Conversational client management software

A simpler way to do social work

Ara turns everyday conversations into organised case notes, client records, actions and outcomes — so social workers can spend less time managing systems and more time supporting people.

Built by the team behind Gravy, supporting 176 community organisations.

Ara dashboard showing a caseworker's caseload as a set of case cards, each with a client name, goal, and next step.
Why now

Social workers are drowning in admin, but they don't have to be.

Every team we talk to shares the same problems — important information lost in paper and spreadsheets, systems that are old and clunky, reports that take weeks to pull together.

Ara is how social work should be — with clients at the centre of everything you do. It captures notes in the moment and turns them into the information that matters — metrics that need tracking, plans that need updating, referrals that need sending, tasks that need doing.

It turns hours of admin and frustration into minutes of work.

Who it's for

Built for social workers.

Ara is built for organisations doing client-centred support work — advocacy, housing support, mentoring, navigation, whānau support, disability support, pregnancy support, and community casework.

If your team spends time in conversations, case notes, follow-ups, support plans, and funder reporting, Ara is designed for you.

Advocacy Housing support Mentoring Navigation Whānau support Disability support Pregnancy support Community casework
How Ara works

From conversations to outcomes.

01

Record conversations, get case notes, actions and insights.

This is where the time actually gets saved — and our strongest difference from a form you fill in by hand.

  • Hit record during a real conversation, or type it up afterward
  • Ara drafts the case note — you review and approve it, nothing saves without you seeing it
  • Case notes are turned into tasks and metrics, automatically
Ara recording a conversation live, with the speech turning into a draft case note transcript in real time.
02

See people not needs & problems.

Every profile captures unique information about that person — giving you a more human picture of the person you're supporting.

  • Background, barriers, and strengths sit side by side, not buried in notes
  • Built for advocacy and support work, not a generic contact record
  • New workers can get up to speed on a case in minutes
Ara client profile showing background, barriers, and strengths for a support case.
03

Watch progress add up, stage by stage.

See exactly where someone is in their plan, and what's actually changing for them.

  • Track whatever matters for this person — days smoke-free, a savings goal, sessions attended
  • Metrics update themselves from the conversations you log, not extra data entry
  • Progress rolls up cleanly into reporting, without extra work
Ara care plan and outcomes view showing stage progress and a tracked outcome metric.
04

Every open task, in one list.

Nothing falls through the cracks between check-ins.

  • Created automatically from the conversations you log, not entered separately
  • See what's overdue across your whole caseload at a glance
  • One list instead of sticky notes and separate spreadsheets
Ara tasks view listing every open task across a caseworker's caseload.
Reporting

Cleaner reporting without extra admin.

Ara turns frontline activity into structured information that can support reporting to managers, boards, funders, and government agencies.

Your data, on demand

Export your own data, anytime — no fee, no waiting.

Too many systems treat your own client data like it's held hostage — a paid request, a one-off export, a file only an IT contractor can open. Ara works differently: export is a real, self-service feature, not a philosophical promise.

Self-service, not a support ticket

Trigger an export yourself, whenever you need it — no request forms, no waiting on us.

No export fees, ever

Getting your own data back doesn't cost extra. It's yours, so it's free.

Plain formats anyone can use

Exports come out as CSV and Excel — not a raw database dump only a developer can read.

As many times as you need

Not a one-off. Export today, next month, or every week — it's always available.

Data residency

Your data stays in New Zealand.

Where your data lives matters. Many case management platforms are US-owned, which means New Zealand client data ends up hosted offshore, under a different country's laws and reach. Ara is hosted in New Zealand — full stop.

Hosted in New Zealand

Your data sits on servers inside NZ, not routed offshore to a US data centre.

NZ jurisdiction, not foreign

Your data stays subject to New Zealand law, not a foreign government's reach or a foreign court order.

Built for government contracts

Data sovereignty requirements are increasingly common in NZ government funding agreements — Ara meets that bar by default, not as an add-on.

Getting started

Ara starts where you are.

Ara does not need to replace everything on day one. It can work alongside paper notes, spreadsheets, existing reporting tools, and current workflows while your team builds confidence.

WHAT YOU HAVE NOW WHAT YOU GET ARA
How we work with you

From first call to fully live.

01

Discovery

02

Map your data

04

Go live

05

Grows with you

Pricing

Pricing is koha based.

Koha is a Māori tradition of voluntary contribution, given in a spirit of reciprocity. Ara asks providers to contribute what feels fair for the value they get — not a fixed subscription or per-seat fee.

Built by the team behind Gravy

The same team already helping community organisations win.

Ara is built by that same team behind Gravy. Gravy helps New Zealand charities & clubs find and win grant funding.

176
community organisations trust Gravy
$3M+
raised for NZ nonprofits through Gravy
Questions

Before you book a call

Ara isn't a fixed-fee product. There's no subscription or per-seat cost — pricing is koha based, meaning your organisation contributes what feels fair for the value you're getting, in the spirit of koha: a Māori tradition of voluntary, reciprocal contribution.

The person the data is about. Your organisation can see and use what's been shared with you for your work, but nothing about a person leaves your system, or gets shared with another organisation, without their specific consent.

No. We work alongside your team to map your existing records into Ara's structure at your own pace — you don't need a clean slate to get started, and new work can start being captured properly from day one.

We build report formats around your actual funders — that's part of onboarding, not a limitation you work around. Tell us who you report to, and we'll make sure Ara speaks their format.

Find out how Ara could work for your organisation.

Book a walkthrough and we'll learn about your organisation and show you how Ara could work for you.

Book a walkthrough