CQC Mock Inspection: DIY vs Consultant vs Software, With Costs
There are three ways to rehearse a CQC assessment: run it yourself, pay a consultant, or use software. Here is what each costs at published prices, how long it takes, what it catches and misses, and which fits your type and size of service.
Doing it yourself costs staff time only and is the right default for regular checks. It finds missing paperwork well but is weak on independent observation and honest feedback.
A consultant costs, at the published prices we found, from £595 + VAT for a remote document review and £965 to £3,150 for one or two days on site, with broader packages from £3,000 + VAT. It is the right choice when the stakes are high: before a re-inspection after a poor rating, before a new service's first assessment, or when a new manager inherits a service.
Software with published prices runs from about £49 to £312 a month. It keeps evidence current all year and suits groups with several locations, but it cannot observe care. Most providers do best with a mix: self-assess every quarter, and bring in an outside reviewer once a year or before a high-stakes assessment.
A mock inspection is an internal review run the way an inspector would approach your service. It does not produce a CQC rating, whoever runs it. minidev.pro builds CQC readiness software and a free self-assessment tool, so we have an interest in the software option; we have tried to be fair to the others. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Care Quality Commission. For the step-by-step method and how quality statements, evidence categories and scoring work, see the guide on the tool page. This post is about choosing who runs it and what it costs.
The Options at a Glance
| Option | Who does it | Typical cost | Best at | Weakest at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal self-assessment | Registered manager with a deputy or senior carer | Staff time; free tools exist | Finding missing or out-of-date records, often and cheaply | Independence: people and staff talk to their own manager, and daily habits go unnoticed |
| Peer review | A manager from a sister location or a partner provider | Staff time from both services | A fresh pair of eyes at no fee | Depends on the reviewer's skill; may not be fully independent within one group |
| Consultant, remote | Consultant reviews documents you upload | From £595 + VAT | A quick outside read of policies and records | No observation, no conversations with people or staff |
| Consultant, on site | Consultant visits for one or two days | £965 to £3,150 listed; some from £3,000 + VAT | Independent observation, interviews and an outside view of culture | A snapshot of one or two days; cost limits how often you can do it |
| Off-the-shelf software | Your own team, using a subscription platform | About £49 to £312 a month at published prices | Keeping evidence, audits and actions current all year | Cannot observe care; a self-score in software is still a self-score |
| Custom software | Your team, on a tool built around your services and roles | Fixed build price, then optional retainer | Groups whose structure or service mix off-the-shelf tools do not fit | Upfront cost; overkill for one location |
Prices from the providers' own pages, checked October 2026. Details and sources below.
What a Consultant Costs: Published Prices
Many consultancies quote only after a call. These are the ones that published a price for a CQC mock inspection when we checked in October 2026. They are listed to show the market, not as recommendations.
| Provider | Package | Published price | Format and turnaround, as described |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulcrum Care Consulting | Remote mini mock inspection | £595 + VAT | You upload documents; report within 3 working days. Fee refunded if you upgrade to a full audit within 3 months |
| Care 4 Quality (adult social care) | One-day snapshot audit | £965 | On site, covering core quality statements; report and action plan within 7 to 10 working days |
| Care 4 Quality (adult social care) | Two-day audit | £1,930 | On site, described as a review against all quality statements, including people's experience |
| Care 4 Quality (healthcare) | One-day snapshot / two-day mock | £1,930 / £2,835 | For healthcare services such as GP, clinic and patient transport providers |
| Orobo Healthcare | Mock CQC inspection | From £1,250 + VAT | Typically 1 to 2 days on site depending on size; written report and prioritised action plan. Higher for larger or complex services |
| CQC Mock Inspection Experts (Fulcrum Care Ltd) | Comprehensive mock inspection | From £1,900 + VAT | On-site visit, including staff, resident and family conversations; report within 3 working days |
| DKJ Support Services (healthcare) | Targeted / full / enhanced mock | From £1,575 / £2,675 / £3,150 + VAT | Targeted covers selected quality statements; full covers all 34; enhanced adds feedback from patients, staff and partner organisations. Aimed at GP practices and clinics |
| The UK Care Consultants | Mock inspection with governance check | From £3,000 + VAT | On site (remote if viable), gap analysis, written report with scoring and an action plan |
Care 4 Quality's pages did not show VAT wording next to these prices. Worknest and Caring for Care describe mock inspection services but quote after a conversation. Check what is included before comparing: VAT, travel, report writing time and any follow-up.
Three things move the price more than anything else:
- Days on site. A one-day visit usually covers the core quality statements. A two-day visit is what most providers describe as a full review.
- Remote or on site. A remote review reads your documents. It cannot watch a medicines round or talk to a resident.
