Features
Everything CMS asks for, kept as you go
When something goes wrong, CMS wants dates, amounts and evidence. CDA keeps them organised and ready to send.
CMS dispute pack
Keep CMS letters, statements and screenshots sorted, then turn your records and documents into one numbered PDF for CMS or a tribunal. See a sample.
Overnight care
Log who had the children each night or set a weekly pattern. History by week, month or year, exported with a cover letter.
Private by design
No account, and nothing is stored on our servers. Optional fingerprint lock, plus encrypted backups – to a file you can keep in Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox or email, or automatically to your own Google Drive.
CMS letters, backed by your record
Letters for a mandatory reconsideration, grounds of appeal, disputed arrears, missing payments, enforcement, a copy of your CMS records, a report of incorrect information, and complaints at every stage – to CMS, a review, the Independent Case Examiner (ready to email) and your MP, found from your postcode. Your details and signature are added for you, and arrears letters can include the payments you've recorded.
CMS guidance
Plain-English steps for 31 common payment and case situations, how to read your payment schedule, challenging a decision, complaints and changes you must report – with time limits.
Case timeline
Everything on your case in date order – letters, calls, deadlines, documents, nights and payments. Star key events, add your own and export it.
Payments
Record payments sent or received – paid in full, late, missed or duplicate – with monthly totals and a statement to export.
CMS calculator
Estimate maintenance with the published CMS rates – use the nights from your log or just your usual pattern – and compare it with what CMS charges.
Call log
Note every call with CMS – adviser, reference and outcome. Follow-up dates go straight into your calendar.
Deadlines & reminders
A calendar for hearings, deadlines and calls, with reminders before they're due – and on your monthly payment day.
Step-by-step wizard
Not sure what to do next? Answer a few questions about your problem and CDA suggests the next step, with a letter ready to open.
Support when it's hard
Free, independent help in one place, for your part of the UK – someone to talk to now (Samaritans, Shout), money and debt (StepChange, National Debtline), separation and parenting (Gingerbread, Family Lives), legal advice (Citizens Advice) and staying safe (Refuge, Men's Advice Line).
See it in action
Clear screens, big buttons and plain English – quick to use when you're dealing with CMS.
Screens show example information, not a real person's.
Your own record – not a shared app
Co-parenting apps need both parents to join. CDA is for keeping your own clear, dated record, especially when things are disputed.
| CDA | Typical co-parenting apps | |
|---|---|---|
| Who uses it | Just you | Both parents |
| Where your data lives | On your phone, plus any encrypted backups you choose | Online accounts |
| Overnight care, the CMS way | Yes | Usually not |
| CMS letters, calls and time limits | Yes | Usually not |
| Evidence ready to send | Exports with a cover letter | Raw logs |
Free templates give you the words. CDA gives you the proof.
A letter is only as strong as the evidence behind it. CDA builds yours from the dated record you've kept all along.
| CDA | Free letter templates | |
|---|---|---|
| The right wording for CMS | Yes | Yes |
| Your details, case number and signature | Added for you | Typed in each time |
| Your payments and nights as evidence | From your own dated record | Gathered and typed up by you |
| Everything in one numbered pack | CMS dispute pack | Separate documents |
| What you sent, and when | Tracked, with deadlines and reminders | Up to you |
Try every feature free for 7 days
Then £4.99 a month or £29.99 a year – no ads, ever. The CMS calculator, guidance and support pages are always free. See pricing