CareSmartz360 runs the shift. FileFlo runs the evidence.
This isn't FileFlo versus CareSmartz360. Keep CareSmartz360 for scheduling, EVV, billing, and the caregiver mobile app. FileFlo runs the 42 CFR §441.301 HCBS evidence binder, the 29 CFR §552.6 FLSA companionship documentation, the state-licensure file, and the 45 CFR Part 164 audit trail on every document. Keep the scheduler. Add the evidence binder.
$299/mo flat · Unlimited users · No sales call
One runs the visits. One holds the proof.
CareSmartz360 runs the operation
It schedules visits, captures EVV pings, files the Medicaid and MCO claim, and gives caregivers a mobile clock-in app. It is genuinely good at this; keep using it. CareSmartz360 was built to run today's visits, not to assemble the survey binder a state Medicaid auditor walks under 42 CFR §441.301.
FileFlo is the evidence binder
It holds the EVV exception packet, the person-centered service plans, the 29 CFR §552.6 companionship-exemption files, the state-licensure file, and the 45 CFR Part 164 audit trail, assembled into a one-click survey binder mapped to the citation an auditor speaks. The layer CareSmartz360 was never designed to be.
Where each tool actually wins.
For most private-duty non-medical agencies the answer is both: keep CareSmartz360 for scheduling and EVV, add FileFlo for compliance evidence.
FileFlo wins for
- State licensure inspection + Medicaid HCBS survey binders
- 29 CFR §552.6 FLSA companionship-exemption documentation
- 42 CFR §441.301 HCBS evidence + exception-report packet
- Cross-platform document storage (you keep CareSmartz360)
- 45 CFR Part 164 HIPAA audit trail on every document access
- Flat $299/mo unlimited users, no per-user inflation
CareSmartz360 wins for
- EVV under the 21st Century Cures Act (§441.301)
- State Medicaid aggregator integration in 20+ states
- Direct managed-care organization (MCO) billing
- Caregiver mobile app for visit clock-in / clock-out
- Shift scheduling + auto-fill + cancellation workflows
- Day-of operations for private-duty non-medical agencies
CareSmartz360 alone vs. CareSmartz360 + FileFlo.
Based on publicly available CareSmartz360 sales pages, customer reports, and the FileFlo product as of June 2026. This is an addition, not a replacement.
| Capability | FileFlo$299/mo · unlimited users | CareSmartz360~$8/user/mo + EVV + modules |
|---|---|---|
| 42 CFR §441.301 HCBS waiver evidence binder | Person-centered plan + exception packet | EVV claims, not evidence map |
| EVV (21st Century Cures Act, §441.301) | Stores EVV exception reports only | State aggregator + caregiver EVV |
| 29 CFR §552.6 FLSA companionship-exemption files | Duty log + 20% household-task evidence | Schedules shifts, not wage-hour proof |
| Medicaid HCBS billing & MCO claims | Not a billing platform | Direct MCO + state Medicaid links |
| Caregiver training & competency tracking | Cert renewals + in-service rosters | Training module add-on |
| State licensure file (per-state private-duty rules) | Per-state binder + renewal calendar | Not built around licensure tracking |
| 45 CFR Part 164 HIPAA audit trail per document | Every view, download, edit logged | EVV + chart-level audit log |
| AI document classification | 600+ doc types auto-tagged | Manual upload & filing |
| Background check & caregiver credential tracking | Per-state renewal automation | HR module add-on |
| Multi-platform document storage | Lives alongside any EVV platform | CareSmartz360 ecosystem-bound |
| State survey plan-of-correction workflow | CAP tracking + evidence upload | Not native to scheduling/EVV platform |
| Caregiver mobile clock-in / clock-out | Not a workforce app | Native caregiver mobile EVV app |
| Pricing model | $299/mo flat, unlimited users | ~$8/user/mo + EVV + module add-ons |
| Free trial (no sales call) | 5-day full access, no card | Demo + sales call + module config |
| Setup time | Under 60 minutes, self-serve | Multi-week module + EVV onboarding |
CareSmartz360 pricing varies by module mix and EVV state contract. Verify directly with CareSmartz360 for an exact quote; pricing range cited from public sources and customer reports.
