Experienced social workers in an Australian residential aged care facility mounted a practice research project over three years. Aims included meeting agency accountability requirements and illustrating social work roles. In consultation with a university school of social work lecturer, the staff members devised a tool to document their practice on a per case basis across the care continuum as well as non case-related work associated with resident needs and agency purpose. A three-month pilot indicated that casework comprised 70% of work time, the 405 cases incorporating higher than expected time on preadmission, gatekeeping and admission tasks. Analyses of the most time-consuming cases revealed complex interacting factors inadequately captured by available and physically-driven case classification and costing tools.