There are so many different childcare management software solutions out there, how do you choose the one that is best for your business? The profusion of features, delivery, and devices create a cacophony of choices.
First, let’s take a look at what childcare management software is, identify commonly available features and functions, the benefits of this type of software, and areas of comparison to help you find a match for your business.
What Is Childcare Management Software?
Childcare management software combines applications for administration, scheduling, and financial solutions into a package specially designed to work with the childcare business. The software is typically designed to automate many of your manual processes from taking attendance to processing payment, saving you time into the bargain.
Childcare software also makes record-keeping and sharing simple and accurate. With an integrated solution, there is a single database that all the applications use to perform their functions, meaning the same information about a particular student will be used across all applications, decreasing the potential for error.
Other terms for childcare management software are childcare administrative software or daycare management software. Places that use this type of software include:
- Daycare centers
- Licensed family care homes
- After school programs
- Drop-in programs
- Preschools and early childhood education programs
Rather than begin operations with one or more single-use applications, smart business owners select a solution that will meet most of their needs while increasing efficiency, saving time, and reducing error. Also, they look for a solution that will allow for growth without migrating to a new system.
Common Features and Functions of Childcare Solutions
- Admissions and scheduling - calendars, enrollment and registration forms, storage for documents.
- Billing and payments - electronic and printed billing and invoicing, account balance tracking, late fees, reports, and payment processing for multiple types of payment.
- Immunization tracking - tracking and storing children’s shot records, notification of due dates for future vaccinations.
- Reporting - generating reports and providing alerts, creating reports for revenue, financial, and statistical use.
- Employee management/time and attendance - staff clock in and out, manage hours, pay rates and withholdings, scheduling.
- Communication - informing parents, accepting questions and comments, using a mobile phone, email, and other devices.
- Meal planning - menu planning, meal tracking, nutritional analysis.
The Benefits of Childcare Management Software
The greatest benefit of childcare management software is the amount of time it frees up for you and your staff to spend on more educational and fun activities with the children. Software is the perfect tool to automate repetitive administrative functions, saving effort and increasing recording accuracy.
Communications are also easier with childcare software. You can send personalized information via a parent portal for individual children or make an announcement to all parents. You can provide notifications the way the parent prefers, as a text message, email, or notification on the portal. You don’t have to wait until the end of the day to send information or depend on parents to pick up pieces of paper.
Meal and menu planning can be a complex project involving special diets, picky eaters, fussy parents, and fluctuating food prices. With childcare software, you can create and save menus to reuse, keep track of how much a child eats, and the nutritional value of each meal. You can download nutritional information and government requirements into the system.
Coordinate staffing, classrooms, and activities is easier with a calendar function to keep everything on track. If you have an afterschool program, you can use the calendar to help with signups for activities when you have a variable number of kids each day. Everyone can access the calendar on their device and coordinate more easily.
Childcare Software Delivery
One of the choices you will make is whether you want the software to be installed on your computer or if you would rather access the solution via a web-browser, termed cloud-based software. Both methods have their pros and cons; it will be up to you to decide which works best for you.
Installing the software on your computer is also called on-premise software. You generally purchase one or more licenses and sometimes you can share it among multiple computers. Additional fees may be charged if you require assistance installing or configuring the program, maintenance and support, and updates.
On-premise programs are more customizable than cloud-based solutions; if you have specific needs that cannot be met by cloud-based software, on-premise vendors may be able to personalize a copy just for your business.
You can only access the application from an on-site computer.
Cloud-based childcare software can be accessed from any device, anytime, and anywhere. There is less customization outside of initially configuring the system for your use and entering information.
You purchase a subscription for the number of users. You can subscribe to the basic program or pay more for additional features. Typically, support and regular updates are included in the subscription price.
Other Criteria for Selection
- Ease of use - if a software application is too difficult for the staff to use, you will have wasted your money. Good software is configured for the average user, making everything as intuitive as possible.
- Demonstration available - the vendor should be willing to give you a demonstration and walk-through of the software, answering any questions you have about its capabilities and limits. You may also be able to use a free trial, but you must intentionally set aside time to work with it because you will be limited to as little as seven days and you will have none of your information in the system.
- Does it suit your business? - If you won’t be serving meals or you know your parent population will not be interacting with you electronically, you can choose an application that doesn’t include those functions and possibly save money.
- Does it bring you value? - Do you feel that you are getting your money’s worth or do you think you are overpaying for the features you can access?
- Security - data security is crucial in today’s world of hacking and stealing data. The cloud provider should answer all of your questions about their security processes. If you prefer on-premise software, be sure your IT person installs and updates anti-malware software.
Choosing a software solution for your childcare facility means preparing to answer a lot of questions and ask them, too. Begin by writing down everything you need your solution to do and use it when considering any piece of software.
Narrow your choices to a short list of two or three solutions before requesting presentations and demos. Get all of your questions answered before making a decision on the right solution for your childcare facility.
