PBJ software for nursing homes: every option, compared.

Sources are listed below. Competitor capabilities come from their public pages; we have not tested their paid products. Every option ends the same way: a file uploaded to iQIES and a CMS validation report your facility should read.

EasyPBJ imports payroll and agency spreadsheets, asks your team to confirm each mapping, and keeps the source row behind every hour. Reviewers see findings, exclusions, and adjustments with their reasons before export. The filing package includes CMS XML, a workbook, and an audit file.

• Price: free to import, review, and prepare. Downloads are free when the quarter has up to 25 unique employees per facility. Larger quarters need the $149 per facility per quarter subscription, which also includes AI assistance.
• Submission: your facility’s authorized submitter uploads the file in iQIES. EasyPBJ does not submit to CMS for you.
• Limits: file imports, not a live payroll connection. No organization-wide staffing dashboard across facilities.

Try the free sample with example data, no account needed. See how EasyPBJ works.

ezPBJ launched in 2016 as a PBJ conversion tool. Briggs Healthcare acquired it in 2018, and it is now sold as SimplePBJ. The old ezpbj.com address now redirects to Simple’s SimplePBJ page. Simple lists SimplePBJ Pro from $119 per month per facility and a free Essentials product for public-data benchmarking.

Simple advertises imports, validation, staffing forecasts, and submission from its product with facility access approval. Those may justify the higher price for a regional operator. For a detailed breakdown, read EasyPBJ vs SimplePBJ pricing and the SimplePBJ alternative guide.

OnShift’s PBJ product brief describes collecting hours through time and attendance and HRIS integrations, importing agency and contractor hours from XML, CSV, or Excel files, a daily check-in app for gaps, and exportable reports for CMS. It fits best when your organization already uses OnShift for scheduling or workforce management. OnShift does not publish a price; listings show “Contact vendor.”

Some payroll and time systems produce PBJ files. UKG Pro Workforce Management documents a configurable Export Payroll Based Journal integration. Netchex says it generates PBJ from its time and attendance data, and also states that most payroll platforms do not generate PBJ natively.

A payroll export only contains hours that system recorded. Agency and contract staff, job title mappings, and overnight shifts still need checking. Read payroll PBJ export vs PBJ software before relying on one alone.

CMS publishes a free template for the 4.10.0 file format. Its own instructions say it was designed for Excel 2010, requires Excel proficiency, and can export a file that is not valid with only a warning. Staff enter one row per employee per day. It is a fair choice for a very small, simple quarter. Compare it in detail in CMS PBJ template vs PBJ software.

1. Where do your hours come from? One payroll system, or payroll plus agency invoices and spreadsheets?
2. How many employees per quarter? Up to 25 unique employees per facility, EasyPBJ downloads are free.
3. Who reviews before upload? If a second person signs off, you need the source evidence in front of them.
4. Who submits? Your authorized iQIES user, or a vendor you grant access to.
5. What does a full year cost? Annualize monthly and quarterly prices before comparing.