- Who gets asked. Packages that include feedback from people, relatives, staff and partner organisations cost more, because someone has to have those conversations.
What Software Costs
Software is a running cost, not a one-off. Some compliance platforms publish prices; others quote on request. Examples from published pages, checked October 2026:
| Option | Published price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| minidev.pro free CQC mock inspection tool | £0 | All 34 quality statements, indicative bands, printable gap report. Runs in one browser; no accounts or sharing |
| InspectReady | £49 a month (one home); £99 a month (2 to 5 homes) | Readiness view, audit scheduler, action tracking, evidence-pack export. 14-day free trial |
| MyCareAudit | £59 to £312 a month across published plans; Enterprise on request | Audit templates and compliance gap detection; action planning on Professional and above. 14-day free trial |
| Custom readiness tool (minidev.pro) | Fixed build price from our published list | First location in 30 days once the statement set is agreed; more locations on a retainer |
Neither subscription page said whether prices include VAT. Ask about setup fees, user limits and contract length.
For a custom tool, we price from the same fixed list as every other build, in US dollars: a $5,000 base, plus add-ons such as teams and roles (+$1,500) and compliance controls for audit trails, retention and access (+$3,000). The full list is on the MVP cost calculator. That only makes sense if off-the-shelf tools do not fit; for most single services, they will.
Time Needed for Each Option
- Self-assessment. No booking or waiting, but someone has to open each record and talk to people. A consultant's two-day package is a fair guide to the effort a thorough review takes: published packages describe one or two days on site, plus time writing up. Spread it over a week if the rota cannot release a manager for two full days.
- Remote consultant review. Gathering and uploading documents, then a report in about 3 working days at the published turnaround above.
- On-site consultant. One or two days on site, then a written report in 3 to 10 working days depending on the provider. Your team still spends those days answering questions and finding records, and the actions afterwards are yours.
- Software. Setup time first, loading policies, audits and training records. After that, little extra work per review, because evidence is added as it happens rather than gathered for a visit.
Whichever option you choose, the hidden cost is the same: closing the actions. A mock inspection that produces a report but no owners and dates has not saved you anything.
What Each Option Catches and Misses
CQC groups the evidence it looks at into six categories, and says its lists are a guide rather than a checklist. Mapping each option against those categories shows where each one is strong. This is our assessment of how each method works, not a CQC view.
| Evidence category | Self-assessment | Consultant on site | Consultant remote | Software |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's experience | Partial. People may tell their own manager less | Strong. Independent conversations with people and families | Weak. Only the written feedback you send | Stores feedback you log; holds no conversations |
| Feedback from staff and leaders | Weak. Staff are answering their own manager | Strong. Staff interviews by an outsider | Weak | Stores supervision and survey records |
| Feedback from partners | Partial. You can ask GPs and commissioners yourself | Only if the package includes it | Weak | Stores what you log |
| Observation | Weak. Familiar habits are hard to see | Strong. The main reason to pay for a visit | None | None |
| Processes | Strong, if you score from records not memory | Strong, on a sample | Strong, for documents you send | Strongest over time: dates, expiries, stale evidence and open actions |
| Outcomes | Strong if you track the data | Sample only | Partial | Strong if outcomes are recorded as they happen |
Two other differences matter:
- Scoring honesty. CQC scores each quality statement from 1 to 4 and turns the totals into ratings, and a single statement scored 1 caps an otherwise good key question at requires improvement. A self-assessment tends to drift generous; an outsider is more likely to give the 1 that changes the band. If you self-assess, score from the evidence you can show today.
- Coverage. A one-day snapshot usually covers core statements, not all of them. Software and a full self-assessment can cover every statement, but only as well as the evidence put in.
Start With a Free Self-Assessment
Score all 34 quality statements, tick the evidence you could show today and print a gap list. No sign-up; answers stay in your browser.
Open the Free Tool →When a Consultant Is the Right Choice
Software sellers, including us, would like you to believe a tool replaces a consultant. In these situations it does not, and a good consultant is worth the fee:
- Before a re-inspection after a requires improvement or inadequate rating. You need an independent view of whether the problems CQC found are fixed, and someone who will tell you plainly if they are not. Book an on-site, full-scope review, not a remote one.
- Before a new service's first assessment. You have no rating history and no outside view of how your service comes across. CQC said in May 2026 that services never assessed since registration that its data flags as very high risk are among its adult social care priorities.
- When a new registered manager inherits a service. An outside baseline separates what they inherited from what they have changed.
- After a serious incident, safeguarding concern or whistleblowing. Observation and independent staff interviews are exactly what a self-check cannot do.
- When your self-scores look too good. If every statement scores 3 or 4 and nobody can find the evidence quickly, an outsider will tell you what an inspector would see.
