct it, update the value in your rostering system and allow time for the integration to sync the change through to ACP.
When to raise a support case
Raise a support case via the Access Digital Assistant in these situations.
A service user record did not update after the expected sync window despite the correction being made in the rostering system.
A service user record needs to move between services in ACP after care and data records already exist.
You have confirmed duplicate records for the same person and need them merged or deactivated without losing data.
An unexpected record has appeared in ACP that does not correspond to an active service user in your rostering system, and you suspect it was created in error by the integration.
When raising a case, include the service user's name, the ACP service they appear in, their external identifier from the rostering system if known, and a description of the issue.