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Procare Solutions

Procare Solutions is the #1 child care management software – modern, best supported, feature-rich solution for child care centers. For over 30 years, Procare has been the most trusted name in child care business management softwar...Read more about Procare Solutions

ChildWatch

ChildWatch is a cloud-based childcare management solution that includes tools to manage small and midsize childcare and home daycare centers. Key modules include childcare center management, parent portal management, electronic pa...Read more about ChildWatch

Lillio

Lillio - the building blocks for high-quality childcare. Trusted by childcare centers worldwide, Lillio is a mission-driven, certified B corporation committed to helping childcare centers improve the quality of their programs. Lil...Read more about Lillio

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Jackrabbit Care

Jackrabbit Care is a cloud-based child care management solution for child care centers, after-school programs and preschool programs. This solution helps users manage enrollment, attendance, scheduling, billing and communications....Read more about Jackrabbit Care

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Kindertales

Kindertales is a cloud-based childcare management solution that helps childcare providers manage their operations electronically. The solution can be accessed remotely by parents, teachers and childcare providers using any device....Read more about Kindertales

4.5 (4 reviews)

Smartcare

SmartCare is a cloud-based childcare solution that connects childcare center owners, teachers and parents in real time through a web interface. SmartCare is fit for childcare centers and K-12 schools in the US. It helps parents tr...Read more about Smartcare

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Educa

Educa is a cloud-based communications platform for child care centers, preschools and early learning programs. It enables teachers, parents and administrators to communicate and stay informed about student milestones, program goal...Read more about Educa

Prime Child Care

Prime Child Care is a cloud-based child-care management solution that offers preschools and child care centers a single platform from which to manage administrative, communicative and financial processes. The system incorporates c...Read more about Prime Child Care

4.9 (7 reviews)

Discover Childcare

Discover is a cloud-based child care administration management platform for professional child care centers, after school programs, preschools, kindergartens, faith-based centers, daycares and Montessori schools. Discover hel...Read more about Discover Childcare

5.0 (2 reviews)

Cheqdin

Cheqdin is a cloud-based childcare solution that helps businesses manage billing and invoicing operations in nurseries, day care centers and afterschool programs. Key features include parent portal, photo gallery, immunization rec...Read more about Cheqdin

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myKidzDay

myKidzDay is a cloud-based daycare solution designed for teachers, parents and daycare owners. The solution provides communication between parents and child care providers. Key features include reporting, attendance management, d...Read more about myKidzDay

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Famly

Forget ordinary childcare software. From digital enrollment to automatic billing to instant message translation, Famly is the time-saving solution that goes the extra mile for your ECE business needs. We've got all the must-have ...Read more about Famly

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Tuition Express

Tuition Express by Procare is a user-friendly and safe child care billing software, making tuition collection seamless for child care providers. Tuition Express, a PCI compliant direct processor, gives child care centers all of th...Read more about Tuition Express

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brightwheel

brightwheel is a software solution built to modernize all childcare, daycare, and preschool programs by helping operate more smoothly, manage with less manual work, and most importantly, give back time to those looking after the w...Read more about brightwheel

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CommunityPass

CommunityPass is a cloud-based recreation and school management solution. It is designed to cater to the needs of community schools, parent-teacher organizations, sports leagues, public, private and charter schools. The solution o...Read more about CommunityPass

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SchoolCare Works

Procare’s SchoolCare Works is the before and after school management software that enables you to keep track of activities, registrations, classes, billing and payment activity, third-party subsidy payments, student and staff sche...Read more about SchoolCare Works

5.0 (1 reviews)

Jovial

Jovial is a cloud-based child care management solution designed specifically for parent-run, co-op preschools. Key features include enrollment management, recordkeeping, tuition accounting and requirements tracking. The solution t...Read more about Jovial

4.5 (2 reviews)

Kaymbu

Kaymbu is a cloud-based family engagement and classroom documentation solution designed for parents, schools and teachers. Key features include documentation, assessment, messaging and photobooks. It connects parents with educator...Read more about Kaymbu

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Kangarootime

Kangarootime is an automated child care management solution designed for directors, owners and parents. The solution is deployed in the cloud and offers features including recordkeeping, employee management, class management and a...Read more about Kangarootime

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ACTIVE Educate

ACTIVE Educate is a cloud-based class registration solution designed for studios of all sizes. It offers online registration, marketing and online membership management functionalities within a suite. ACTIVE Educate features ...Read more about ACTIVE Educate

Buyers Guide

Last Updated: November 07, 2023

It’s not easy running a child care center. Even after administrators have met licensing requirements, determined a legal structure, found the perfect location and hired staff, they still have to handle a variety of daily tasks to keep kids (and their parents) happy.

