All OWNA Reviews
1-25 of 105 Reviews
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Jennifer
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed April 2021
Perfect all-in- one solution
Exceptional
PROSOWNA offers a perfect product! The app and admin portal combine for ease of use for management, staff and families. Developers are continuously adding benefits and value and respond immediately to ideas and requests.
CONSCan’t fault this product. Streamlined all our day to day requirements and activities.
Reasons for switching to OWNA
Comprehensive inclusions- all in one product. Support. Cost.
Vendor Response
Perfect? Wow, thanks Jennifer! Always good to hear from centres that love using our software, and glad to know you're still enjoying after this time. - Jack
Replied April 2021
Stephan
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed April 2021
Excellent Child Care Centre Application
We are quite happy with the OWNA product and the support team. We have not moved to the CCS feature because of concern with glitches. We plan to move in the future when the system is stable.
PROSParents have access to real time information (daily menu, curriculum, meal consumption, sleep times). The OWNA platform reduces the need for paper-based records and the educators have access to record information online (incident reports, checklists, medication records, hazard reports, evacuation drills, etc). Responsive support team.
CONSRostering feature is not flexible so we do not utilise. The QIP feature is not well developed for our usage. Occasional glitches.
Reasons for switching to OWNA
OWNA offered additional features and real time information for parents.
Vendor Response
Thanks for the feedback Stephan. Good to hear you're enjoying the app, and appreciate you letting us know what's not working so well. Could you please contact support and explain the issue with inflexible rostering & QIP suitability? Regarding glitches - we've been growing rapidly this year and recently increased our server capacity to cope with this, so stability shouldn't be an issue anymore. Please contact support if you're still having issues. - Jack
Replied April 2021
Rita
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
3
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed April 2021
My views on owna
- i think when we first began with OWNA the app/portal was more stable, we now constantly have issues with the app/portal and girls losing written work. -
PROS- it allows our centre to be paperless - app is easy to use - families are able to view their child's day easily - communication via families/educators and educators/educators is simple and effective
CONS- feel like i have suggested several ways that the app can be improved but its always placed on a waiting list such as making the linking of goals to posts via the app - we have several issues with girls losing their work via the app and portal - that only 20 photos can be uploaded at any one time
Reasons for switching to OWNA
As owna had all the features we were looking for
Vendor Response
Hi Rita! Thanks for your feedback. As you may be aware, we've been undergoing some rapid growth this year, and there was a period of time where our servers struggled to handle the amount of people on the app/portal. We've since increased our capacity and everything should be running smoothly now, so let us know if this is an ongoing issue and we can troubleshoot some stuff with you. Regarding losing work, the portal logs you out after 60 minutes of inactivity, so we encourage you to save your work before you leave your desk for any extended period of time. Thanks again for your feedback and don't hesitate to contact the support team for any ongoing issues you're facing. - Jack
Replied June 2021
Denise
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
3
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
3
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed July 2022
Supporting OWNA
Overall, I will still happy with OWNA. Though we are still learning how to utilise the app, we are now bit organise compare before. It provides us a system in our organisation
PROSI like that it is a software where the admin and educators can use together. Also, I love that they are actively developing it to cater the current changes of the childcare industry. I can see their passion to the childcare industry and I love that they have weekly training.
CONSTheir immunisation record does not cover the additional vaccine required for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait children. Since it is a national legal requirement, I suggested to them to add it. But their response was that at this stage they could not do that. I just hope that they will align things in their software to the national legal requirement.
Reason for choosing OWNA
price and functionality
Reasons for switching to OWNA
We were looking for an app that can be used for admin and educators.
Kylee
Non-Profit Organization Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2022
OWNA made daily life easier
We have used other child care specific software in the past and OWNA is much easier to use. It provides all of the information and data collection we require in a logical and easy to use manner.
PROSWe use this software for our Long Day Care Centre. OWNA is easy to use, navigate and explain to others. It is quick to navigate between screens and the processes are logical. My daily tasks are easier and more streamlined thanks to this software.
CONSReporting is completed by transferring data to Excel. Would be nice to just be able to print a formatted report in PDF from the software (eg: end of month figures for our accountant, Bond summary) Half days and absences do not show in daily number overview. Many families find invoicing confusing, however this is on par with other software we have tried.