Where each tool sits inside §441.301, §552.6, and Part 164.
The HCBS waiver rule, the FLSA companionship exemption, and the HIPAA Security Rule map cleanly onto the right system. Here is the breakdown.
42 CFR §441.301: HCBS waivers & the 21st Century Cures EVV mandate
CareSmartz360 wins here cleanly. EVV is what CareSmartz360 does at scale for private-duty non-medical Medicaid HCBS agencies. The §441.301 person-centered service plan, the visit verification, the six required EVV data points (who, what, where, when start, when end, recipient), and the state Medicaid aggregator transmission all live inside CareSmartz360. FileFlo accepts the resulting exception reports, person-centered plan attachments, and missed-visit logs for the evidence binder, but does not generate EVV claims.
29 CFR §552.6: FLSA companionship-services exemption
This is the wage-and-hour regulation that catches the most non-medical private-duty agencies during a Department of Labor audit. §552.6 limits the companionship exemption to caregivers whose primary duties are fellowship and protection, with no more than 20 percent of total hours per workweek on general household work. FileFlo wins here cleanly: duty logs, exemption-eligibility documentation per caregiver, percentage-of-time evidence, and the third-party-employer overtime acknowledgments live in FileFlo as discrete documents with audit trail. CareSmartz360 schedules the shift but does not produce the wage-hour evidence file a DOL investigator asks for to confirm the exemption.
45 CFR Part 164: HIPAA Security Rule
Both tools meet 45 CFR Part 164 obligations for PHI handling. The difference is scope: CareSmartz360's audit trail covers EVV pings, visit notes, and payor claim events; FileFlo's audit trail covers every document access, download, edit, and binder export, including the non-PHI compliance docs (training records, policies, background checks, state licensure renewals) that auditors still want evidence of during a state survey or HIPAA risk review.
42 CFR Part 440: Medicaid services definitions
Personal care services, home-and-community-based services, and self-directed care under 42 CFR Part 440 are the service categories that drive Medicaid HCBS reimbursement. CareSmartz360 stores the service authorization, the EVV-verified delivery record, and the payor claim against that authorization. FileFlo stores the underlying service definitions, the agency's policy of how each service category is delivered, the caregiver training records aligned to that service category, and the state-specific HCBS waiver attestation packet.
45 CFR §164.308: HIPAA administrative safeguards
Workforce training documentation, sanctions policies, contingency plans, and business associate agreements live on opposite sides of the same regulation. CareSmartz360 tracks the user-account level access controls and the role-based permission model. FileFlo tracks the workforce training acknowledgment per employee, the signed sanctions policy, the contingency-plan documentation, and the executed BAA with every vendor that touches PHI: the document evidence that an OCR auditor asks for during a HIPAA investigation.
State private-duty / non-medical home care licensure
Most states (Texas HCSSA, Florida HHA, California HCO, Pennsylvania HCA, etc.) require private-duty non-medical agencies to maintain a state-specific licensure file: administrator credentials, governing-body policies, caregiver qualification packets, complaint logs, incident reports, and annual renewal attestations. FileFlo wins here: per-state binder, renewal calendar, and incident-log evidence are native. CareSmartz360 does not maintain a per-state licensure file; that documentation typically lives in HR shared drives today.
One flat price vs. per-user plus modules.
FileFlo is one flat price. CareSmartz360 is per user per month plus EVV state-aggregator fees and module add-ons. The math depends on caregiver headcount, module mix, and your state's Medicaid contract.
* Pricing range based on public sources, industry directories, and customer reports. Contact CareSmartz360 for exact quote.
The pricing comparison is not apples-to-apples. CareSmartz360 is a full scheduling, EVV, and billing platform; FileFlo is the compliance evidence layer. The right comparison is “CareSmartz360 + FileFlo” vs “CareSmartz360 + spreadsheets + shared drives + paper binders”.
Platform definition.
