If you work in Singapore's social service sector, you've almost certainly encountered Social360. It's the government's integrated case management system, built and maintained by the Ministry of Social and Family Development, and used by Family Service Centres and connected providers across the country.
If you're looking at Socianote, you might reasonably ask: we already have Social360. What would another system add?
It's the right question to ask. The answer depends on what Social360 was designed for, where it ends, and what kind of organisation you are.
What Social360 Is
Social360 is MSF's case management platform for Singapore's formal social service network. Family Service Centres use it as their primary system for case documentation, and it connects to SSNet — the Social Service Net — which allows case-relevant information to be shared across participating agencies. For FSCs and providers within that network, it's the system through which structured case management happens and through which MSF has visibility into cases across the sector.
Social360 is designed for a specific workflow: the FSC model of intake, assessment, case planning, service coordination, and review. It handles what the sector's formal case management framework requires — the structured, documented, coordinated work that family services do and that government reporting depends on.
What Socianote Is
Socianote is not a replacement for Social360, and it was not built to be one.
Socianote is designed for the broader range of organisations doing social service work outside the FSC model: community development organisations, youth service providers, disability service agencies, migrant worker support groups, hospital-based family support programmes, religious organisations with social service functions, and others. These organisations do structured, professional work — they run programmes, manage cases, track outcomes, and report to funders. But they operate outside the FSC framework, which means Social360 is typically not available or applicable to them.
Socianote is also designed for aspects of social service work that purpose-built case management systems don't usually handle well: community interactions before a formal intake ever happens, programme enrolment and attendance, participant self-service, and the full journey from first community contact through to case closure.
Where They Overlap
Both systems manage cases and track participants. Both support structured documentation, case notes, and the record-keeping that accountable social service work requires. If you're an FSC worker familiar with Social360 and you look at Socianote, the broad shape will be recognisable: people, cases, records, reports.
Both are designed for professional teams doing structured community work, not for individual practitioners or general-purpose project management.
Where They Serve Different Needs
The organisations they're built for. Social360 is built for FSCs and SSNet-connected providers within MSF's formal social service framework. Socianote is for organisations operating outside that framework.
Pre-intake interactions. Social360's case workflow begins at intake. Socianote tracks community interactions before a formal case is ever opened — drop-in conversations, outreach contacts, referral notes, first meetings that don't yet have a form attached. For organisations that invest significantly in community outreach and engagement, the period before intake often contains the most valuable relationship context. Socianote keeps it.
Programme management. Socianote includes a programme layer — creating programmes with sessions, managing enrolment, marking attendance, and generating programme-level reports for funders. This is for organisations running workshops, groups, recurring service sessions, or community activities where attendance and participation data matters. Case management and programme management are connected: a participant might be enrolled in a programme and also have an open case, and both are visible in the same record.
Participant portal. Socianote includes a self-service portal where participants can view their own records, update contact information, and access documents. Social360 is a worker-facing system.
Funder reporting. Both systems support reporting, but Socianote's reporting layer is built for the multi-funder environment that independent community organisations typically operate in — where different programmes have different funders with different reporting requirements, and where the ability to filter, segment, and export data across programmes matters.
Access and cost. Social360 is provided free to eligible organisations through MSF. Socianote is a commercial product with a free tier for small teams.
Why Some Organisations Use Both
Some organisations sit at the intersection of both worlds. An FSC that uses Social360 for its core statutory case management may also run community programmes — parenting groups, financial literacy workshops, drop-in sessions — that don't fit neatly into the structured case workflow. Or it may have a community development team doing outreach and engagement work that sits alongside, but is distinct from, the FSC's formal case management function.
In those situations, some teams use Social360 for what it was built for — FSC case management and SSNet connectivity — and Socianote for what it handles better: programme attendance and reporting, pre-intake community engagement, participant engagement tools, and funder reports for non-MSF funders.
This isn't a design limitation in either system. Social360 is optimised for formal case management within the government framework, which is exactly what it needs to be. Socianote is optimised for community-facing programme delivery and the full participant journey, which is a different but complementary scope. When both are needed, using both is a considered choice, not a workaround.
The Practical Question
If you're a Family Service Centre that uses Social360 for your core case management: Socianote may be useful if programme management, community outreach tracking, or participant engagement are significant parts of your work. They can operate in parallel with no conflict.
If you're a community organisation, youth service provider, disability agency, social enterprise, or any organisation that doesn't operate within the FSC framework: Social360 is not designed for your context. Socianote is.
If you're evaluating the two side by side: they're not substitutes, and the comparison isn't quite the right frame. The question is what each covers and whether your organisation needs one or both.
Socianote is built for the full range of community-serving organisations outside the FSC model — from first community contact to case closure, programme enrolment to funder reports. Start free — no credit card required, and the free tier covers teams of up to five.