Reason for choosing OWNA
After trialling a number of products, OWNA was the most simple to use and seemed to have the most effective family communication.
Reasons for switching to OWNA
The lack of programming and communication with parents, available at the time.
Tanya
E-Learning, 11-50 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2022
Love Owna
Loving owna and would recommend
PROSWe love our owna app and so do the families We can record everything on one platform and families can also record information and interact with us as well We couldn’t do with put it now
CONSSame more features would be great like - Covid vaccination on visitor iPad when they sign in can tick off vaccinated - more regulate updates as we don’t seem to get them
Reason for choosing OWNA
Easy to use Can be tailored to what we want
Salina
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2022
Great management tool
The ease of use. Everything from staffing to children's information are in one place.
CONSThe inability to customise some of the reports and features.
Reason for choosing OWNA
Ease of use and the features available
Reasons for switching to OWNA
To consolidate all the software that we were using to just one.
Roy
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2022
Amazing software and even better support!
Amazing
PROSWe are a brand new service and have been using OWNA for a little under a year. It's been amazing! Everything is built into the one product whereas i would have otherwise have had to purchase and pay for multiple products that would have been clunky to use and less feature rich. Whenever i have an issue, the support team 9/10 will answer the call on first ring, if not, they call you back soon enough. Got nothing but good things to say about OWNA
CONSOccasionally find a bug but it's never a significant issue and the support team fix it right away.
Reason for choosing OWNA
OWNA was much more feature rich and for a fraction of the price
Coralee
Education Management, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2022
New user to OWNA
This software is so easy to use, it's a fantastic way to communicate with families and staff and it simply streamlines our entire day.
CONSThere hasn't been anything yet that I could say is a negative to this software, I only wish we had have discovered it sooner.
Reason for choosing OWNA
Because it covered everything in one product. It dealt with all staffing, admin and programming aspects which makes every day so much easier.
Reasons for switching to OWNA
XPlor was difficult to navigate and didn't provide everything we were looking for.
Ferina
Education Management, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed March 2021
So glad we chose to switch to OWNA!
Ease of functionality, very affordable and all inclusive
CONSNo cons as such because they are always evolving and introducing new features
Reasons for switching to OWNA
Much more affordable than what we were using before and is all inclusive instead of having several different software's
Vendor Response
Thanks Ferina - our goal is to give people the most comprehensive software we can at an affordable price for all centres, so happy to hear this is what you're experiencing. - Jack
Replied March 2021
Reem
Individual & Family Services, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2022
Happy Customer - would definitely recommend
Fantastic experience with OWNA. Friendly team and easy to use software
PROSI cannot fault owna. I previously used another software but I am so glad i switched to owna. Its cost effective, everything is so customisable, its so easy to use for admin, educators and families. They also have amazing customer service and frequent training sessions and tutorials. I love OWNA!
CONSI cannot fault this software. I love it.
Reasons for switching to OWNA
Financial costs. Xplor was too expensive. OWNA has much more value for money.
Liz
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed April 2021
OWNA # 1 Platform for Childcare Services
SmartPlay's overall experience is very good. We have been proud partners with OWNA and believe in the clever, overarching plan to lift the Early Childhood sector out of the 20th century clunky and paper-based nightmare of compliance regulations. We love that [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] makes himself accessible and does whatever he can to accommodate our needs.
PROSWe love OWNA's vision to be the best and provide a single platform to serve our Early Childhood and School Age Care services. The management for our national group makes it easy to see what is happening across every centre from the big picture, down to the fine detail. SmartPlay has continued to work with OWNA and increasing the on line, anywhere, anytime features that allow parents easy access, instant staff communication and compliance features and management at centre and national levels to keep a finger on the pulse.
CONSOWNA is a new and emerging platform - the work done so far is brilliant. We have asked for some features that are yet to happen as the company has grown so quickly and there is not always the people power at the office to get to all tasks e.g. not providing a break down of the carry over balance which creates extra work for centre directors to interpret a family invoice.
Reasons for switching to OWNA
We wanted a cloud based program and were keen to move to a more seamless management system. We liked the innovative and client based approach [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] took and the speed at which he would turn things around.