FileFlo is a compliance document intelligence platform for home care. It is not a scheduling, EVV, or billing system. Instead, it ingests the documents a private-duty or non-medical home care agency must be able to produce on demand: completed caregiver onboarding packets, training certificates, background checks, TB screenings, supervisory sign-offs, EVV exception reports, person-centered service plans, and FLSA companionship-exemption duty logs, classifies each against its governing regulation (42 CFR §441.301 for HCBS waiver services, 29 CFR §552.6 for the companionship exemption, 45 CFR Part 164 for HIPAA, plus each state's private-duty licensure rules), tracks expirations and missing signatures, and assembles a citation-mapped survey binder in one click.
The distinction matters because CareSmartz360 is a workforce operations platform: it is optimized for scheduling, electronic visit verification, payor claims, and the caregiver mobile experience, not for assembling the regulatory evidence binder a state Medicaid auditor or Department of Labor investigator walks. CareSmartz360 can tell you a visit was verified and billed; it cannot assemble the §441.301 exception packet, prove the §552.6 20-percent-household-task ceiling per caregiver, or produce the per-state licensure file on demand. FileFlo adds that evidence layer without disturbing the scheduling and EVV operation beneath it.
Why a scheduling system isn't a compliance system.
Federal and state home care rules do not ask whether a visit was scheduled; they ask whether the right evidence exists, is current, and can be produced when a surveyor arrives. The 21st Century Cures Act amended 42 CFR §441.301 to require Medicaid-funded personal care services to capture six electronic visit verification data points, and state Medicaid agencies routinely audit an agency's EVV exception rate, demanding the manual-entry justifications, missed-visit logs, and person-centered service plans behind every flagged visit. Separately, 29 CFR §552.6 limits the FLSA companionship-services exemption to caregivers whose work is primarily fellowship and protection, with general household work capped at 20 percent of weekly hours, and a Department of Labor Wage and Hour investigator will deny the exemption, and assess back overtime, unless the agency can produce duty logs and time-percentage evidence per caregiver. A scheduling and EVV platform can run every visit and still leave the agency exposed, because operations software has no concept of "the binder a surveyor will ask for."
This is the gap FileFlo closes. Rather than ask agencies to abandon the scheduling and EVV system that runs their day, FileFlo accepts the exports and uploaded documents from CareSmartz360 and applies a regulation-specific rule pack to them. Each document is mapped to the CFR section it satisfies, its expiration and missing-signature status is monitored, and the required-document checklist for the agency's payor mix and state license surfaces anything absent. When a CHAP, ACHC, CMS, or state Department of Health surveyor arrives (or a DOL investigator opens a wage-and-hour review), the binder is assembled in the format that agency expects, with an immutable 45 CFR Part 164 audit trail on every access.
The practical result is that an agency keeps a single operations system (CareSmartz360) while gaining the survey-readiness, FLSA-evidence, and licensure-tracking capabilities that a scheduling and EVV platform does not provide. FileFlo is the compliance evidence layer; CareSmartz360 remains the system that runs today's visits.
Built by an operator, against the rules themselves.
Chad Griffith, Founder & CEO of FileFlo, built FileFlo's rule packs against the actual surveyor, inspector, and investigator protocols, not against a generic "compliance" abstraction. Each regulator's taxonomy maps documents to the exact CFR section that demands them, which is why FileFlo can sit alongside an operations platform like CareSmartz360 and still speak the language an auditor uses. FileFlo is built to complement the systems you already run: it holds the document evidence and never becomes another place your team has to schedule, bill, or verify visits.
Quick answers.
Last reviewed June 4, 2026.
Does FileFlo replace CareSmartz360?
No. CareSmartz360 is a scheduling, EVV, billing, and caregiver-management platform built for private-duty and non-medical home care agencies: companion care, personal care, and Medicaid HCBS waiver work. FileFlo is the compliance document layer that sits alongside CareSmartz360. CareSmartz360 runs your visit schedule, EVV pings, payor invoicing, and caregiver mobile app. FileFlo runs your 42 CFR §441.301 HCBS evidence binder, 29 CFR §552.6 FLSA companionship-exemption documentation, state licensure files, and 45 CFR Part 164 HIPAA audit trail on every document. Most agencies that use both keep CareSmartz360 for the visit operations and use FileFlo as the survey-readiness binder layer for state Medicaid auditors.
