The key to a good relationship is good communication and the most important relationship you will have in your childcare center, outside of the one you have with the children, is the one you have with their parents.

One of the most difficult challenges in running any business is managing the employees. Turnover in the childcare industry is one of the highest across all business segments and is an ongoing problem for childcare services.

Childcare management software is probably the best thing since sliced bread for running any childcare business. Just think what sliced bread did to speed up PB&J sandwich production. On top of spending time with the kids, their parents, and your staff, there are numerous other tasks to manage -- from activity enrollment and scheduling to newsletters and communication with parents.

Summer camp is just around the corner, but most administrators have been working long before this to get ready for the campers and counselors coming their way. When you think about it, summer camp is simply short-term childcare over the course of a season.

While the thought of camping and computers don't often go together, technology can streamline paperwork and help you keep up with all your administrative chores. Management software for summer camps provides an abundance of tools that make preparation and administration less stressful for you and your staff.

If you are in the market for a new childcare management solution, you have plenty of options available. There is software for almost any business size, some with seemingly endless bells and whistles (also known as features), and others that look extremely simple to operate. You can choose from cloud-based solutions or installed (on-premise) software.

Whether you operate a daycare center, an after school program, or any other type of childcare service, there's a solution for you.

Now that tax time is past you can start to focus on preparing for the next one. Isn’t that a cheery thought? Maybe not, but it is a necessary one if you want to maximize your tax deductions and make the next tax season a little less stressful.

Let’s take a look at how the IRS defines different types of daycares and ten potential deductions you might take advantage of the next time around and run the best daycare service possible.

Deciding to purchase and implement a childcare management system should be approached as a multi-step process. It requires planning and consideration before you approach vendors about their solutions as well as planning for the transition to the new system and continuing support.

The following tips are a tried and true method of selecting, installing, training, and implementation of a new childcare management software system.

Where is the best place for your software solution to reside: on your computer or in the cloud? Both methods of deployment have positives and negatives as well as some unique features or benefits not available in the other.

Let’s take a look at the differences, pros, and cons of on-premise (installed) software and cloud-based childcare software solutions.

Childcare businesses are always trying to find ways to be more productive at a lower cost. Computers and software have played a key role in increasing productivity in many businesses, but cost continued to be a factor, especially for small business.

There are only so many hours in the day and managing your own day care business can take up every one of them if you cannot manage your time. Few things are as busy as a day care from morning until night, except, perhaps, for nap time.

However, the business end of a day care will not wait until the perfect time. You must take advantage of some time-saving tips and technology to streamline day care management and keep your sanity.