Vendor Response
Thanks for the kind words Liz, and appreciate your feedback. I'll pass this onto the team, who are currently reviewing the invoicing process. Thanks - Jack
Replied April 2021
haley
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed July 2022
OWNA review- Little Darlings II child care centre
This app is fantastic. i have written an honest review. i don't want the cons to outweigh the good because overall, it is great. Whenever I need help I call up and the staff are so friendly, professional and helpful. The possibilities on this app are endless and if utilised correctly, it is exceeding all expectations
PROSit is very user friendly and has everything you need. i highly rate this software and application.
CONSthe notifications glitch as fore mentioned. Also, i would like if i could post more photos at a time. i have noticed recently that birthdays have been coming up on the wrong dates. not sure if this is a glitch too? also sometimes i add children to days and they don't show up
Reason for choosing OWNA
yes
Hinda
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
2
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
1
FUNCTIONALITY
2
Reviewed April 2021
Reveiw
Customer service was terrible and the attitude toward us as a customer was shocking!
PROSThe idea behind OWNA is great and they really have thought of a lot functions that are needed in the childcare industry.
CONSThe site would glitch and loose all the data. When discussed with customer support we were told there was nothing they could do. We started in the beginning to get a customised program and it was all promises and no action.
Vendor Response
Hi Hinda, Sorry to hear about your experience. My understanding is that you were one of our first customers and admittedly there were some teething problems when you first joined. Our customer support team has grown exponentially since you joined us, and it's something we pride ourselves on now. I hope you're still enjoying using our Freemium app. - Jack
Replied April 2021
Jessica
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
3
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed April 2021
OWNA is a overall standout.
For my team, using OWNA across the service means that we are all on the same page, everyone is up to date with all new and current information. The biggest overall application that I love is the ability to view attendances and ratios easily and across the service ensure the correct ratios are met. My team really love the program and staff reflections and the ability to do team reflections benefits our teams allowing all educators to contribute.
CONSThere are some buggy issues that challenge me and I really hope they roll out the new timesheet/ rostering section as this would be a massive benefit.
Reasons for switching to OWNA
The fact that so many facets of our industry are covered in the one system.
Vendor Response
Thanks Jessica! Glad to know you're enjoying our software. Please feel free to get in touch with support and explain your timesheet/rostering issue in more detail - unfortunately, I can't answer that right now with the information provided. Thanks again! - Jack
Replied April 2021
Paula
Education Management, 51-200 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed April 2021
Not a bad thing to say...
OWNA staff are always quick to respond to any queries.
PROSSoftware is easy to use both on a desktop, and use smartphones/tablets. The app is similar to many social media apps, so even the parents and families find it easy to use! Our parent input has increased so much since we started using this app. The reduction of wasted paper is astronomical - wait list, enrolment and excursion forms, incident/accident reports, medication reports, daily charts to checklists, philosophy and policies, critical reflections, programs, observations, daily journals, portfolios, etc. Its everything you need in one place. And that's just the educators side of the things. We also use OWNA as our CCSS - attendances, accounts, fees, etc.
CONSWe absolutely love this software and feel like there isn't much we could fault.
Vendor Response
Thank you Paula! Always glad to hear from centres being more sustainable and able to streamline their practices with our software. - Jack
Replied April 2021
Catherine
Education Management, 1 employee
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2022
Great
Loved it
PROSEase of use and constant improvement from the OWNA team provides on features
CONSNothing . It was a great product . Thank you
Reason for choosing OWNA
Customisation and features
Jamie
E-Learning, 11-50 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
3
EASE OF USE
1
VALUE FOR MONEY
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
2
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed April 2021
Feedback
our experience has been good overall
PROSThe software has a lot of opportunities for use throughout the many aspects needed in an early childhood service.
CONSIt has been difficult getting to know how to use the software
Reasons for switching to OWNA
More opportunities with OWNA
Vendor Response
Hi Jamie. Thanks for the feedback. Have you attended many of our training sessions? We pride ourselves on our ease of use, and most of the feedback about this is excellent, so it's disappointing to hear you haven't been having a good experience with this - even after 2yrs with us. Please get in touch with the support team and we can give you everything you need to get the proper use out of our software. - Jack
Replied April 2021
DANIELE
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed March 2021
Complete package
Amazing customer service. [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] even came to visit us in person couple of years ago...
