All childcare providers aim to offer the best care and education. Management software technology enhances this by improving efficiency. The less time you and your team spend on the necessary but tedious things, like improving operational efficiency and attendance tracking, the more time you have to focus on what matters.
Technology in early childhood education can improve childcare center operations by creating a shared virtual space. CRM software enhances communication with parents and simplifies tracking important certification information. Various childcare software applications are available to streamline these processes.
Why Technology Matters in Childcare Centers
Childcare management software has become essential and user-friendly as digital operations grow. Parents view it as a necessity. Investing in a CRM improves efficiency and supports growth.
Childcare CRM systems streamline operations with tools for real-time updates, attendance tracking, payment processing, and scheduling. They centralize child records, align with education standards, and integrate with other programs to simplify management. Additional features include curriculum planning, payroll management, and staff training support.
Top Childcare Management Software Options
Some of the most popular childcare management software options are Brightwheel, Lillio (formerly HiMama), Procare Solutions, ChildPilot, and Kangarootime.
Brightwheel
Overview: Brightwheel is an all-in-one childcare software and app that provides features for billing, center management, and communication among parents, educators, and staff. Featured on Shark Tank, Brightwheel serves childcare centers of all sizes in the U.S. and internationally. However, customers outside the U.S. and Canada cannot process online payments or receive deposits.
Key features:
- Payment processor features include tracking subsidy funds, next-day deposits, QuickBooks integration, recurring invoices, automatic receipts, pre-filled tax statements, and dividing tuition payments among caregivers.
- Educators, parents, and administration use several communication methods, including app messaging, along with scheduled calendar events and emergency communications.
- Center management tools include customizable enrollment forms, payroll and time tracking, staff scheduling, attendance tracking, and online record-keeping.
- Learning tools include lesson plans, downloadable reports, remote learning, and state learning standards.
Pricing: Pricing varies and is available by quote. Enrollment capacity affects pricing. Enrollees are divided into these groups: 1-9, 10-19, 20-99, or 100+ children. You can sign up via email on the site to receive more pricing information.
Lillio (formerly HiMama)
Overview: Lillio, formerly HiMama, stands out for its in-house teacher training academy, curriculum support, and customizable product options for daycare centers. It also offers a colorful, engaging user interface that enhances the user experience.
Key features:
- Center management for registration, waiting lists, reporting metrics, licensing requirements, invoicing, subsidy management, and payment collection is available in one easy-to-use interface.
- Family engagement with daily insights for parents into their child’s day, including photo updates and real-time messaging from educators.
- Professional development with an expert-created library of training and courses on topics ranging from managing behavioral issues to theories for child development and how to support children with special needs.
- Curriculum assistance is provided through pre-loaded curriculum plans and curriculum tool kits that are play-based, driven by research, and built into the software.
- Billing and payments to track payments, create automatic and recurring invoices with customized tuition costs, manage record-keeping, and enable autopay to ensure payment is never missed.
Pricing: Pricing is available via a contact form. Lillio offers individual products, such as Lillio Academy for on-demand professional development, and bundles, such as the Platinum Center Package, which includes center management, curriculum, and Lillio Academy.
Procare Solutions
Overview: Procare Solutions provides childcare management software with features for family engagement, registration tracking, compliance, and lesson plan creation. It also processes payments in-house without fees via electronic fund transfers.
Key features:
- Childcare management involves tracking finances, managing staff schedules, ensuring child-to-staff ratios, handling registration and enrollment, ensuring compliance with grantors, and monitoring attendance.
- Family engagement through consistent updates from providers to parents using a child care mobile app and the ability to create, format, digitally sign, and store important documents all in one place.
- Secure in-house payment processing using electronic fund transfers (EFT).
- Multiple third-party integrations like Quickbooks, ABC Mouse, Gusto, Checkr, KidKare, and more.
- Learning tools like streamlined lesson planning, customizable learning standards to align with your state or funders, shareable student portfolios, and more.
- Alignment with state and Montessori frameworks.
Pricing: Pricing varies and is available by quote via a contact form. Procare Solutions uses a monthly subscription model.
ChildPilot
Overview: ChildPilot streamlines communication between providers and parents through a portal accessible via desktop or app. It includes custom billing, administrative features, and self-service options like automated enrollment and tuition autopay.
Key features:
- Administrative features include managing family, child, and employee data, schedules, attendance, immunization records, training hours, and custom reports.
- Parent communication tools using a parent-teacher portal app for real-time communication and contactless geolocation check-in / check-out.
- Automated billing, including Quickbooks integration, autopay, flexible invoicing, hourly subsidy tracking, and the ability to bill hourly, daily, or monthly.
- Online enrollment and registration with digital childcare documents and forms.
Pricing: Pricing is available only by contacting ChildPilot for a web demo. ChildPilot uses a monthly or annual subscription model for pricing.
Kangarootime
Overview: Kangarootime aims to provide meaningful experiences for childcare providers and the children they serve. It caters to both small operations and large multi-center providers, currently supporting 25,000 providers.
Key features:
- Classroom management with lesson planning, attendance tracking, and more.
- Parent communications with real-time updates, daily notes, and updates, as well as sharing milestones and encouraging parental involvement to ensure children receive the best care possible.
- Business operations for automated invoicing, enrollment, registration, billing, and trend/report tracking so you can make informed decisions about how to lead your center.
- Staff management, including digitizing classroom.
- Kangarootime Educator is a unique offering that combines lesson planning, coaching, and automated activities to help teachers visualize their work quickly and avoid burnout.
Pricing: Pricing plans are available only via a scheduled call, which you can set on the site’s contact form.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Childcare Software
When selecting daycare computer software, assess your childcare center’s needs. Decide if you need a complete system or software for tasks like communication or parent check-ins. Understanding your requirements is key before choosing a CRM.
Knowledge drives business progress. Use software to enhance efficiency in early childhood education and support your children’s needs with Radius Childcare Solutions. RCS helps providers like yourself with accounting, marketing, and sales performance services and can help you define a reasonable price range for a childcare CRM system.
