This guide covers the most common reasons a carer is blocked from starting or ending a visit on the ACP mobile app. Work through the relevant section before raising a support case.
Carer cannot start a visit — time window restriction
If a carer taps Start Visit and receives an error or the button does not respond, the most common cause is that the attempt falls outside the visit time window configured in tenant preferences.
ACP uses four time window preferences to control when carers can start and end visits.
How far in advance should visits be allowed to start? — This is the earliest a carer can start before the scheduled time. If set to 30, carers can start up to 30 minutes early. Attempting to start before this window produces an error.
How Late Can a Visit be Started After the Visit Start Time? — This is the latest a carer can start after the scheduled time. If set to 60, carers can start up to 60 minutes late. Attempting to start after this window produces an error and the visit cannot be started through the normal flow.
What to check:
Go to Configuration > Tenant > Preferences and locate the four visit time window settings under App preferences.
Confirm all four fields have a numeric value. A blank field can prevent carers from starting or ending any visit.
Confirm the carer attempted to start within the configured window.
If the carer is outside the window due to a genuine operational reason, you can temporarily widen the window, save it, ask the carer to sync, then restore the previous value. Ask the carer to sync again after restoring.
📌 Note: Device sync is required after any change to visit time window preferences. If a carer's device has not synced since the last preference change, it will use the old values. Ask the carer to perform a manual sync before trying again.
Carer cannot end a visit — required forms not completed
If a carer taps End Visit and is blocked or sees a prompt they cannot dismiss, the most likely cause is that one or more forms marked as required for visit completion have not been submitted.
Forms can be configured to be mandatory before a visit can be ended. If this is set, the app will not allow the End Visit action until the carer submits the required form.
What to check:
Ask the carer to check the visit screen for any forms listed as outstanding or flagged as required.
Ask the carer to complete and submit the form, then attempt to end the visit again.
If the form is not visible on the carer's device, check whether the device has synced since the form was assigned to the visit. Ask the carer to sync and check again.
If the form should not be required but is blocking the visit end, check the form configuration in Configuration > Forms. The form's settings in the relevant section will show whether it is set as mandatory.
QR code scanning returns N/A for location
When a carer uses a QR code to start or end a visit, the visit record shows N/A in the location field rather than a distance or address confirmation. This is not an error and does not indicate the visit failed.
N/A in the location field means that no GPS coordinates were available at the moment the QR code was scanned. The QR code scan itself succeeded — the visit was started or ended — but the device was unable to record a GPS position at that point.
Common causes of N/A location readings include: GPS was disabled on the device at the time of scanning, the device was indoors with no satellite signal, or the device had not yet acquired a GPS fix when the QR code was processed.
What to advise carers:
Ensure GPS (Location Services) is enabled on the device and set to High Accuracy or Always On where possible.
When scanning, pause for a second or two before tapping Start Visit to give the device time to acquire a GPS fix.
If GPS is consistently unavailable at a specific location (for example, a basement flat), consider whether a different verification method such as NFC is more appropriate for that address.
N/A in the location field does not affect care delivery or care records. It only means the distance calculation could not be performed for that event.
App shows an error when ending a visit
If the carer sees an error message when attempting to end a visit, and it is not related to required forms or a time window, work through these checks.
Step 1 — Check whether the visit is still showing as In Progress on the web console. Go to the service user's Visits tab. If the visit shows as In Progress but the carer cannot end it on their device, there may be a sync issue. Ask the carer to perform a manual sync and try again.
Step 2 — Check for a connectivity issue. The End Visit action requires the device to communicate with the server. If the carer is in an area with poor signal, the action may fail silently. Ask the carer to move to an area with better connectivity and try again.
Step 3 — Check the app version. Ensure the device is running a supported and current version of the ACP app. Go to the device's app store and check for updates. Some visit-ending errors are resolved in later app versions. See Device sync for guidance on enforcing version updates via the App Upgrade Policy.
Step 4 — Check the visit time window. Even when ending a visit, the end time window preference applies. If the carer is attempting to end the visit significantly after the planned end time and the window has a restrictive value, they may be blocked. Review the tenant preferences as described above.
When to raise a support case: If the visit is stuck In Progress on the web console, the carer has synced, has connectivity, is within the time window, and all required forms are complete, raise a support case via the Access Digital Assistant. Include the visit ID, carer username, service user name, date and time of the visit, and a description of the exact error message or behaviour observed.
Known open issues
Amending a visit comment using multiple Enter key presses can cause an error. A known defect exists where pressing the Enter key multiple times when adding a comment during visit amendment can trigger an error. If a carer reports this pattern, advise them to avoid using Enter to add line breaks in the comment field as a workaround until a fix is released. Reference: ADO 2068501, open with no fix version.