How much does CareSmartz360 cost vs FileFlo?
CareSmartz360 is publicly listed at roughly $8 per user per month for the base scheduling package, with EVV, billing, training, and reporting modules tiered as add-ons that push the per-user fee higher. Implementation, state-aggregator EVV fees, and per-state Medicaid certification are typically separate. A 40-caregiver agency at $8 per user per month is around $320 per month for the base scheduling tier, but the realistic total with EVV and billing modules runs well above that: agencies report effective rates of $15–25 per user per month once all add-ons are stacked. FileFlo is a flat $299 per month with unlimited users for the compliance document layer. The comparison is not apples-to-apples. CareSmartz360 is a workforce operations platform with EVV; FileFlo is the compliance evidence binder. Verify CareSmartz360 pricing directly since module mix and EVV state contracts vary; FileFlo pricing is locked at getfileflo.com/pricing.
Will FileFlo cover the FLSA companionship-exemption documentation under 29 CFR §552.6?
Yes. This is one of the biggest gaps non-medical agencies hit during a Department of Labor wage-and-hour audit. The companionship-services exemption under 29 CFR §552.6 requires that fellowship and protection make up the primary work and that household work for the elderly or infirm is limited to no more than 20 percent of total hours per workweek. FileFlo tracks the exemption-eligibility documentation per caregiver, the duty logs, the percentage-of-time-on-household-tasks evidence, and the third-party-employer overtime acknowledgments. CareSmartz360 schedules the shift; FileFlo holds the evidence trail a DOL Wage and Hour investigator asks for to confirm the exemption actually applies. Without that documentation, the exemption is denied and the agency owes back overtime under the FLSA.
Does FileFlo help with EVV under the 21st Century Cures Act and 42 CFR §441.301?
Not directly. EVV is CareSmartz360's territory. The 21st Century Cures Act amended 42 CFR §441.301 to require Medicaid-funded personal care services to capture six EVV data points: who provided service, what service, where, when start, when end, and the recipient. CareSmartz360 is an EVV vendor that integrates with state Medicaid aggregators in dozens of states. FileFlo does not generate EVV claims. What FileFlo does is store the EVV exception reports, manual entry justifications, missed-visit logs, person-centered service plans, and the compliance evidence packet a state Medicaid auditor asks for when they question your exception rate. That evidence trail typically lives scattered in CareSmartz360 exports and shared drives today; FileFlo turns it into an auditable binder mapped to §441.301.
Can FileFlo generate an audit packet faster than CareSmartz360 for a state licensure or Medicaid survey?
FileFlo is built specifically for survey readiness: one click pulls every document tied to a caregiver, patient, or regulation citation into a single PDF binder with an immutable audit trail under 45 CFR Part 164. CareSmartz360 can export individual reports across scheduling, EVV, training, and HR modules, but assembling a full state licensure plus HCBS §441.301 evidence binder requires running multiple reports and consolidating them manually. Survey-binder assembly is the workflow where FileFlo measurably outperforms a scheduling-and-EVV platform like CareSmartz360, because document-as-evidence is FileFlo's whole job and CareSmartz360's job is running today's visits.
Does FileFlo integrate with CareSmartz360 for EVV exception data and caregiver records?
Today, FileFlo does not write EVV claims, payor invoices, or caregiver schedules; those stay in CareSmartz360. FileFlo accepts uploaded EVV exception reports, caregiver onboarding packets, training certificates, supervisor sign-offs, background checks, TB screenings, and policy acknowledgments, then AI-classifies them, attaches an immutable audit trail, and alerts on expiration or missing-signature events. A native two-way CareSmartz360 sync is on the FileFlo Q4 2026 roadmap, prioritized because of customer overlap in the non-medical private-duty market. Until then, the integration pattern is: export from CareSmartz360 → upload to FileFlo → AI classify → audit-ready binder under 42 CFR §441.301, 29 CFR §552.6, and state licensure rules.
Keep CareSmartz360. Add the evidence binder.
Build your first 42 CFR §441.301 evidence binder today and keep CareSmartz360 for scheduling and EVV. 5-day free trial, no credit card, no sales call.
$299/mo · Unlimited users · Cancel anytime