To get more from the fee, do your own self-assessment first and send it with your documents. The consultant's days then go on observation and conversations, which you cannot do yourself, rather than on finding your training matrix.
Decision Table by Service Type and Size
| Your service | Routine checks | Bring in a consultant when | Software |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small home care agency or supported living service, one office | Quarterly self-assessment with the free tool; ask a few people and staff the hint questions | Before a first assessment, after a poor rating or a change of manager | A low-cost subscription if evidence is scattered across inboxes and folders |
| Small care home, one location | Quarterly self-assessment; peer review if you have a partner home | Once a year on site, or before a high-stakes assessment | Optional; useful once audits and actions outgrow a spreadsheet |
| Larger care home | Quarterly self-assessment by key question, shared between managers | A two-day on-site review yearly, or at the moments above | Worth it: more staff, more evidence, more actions to track |
| Group with several locations | Peer review between locations, with a set statement list | For locations rated requires improvement or inadequate, or showing warning signs | The main tool: one view of stale evidence and open actions across locations |
| New service awaiting first assessment | Self-assess from day one to build evidence | A few months before you expect assessment | Set up early so evidence is dated from the start |
| Rated requires improvement or inadequate | Monthly progress check on the statements CQC flagged | Yes: an on-site, full-scope review before re-inspection | For tracking actions to closure with evidence attached |
| GP practice, clinic or other healthcare service | Self-assessment against the same quality statements | A consultant who works with your service type | Check the tool supports your sector's evidence, not only care homes |
Our recommendations, based on what each option can and cannot see. Adjust for your own risk: a service with recent complaints needs an outside view sooner.
How Often to Run One
CQC said in May 2026 that it cannot say when a specific service will be assessed. Its adult social care priorities at that time included services with urgent emerging risks, high-risk services never assessed since registration, and services with ratings more than six years old. In practice, you cannot plan a mock inspection around a date you will not be given.
A rhythm that works for most services:
- Every quarter: a full self-assessment, re-scored from current records. Keep each printed report so you can show progress over time.
- After any significant change: a new manager, a serious incident, a jump in complaints, a new service line or a merger.
- Once a year, or before a high-stakes assessment: an independent review, by a consultant or a peer from outside the service.
- Continuously, if you use software: evidence and actions added as they happen, so the quarterly review is a check, not a scramble.
CQC's Planned Changes and Your Choice
On 24 March 2026 CQC published four draft sector-specific assessment frameworks, for adult social care, mental health care, primary care and community services, and hospitals. In the drafts the five key questions stay, key lines of enquiry framed as questions replace the quality statements, and CQC proposes to remove scoring and make rating judgements directly at key question level. Feedback closed on 12 June 2026. CQC said it would pilot the frameworks, and its improvement plan said it would start implementing them at the end of 2026.
Until CQC confirms the switch, the 34 quality statements are still its published framework (checked October 2026). What this means for your choice:
- Your evidence carries over. A strong safeguarding or medicines record is strong under either version. Do not delay a mock inspection waiting for the new framework.
- Ask consultants how their report will map. Some providers' pages still describe reviews against the older KLOEs. A report organised by the evidence itself is easier to re-map than one organised by a framework.
- Avoid long lock-ins. Before a multi-year software contract, ask how the vendor will handle the new frameworks. A readiness tool should model the framework as data so it can follow the change without a rebuild.
Questions to Ask Before You Book a Consultant
- Is the price fixed, and does it include VAT, travel and report writing?
- How many days on site, and which quality statements are covered: core statements or all of them?
- Will they talk to people, relatives, staff and partners, and observe care? If not, you are buying a document review.
- Who will do it, and have they worked with your type of service? Home care, nursing homes and GP practices are different jobs.
- Is the report mapped to the current framework, and how will it carry over to the new one?
- Do they give a rating opinion, and how is it labelled? It should be clearly marked as their view, not a CQC rating.
- How soon is the report, and is any follow-up included or charged separately?
When We Are Not the Right Choice
minidev.pro is a software studio. We do not run on-site mock inspections, observe care, interview your staff or give rating opinions. If you need any of those, hire a consultant who works with your type of service. If you run one location and the free tool plus a well-kept action log does the job, you do not need us. If an off-the-shelf platform already fits your service type and roles, use it: a subscription is cheaper than a build.
We fit when the problem is the software: a provider whose locations, roles or service mix off-the-shelf tools do not match, who needs evidence on each quality statement, role-based sign-off for staff, registered managers and provider leads, dated predicted ratings labelled as internal, and action plans that stay attached to the evidence. That is what we built in CQC-Guard, which models the five key questions and 32 quality statements, and what our CQC inspection readiness work covers. A first location ships in 30 days once the statement set is agreed; group roll-up follows on a retainer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a CQC mock inspection cost?