Child care software helps users manage the day-to-day aspects of running a daycare center or preschool. Among other things, these systems can automate administrative tasks, keep attendance records, store parents’ contact information, track children’s health data and help users schedule classes and appointments.

This guide can help potential buyers find the best solution for their needs. Here’s what we’ll cover:

What Is Child Care Software?

Common Functionality of Child Care Software

Benefits of Child Care Management Software

Pricing: Web-Based vs. On-Premise

Industry Trends

What Is Child Care Software? 

Child care professionals are busy, and it can be difficult for them to not only keep up with their young charges, but stay on top of administrative, scheduling and financial duties, as well. That’s where child care management software comes in: It helps child care workers simplify and streamline the manual processes they do every day, including recordkeeping, billing, attendance and immunization tracking.

Child care management software is also known as “child care administrative software” or “daycare management software.” The technology is useful for all kinds of child care centers, including:

  • Day-care centers

  • Licensed family child care homes

  • Early childhood education programs/preschools

  • After-school programs

  • Drop-in programs

Once an organization is ready to open its doors to potential clients, it’s never too early to invest in a software system. Doing so can ensure they’re organized from the start and set up for success.

For example, some center administrators think a single-application software, such as an accounting program from an industry-agnostic vendor, will be enough to fulfill their needs. However, that isn’t ideal for long-term growth. It’s usually better to get a dedicated child care management solution because it lets you streamline every aspect of the business, eliminating the need to buy different applications from multiple vendors that don’t interface with one another.

Common Functionality of Child Care Management Software

Most child care management systems will come with some or all of the following capabilities:

Admissions and scheduling

Provides widgets and calendars for scheduling classes as well as enrollment and registration.

Billing and payments

Allows users to perform billing and invoicing, track account balances and past-due payments, create and print payment reports and statements and post payment in batches. Offers support for multiple online and in-person payment methods, including cash, check, money order and credit cards.

Immunization tracking

Tracks and stores children’s immunization records, including past, current and completed vaccinations and immunization due dates.

Reporting

Generates reports of and provides alerts for children’s birthdays. Also creates reports on revenue summaries, class statistics (e.g., class type and size), attendance and financial transactions.

Employee management/time and attendance

Facilitates staff check-in and check-out; manages employee hours; stores pay rates and other staffing information at organization-wide and location-specific levels.

Communication

Allows users to keep parents informed about their child’s activities via mobile application alerts, emails or text messages.

Meal management

Some systems offer menu planning, meal tracking and nutrition analysis functionality.

Activity planning

Enables staff to create lesson plans or activity plans in advance.

Benefits of Child Care Management Software

Daycare and preschool facilities can realize many benefits as a result of adopting child care management software, including:

Less administrative work. Generally, staff in a daycare or preschool facility handles both administrative and physical child care duties. This software automates administrative tasks, such as online registration, so employees can focus their energy on the children themselves.

Improved communication with parents. Working parents don’t need to worry or inquire about their children. With child care management software, your facility can send parents notifications about their child throughout the day via native mobile apps or text messaging.

Advanced meal and nutrition planning. Some vendors offer tools for tracking the number of provided meals, as well as for planning breakfast, lunch and snacks based on the nutritional requirements of each child. With this functionality, child care centers can give growing kids the nourishment they need.

Greater staff coordination. As opposed to paper-based records, digital systems are accessible to multiple users in separate locations. This makes it easier for employees to update any necessary documentation and for the business to scale.

Pricing: Cloud-Based vs. On-Premise

There are two main pricing models prevalent in this market. Select the one that best fits your budget and business model:

Cloud-based software. These solutions are typically priced on a monthly or an annual subscription basis. They require low or no upfront investment, and vendors handle system maintenance and updates. This option is often best for small and midsize businesses that may not have the resources to invest in and manage an on-premise system.

On-premise software. These systems typically require purchasing a perpetual license for a substantial upfront fee. There are no recurring license fees, but extra fees may apply for implementation assistance, maintenance, support and updates.

No matter which system you choose, over a period of time, pricing for these two models tends to converge.

Industry Trends

Mobile device integration. Systems are starting to introduce native apps for mobile devices that can be used for administrative purposes or to connect with parents. For example, some apps may allow you to track child arrivals and departures by asking parents to check in and out of your center with a tablet placed near the entrance. On the other hand, some apps are meant to be downloaded by parents and can be used as a platform to exchange pictures and messages about their children with your staff.

Staff training and development. If you want to attract and retain great employees, you may want to consider offering them professional development opportunities, such as enrolling them in online child care courses. Software can help you keep track of which staff members have completed training programs and received certifications.