PROSThe checklists notifications, rosters, medication and incident forms
CONSThe small amount of photos that can be posted at each time. The notifications of expiry documents as it does not state which document is expiring.
Reason for choosing OWNA
It seems more approachable, easier customer service and like we were part of somehting new where we could offer feedback, participating in getting improvements done.
Reasons for switching to OWNA
BEcause of all the compliance tools on Owna
Vendor Response
Thanks for the feedback Daniele! Happy to see you're enjoying the app, and I'll pass your comments onto the team to see if there's anything we can do. Thanks again - Jack
Replied April 2021
Helen
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
3
EASE OF USE
2
VALUE FOR MONEY
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
3
FUNCTIONALITY
3
Reviewed July 2022
Feedback
Happy to continue with using most of the functions but we don't have a large % of families that use apps or are interested in using them to communicate. It's good to have it there for those who do like it though.
PROSI like the incident reports and communication with families. QIP, loading documents, maintenance log.
CONSRostering - way too confusing and unable to navigate so far. CCS and accounts - Not really interested in going here at the moment as I find it not as user friendly as our current system. Adding discounts, holiday fees, changes to bookings - these are all quite clunky compared to what we use.
Reason for choosing OWNA
we found the communication with families with photos and stories, incident reports more streamline and easier access for staff to navigate around than the Qik kids version of this product.
Alana
Education Management, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed March 2021
OWNA Review
I love how user friendly OWNA is. It makes programming so easy and I love how you can customize tags and categories. Our families are finding OWNA easy to use and it is a great way of communicating. There are so many features on OWNA that is really helps in running a quality service.
CONSThe only thing that is a bit tricky is how different the app is to accessing it on a computer... there seems to be some restrictions when using the app on a phone/ipad.
Reason for choosing OWNA
I chose OWNA because of the all-in-one package that allows parents to sign in and out, as well as how easy it is to post learning stories, complete observations etc.
Vendor Response
Thanks Alana! Happy to know you're enjoying our app and software, and you're able to maintain a quality service. Regarding the app and the admin dashboard, we want to make the app something which is on-the-go, whereas the dashboard is more in-depth. In theory, the app should be primarily used by parents and educators for things that require immediate attention (posts, sign in/out etc.), whereas the admin dashboard is where directors go to have a 360 degree view of the centre. Thanks again for your feedback, and I hope you keep enjoying our software! - Jack
Replied April 2021
Olivia
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2022
Function well for operation of a centre
Great to support the operation of a centre.
PROSPost function is very satisfied for families and centre. Communication platform among staff is very good. The auto submission is bringing huge convenience for the team. The QIP available in OWNA is great. Waiver of gap fees function is easier than other software. OWNA helpdesk provides very worthwhile support for the cases we encounter the problems. The online tutorial is helpful for the new users.
CONSNONE area is identified from our experiences.
Lisa
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed March 2021
Great Support
OWNA was selected for the support when there is a problem, not that we have many! But since using it it has everything all in one especially the daily routines and the CCS component... all staff use with ease and makes documenting easy and in one place.. Sustainable practices are adhered to by not having any paper copies required.. an awesome software product for our industry..
CONSOverall package and system.. Support Ease of use
Vendor Response
Good to hear you're still finding the app so easy to use. Thanks Lisa! - Jack
Replied March 2021
Taylah
Education Management, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2022
Absolutely love OWNA
We have so many benefits of using OWNA. Everything is all in the one place and stored online. Communication with parents and the team is super easy and effective using OWNA.
PROSOWNA is such a easy and user-friendly app to use. There are so many great features that help the day-to-day running's of an early learning centre.
CONSWe don't use the billing part of OWNA. It would be good to have everything in the one place including auto-charging and CCS.
Ashley
Education Management, 2-10 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2022
Great Software
This software is easy to use, user friendly and comparable with all devices. OWNA has an incredible support team, online chat and easy to contact phone.
CONSI don't have a con for this program, it is overall great.