Doing it yourself costs staff time only. Among consultants that publish prices, a remote document-only mini mock starts at £595 + VAT, and one- or two-day onsite mock inspections are listed at £965 to £3,150, with broader packages from £3,000 + VAT. Compliance software with published prices runs from about £49 to £312 a month. Prices checked October 2026; ask whether VAT, travel and the report are included.
Can I do a CQC mock inspection myself?
Yes. A registered manager and a deputy can score each quality statement from the records they can actually find, talk to people, relatives and staff, and turn the gaps into dated actions. The free CQC mock inspection tool at minidev.pro/tools/cqc-mock-inspection does this in the browser and prints a gap report. The weak spot is independence: you will find missing paperwork, but you are less likely to spot habits you see every day.
Is it worth paying a consultant for a mock CQC inspection?
It is worth it when the stakes are high and you need an outside view: before a re-inspection after a requires improvement or inadequate rating, before a new service's first assessment, when a new registered manager takes over, or after a serious concern. For routine checks between those moments, a regular self-assessment usually gives better value.
How often should we do a mock CQC inspection?
A practical rhythm is a self-assessment every quarter and after any significant change, plus an independent review once a year or before a high-stakes assessment. CQC says it cannot tell providers when a specific service will be assessed, so evidence needs to be current all year rather than gathered when a visit looks likely.
Does a mock inspection give us a CQC rating?
No. Only CQC awards ratings. A consultant may give a rating opinion and software may show a predicted rating, but both are internal estimates. CQC inspectors use professional judgement and their own evidence, so the real result can differ.
Will CQC's new frameworks make a mock inspection out of date?
Not the evidence. In March 2026 CQC published draft sector-specific frameworks that keep the five key questions, replace quality statements with key lines of enquiry and remove scoring. Until CQC confirms the switch, the 34 quality statements are still its published framework. A strong medicines or safeguarding record counts under either version, so check how a report or tool will map to the new frameworks before you commit to a long contract.
Sources
All pages checked October 2026. Consultant and software prices are as published on each provider's own page and change often; confirm before you book. minidev.pro is not affiliated with CQC or with any provider listed.
- CQC, Our March update (24 March 2026), draft sector-specific frameworks: cqc.org.uk/news/our-march-update
- CQC, Give your views on draft sector-specific assessment frameworks (closed 12 June 2026): cqc.org.uk/about-us/how-we-involve-you/consultations/give-your-views-draft-sector-specific-assessment-frameworks
- CQC, Our improvement plans for 2026: cqc.org.uk/about-us/improving-how-we-work/1125-update
- CQC, Priorities for delivering more assessments and tackling aged ratings (May 2026): cqc.org.uk/about-us/improving-how-we-work/0526-update
- CQC, Assessment framework (key questions and quality statements): cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/providers/assessment/assessment-framework
- CQC, How we reach a rating (1 to 4 scoring, thresholds, limiting rules): cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/providers/assessment/assessing-quality-and-performance/reach-rating
- CQC, Evidence categories: cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/providers/assessment/evidence-categories
- Fulcrum Care Consulting, Remote mini CQC mock inspection (£595 + VAT): fulcrumcareconsulting.com/services/mini-mock-inspection
- CQC Mock Inspection Experts (Fulcrum Care Ltd), Comprehensive mock CQC inspection (from £1,900 + VAT): cqcmockinspections.co.uk/cqc-mock-inspections
- Care 4 Quality, Care home audit visits and mock inspections (£965 one day, £1,930 two days): care4quality.co.uk/care-home-services/audit-visits-mock-inspections
- Care 4 Quality, Healthcare mock CQC inspections (£1,930 one day, £2,835 two days): care4quality.co.uk/healthcare-mock-cqc-inspections
- Orobo Healthcare, Mock CQC inspection (from £1,250 + VAT): orobohealthcare.com/services/mock-inspection
- DKJ Support Services, CQC mock inspection packages (from £1,575, £2,675 and £3,150 + VAT): dkjsupportservices.co.uk/cqc-mock-inspection-service
- The UK Care Consultants, Mock inspections and site visits (from £3,000 + VAT): theukcareconsultants.co.uk/staying-inspection-ready/mock-inspections-site-visits
- Worknest, Mock inspections (no published price): worknest.com/specialist-care-solutions/mock-inspections
- Caring for Care, CQC mock inspection service (quote on request): caringforcare.co.uk/cqc-mockinspection-service
- InspectReady, Pricing: inspectready.co.uk/pricing
- MyCareAudit, Pricing: mycareaudit.co.uk/pricing
- minidev.pro, Free CQC mock inspection tool (framework notes checked 15 October 2026): minidev.pro/tools/cqc-mock-inspection
- minidev.pro, MVP cost calculator price list: minidev.pro/mvp-cost-calculator