Top 10 Most Popular Childcare Management Software & Ultimate Guide!

In the dynamic, competitive environment, having the right software can make a difference between fast success and slow failure.

For children care organizations, which deal with a large amount of paperwork, a high-quality app can simplify the work process and speed up the workflow.

With a wide variety of childcare apps available on the market today, it may be hard to make a choice. In this guide, you’ll learn:

» Benefits of Childcare Management Software

If you are still wondering whether investing in such an app is a good idea, this information can help you make the right decision.

1. Manual Task Automation

Childcare centers face a wide variety of manual work, including pen and paper tasks. If you are still writing checks, sending notes to parents, filling out daily report forms, and the like, you are staying behind the competition.

A high-quality childcare management software can take on a big chunk of such tasks, allowing your employees to spend time on what they do best – interact with children.

2. Strong Parent Connections

One of the biggest parts of any childcare organization’s work is communication with parents. Reporting about children’s health and activities can be time-consuming, especially at the end of the day when both staff and parents are in a rush.

A well-designed app can simplify parent engagement and communication, allowing everyone to stay up to speed without tons of paperwork.

3. Better Staff Coordination

Childcare software allows you to hand out tasks and let employees see what has already been done. This helps improve staff coordination and ensure met deadlines. Staff can update documents remotely without missing anything that’s going on in the center.

4. Meal and Nutrition Planning

The software can also help with meal and nutrition planning to make sure all children receive proper care.

Keeping all children’s nutritional needs and allergy information in mind when planning meals can be tough and time-consuming. Having software do it for your staff can free up valuable time and improve the work of your organization.

5. Automated Payments

Payment coordination is one of the highest demanded features offered by childcare software. You can leave checks and cash behind and switch to instant transfers. Both parents and staff can benefit from such an option while minimizing the chances of human error.

Automating payments can optimize your cash flow and beef up the security of your center’s financial transactions.

6. Tracking Attendance

A childcare management system can track the attendance of children in the classroom to improve your invoicing routine. Any changes, add-ons, or drop-ins can be accounted for without burdening your staff with extra paperwork.

The tracking can save hours on the billing process while accounting for all last-minute changes, which many parents tend to make.

7. Security

Childcare apps allow families to engage in their children’s learning process while keeping the information safe. Centers don’t need to share images and videos over social media or other open channels anymore.

Through a secure login system, the app offers access only to a limited number of people. This strengthens the privacy issue for both the center and the parents.

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» What to Look for in Childcare Management Software

When searching for the right software for your organization, you need to consider a variety of factors. While most programs have a basic set of tools, some may be more suitable for your needs than others.

1. Key Features

Before selecting the right software for your center, you need to identify your goals. What do you want to achieve with this app? You can talk to your staff about which tasks are forcing them to spend less time with children and more time on paperwork.

You could also consider talking to parents to ask what type of features they may be expecting your childcare center to offer.

Think about the need for remote software operation. Perhaps your staff needs a solution in the form of a mobile app or a cloud version.

Common features offered by such apps are:

· Attendance check-in and check-out
· Calendars for classrooms
· Daily reports
· Children portfolios
· Online and offline billing and invoicing
· Staff management
· Scheduling
· Nutrition planning
· Meal updates
· Supplies requests
· Lesson planning
· Photo and video sharing (streaming)
· Processing payments
· Messaging system for parents (including sending emails and text messages)
· Emergency alerts
· Waitlist management
· Health and immunization records
· Online portals
· Enrollment (collecting information for enrollment, app fees, registration, security deposits, family data, etc.)

2. Budget

The type of childcare management software you choose depends on your center’s budget. That’s why you have to be careful about the features you choose for your app. Their number is often directly proportional to the app’s price.

When the software provider gives you a figure, make sure to ask for all the necessary documentation, which can reveal hidden fees. For example, would there be additional expenses for using online portals or taking advantage of customer service? You should also find out how payments are structured and if there are any discounts.

For some apps, you’ll hear the price for the basic software. Adding on features may cost extra. For others, the price will be “per child per month”.

The average monthly fee for childcare apps starts at about $30 per month and goes up depending on the provider and the number of features.

3. Customer Support

One of the most important things to consider when paying for a childcare software is support.

· What happens if something isn’t working properly or if you have a technical question?
· Do you have to pay extra for support, or is the price included in the package?
· Is there online support, or do you have to call a rep?

The quality of software support can be checked by reading customer reviews. You should also ask the provider to answer all the above questions before purchasing software.

You may want to consider asking the provider for contact details of existing customers to gather more information about the product.

4. User Interface

Regardless of how many features you need in your childcare app, it’s likely to be used by several staff members and parents. That’s why it’s imperative for the app to have an easy-to-use interface and a low learning curve.

To get an idea of how easy it is to use the program, you can check the reviews or ask the provider for a demo version. Some providers have demos available on their websites.

5. Versatility

Are you planning to use the program on the desktop computer in your center? Or do you plan to give access to some features for parents? Maybe you want the staff to share information while on the go?

Depending on when, where, and how you plan to use the app, you may need:

· Cloud capabilities
· Mobile compatibility
· Multi-user capabilities

Find out how easily you can access the program from remote locations and mobile devices if necessary before buying.

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» Top 10 Childcare Management Software on the Market

Let’s take a closer look at the most popular childcare management software on the market today.

1. Brightwheel

This program allows users to take advantage of such important features as:

· Check-in/check out
· Billing
· Children and family data collection
· Lesson plans
· Payroll reports
· And more

It has an easy-to-use interface and a low learning curve. Brightwheel offers high-quality online and offline support during business hours.

The app comes with a mobile version and has cloud capacity. It’s an all-in-one solution for daycare centers of all sizes.

Price: Free basic plan, prices depend on the capacity

2. Daily Connect

Daily Connect is a versatile mobile app with cloud capabilities. It offers such features as:

· Billing
· Invoicing
· Online portal
· Parent engagement
· Payment processing
· Check-in/ check out
· Immunization and allergy tracking
· Registration management
· And more

The software providers offer online support during business hours. While this app has many functions, its main benefit is stellar parent-center communication. The program is designed to simplify monitoring and information sharing. Meanwhile, its other features are efficient as well.

Price: Comes with a free trial. The Premium version starts at $1.25 per child per month.

3. Storypark

If you are looking for better parent engagement opportunities, Storypark is the right choice for you. It comes with a strong engagement feature that improves communication and simplifies the work of the entire childcare organization. It offers such options as:

· Communications management
· Meal tracking
· Online portal
· Registration management
· Calendar
· Health record tracking

It’s a web-based software with mobile compatibility. Storypark provides online support during business hours.

Price: Comes with a free trial. The premium version starts at $0.99 per child per month.

4. Prime

Childcare management software, Prime, comes with a variety of excellent features. It’s an all-in-one solution for centers of different sizes.

· Check-in/ check out
· Parent engagement
· Student records
· Nutrition and meal planning
· Registration management
· Billing and accounting
· Electronic payments
· Classroom management
· And more

The software also allows you to create a unique app for your center and enjoy all the features on the go. The software has been around for over five years and collected an impressive number of positive reviews online.

The provider offers strong online support during business hours.

Price: $99 per month for under 100 children.

5. Kinderlime

Kinderlime is a high-quality childcare software suitable for daycare centers and after school programs. It has an impressive number of features, including:

· Check-in/ check out
· Staff timecards
· Online bulling and invoicing
· Parent engagement
· Registration management
· Healthcare record tracking
· Meal tracking
· Waitlist management
· Reporting

The company is famous for its excellent customer service. It’s a cloud-based software with an app for both iOS and Android devices.

Price: Plans start at $25 per month for under 30 children.

6. HiMama

HiMama is a renowned childcare software option. It offers such key features as:

· Attendance management
· Lesson scheduling
· Meal tracking
· Billing
· Calendar management
· Parent engagement
· Document management
· Online registration
· And more

This cloud-based software is available for all operating systems. The mobile app is available for iOS and Android. The company offers both online and offline customer support.

Price: The service starts at $45 per month

7. Illumine

We at Illumine understand how challenging it can be to run a full-time daycare center or a preschool. Now manage your daily operations, parent-teacher communication, and your school admissions (enrolments) and business finances with the best childcare management software. Our childcare app is extremely user-friendly and seamlessly integrated. It lets you bridge the communication gap between teachers and parents. Practice transparency with our daycare management software efficiently. Send messages, photos, videos, notices, or even PTA reports through our daycare software with just a tap.

Illumine App features:

· Attendance check-in and check-out
· Calendars for classrooms
· Daily reports
· Children portfolios
· Online and offline billing and invoicing
· Staff management
· Scheduling
· Nutrition planning
· Meal updates
· Supplies requests
· Lesson planning
· Photo and video sharing (streaming)
· Processing payments
· Messaging system for parents (including sending emails and text messages)
· Emergency alerts
· Waitlist management
· Health and immunization records
· Online portals
· Enrollment (collecting information for enrollment, app fees, registration, security deposits, family data, etc.)

Price: $25/per/month

8. Xplor

This high-quality mobile app focuses on parent engagement. Additionally, it has such important features as:

· Billing and invoicing
· Check-in/check out
· Attendance tracking
· Payment processing
· Immunization record tracking
· Online portal registration management
· And more

The Australian-based company offers both online and offline support during business hours. It’s a cloud-based SaaS.

Price: The service starts at $100 per month. A free version is available.

9. LifeCubby

LifeCubby is a top-notch cloud childcare management solution. Both iOS and Android apps are available. It offers such features as:

· Registration management
· Waitlist management
· Billing and payments
· Reporting
· Business analytics
· Secure payments
· Parent engagement
· Communication management
· Online portal
· Healthcare record tracking
· And more

The program allows you to import data from other childcare management systems to help you create children’s profile. The company offers impressive online support and training.

Price: The program starts at $30 per month per user. It has a free trial.

10. ChildWatch

This cloud-based management software has been around for many years. It gathered a variety of positive reviews from users all over the world. ChildWatch is geared toward servicing small and medium-sized childcare organizations. It offers such features as:

· Parent engagement
· Immunization record management
· Scheduling
· Check-in/check out
· Online portals (parents can create customized portals)
· Invoicing
· Online billing
· Attendance tracking
· Meal tracking
· Nutrition planning
· And more

The company offers high-quality online customer support.

Price: Starts at $70 per month. A free trial is available.

11. TimeSavr

TimeSavr is a fully integrated Canadian childcare management solution. It’s suitable for a variety of organizations that provide care and education services for children of any age. The software offers such features as:

· Employee management
· Billing and invoicing
· Payment processing
· Check-in/check out
· Immunization record tracking
· Registration management
· And more

The software is cloud-based. The app is currently available for iOS only. The company offers 24/7 customer support.

Price: CAD55 per month.

The Takeaway

If you run a childcare organization, you should check out childcare management software. It can take care of a variety of tasks your staff is spending too much of their time on. Meanwhile, such software can improve center-to-parent communication while helping you grow and develop your business.

Take some time to check out the top childcare software on the market and choose the best one for your company’s needs.