Childcare providers are among the most flexible professionals. They juggle roles and switch between tasks throughout the day. Aside from their primaryduties as caregivers and teachers, child care professionals are also administrators and managers.
From completing daily reports to creating invoices to paying taxes and payroll, they see to it that day to day administrative tasks are fulfilled dutifully and properly. However, juggling in between these roles can be tough. Good thing, there are various childcare software systems available to help automate and simplify these tasks.
It is estimated that by 2021 daycare operators in the US will be around 856,238. Considering the growing competition within the industry, it is important for every childcare center to improve their services. Investing in IT solutions, particularly childcare software is one way of achieving this.
Understanding childcare management solutions
Basically, childcare software is an IT solution specifically designed for use in childcare centers, kindergarten and other similar preschool educational centers. This software is often installed on computers, either hosted on-premise or cloud-based. Some systems are even accessible via mobile devices.
As the name suggests, childcare management software handles all the managerial and administrative tasks associated with running a center. Below are some of the most time consuming, manual methods that childcare software automates.
- Enrollment – This feature allows you to manage your classroom size to ensure better, optimum care of your enrollees. Parents can enroll their children into your center with just a click.
- Billing – Gone are the days of creating and sending invoices. With a childcare system, you can automate billing so parents can receive them through email. You can also schedule bill reminders and delayed payment notifications to improve collection.
- Digital child profile – Unlike paper files, virtual child profiles are making it easier to collect and retrieve files of every child in your care. You can store important information like child’s name, parent’s name, address, contact details, medical information, and allergies. In case of emergency, quick access to such information is vital. The program also allows you to encode developmental milestones and progress.
- Sign-in and sign-out – This feature enables parents to sign-in electronically for their kids as soon as they are dropped off or picked up.
- Attendance – This feature record the attendance of children and staff. This makes it easier to create billing later on, as well as, to make a payroll.
- Daily report – Digital report forms makes things simpler and easier. Workers can easily fill out the digital form using their mobile devices. You can also schedule the program to send out daily reports to parents. It also serves as an extensive and accurate developmental record of every child in your center.
- Payroll – As mentioned above, childcare software features a payroll capability. With this IT solution, you can accurately tally the hours rendered by every employee. You can quickly generate payroll using the time-tracking system of the software.
- Communication – Many childcare software solutions provide instant messaging feature. This allows childcare professionals to communicate with families. On the other end, parents can also have a quick access to the center should they have any concerns or queries. You can also schedule automatic reminders like changes in schedule, health advisories, activities, and price adjustments.
These are just some of the most common features and capabilities that a childcare software offers. Like other software solutions, childcare management systems can be designed to meet the unique needs of your center.
Benefits of childcare software
With childcare management software, administrators, parents, children, and all stakeholders in the childcare industry stand to benefit.
Parents nowadays appreciate the convenience that goes along with these systems. With just a simple click on their mobile phones, parents can check their statements and pay for it too. They can also track the progress of their kids, check child’s schedule, or even talk with their childcare worker.
Meanwhile, for administrators and workers, childcare solution adds a greater level of organization to their everyday tasks. It automates nearly all manual, paper-and-pen based processes in the management and operations of a daycare center.
The rewards of investing in a childcare system outweigh the costs and troubles of going through the transition process. It’s not surprising why more and more center-based childcare operators are now getting their own software. It offers a distinct advantage to centers. Quite simply, cutting time on administrative and other backdoor functions gives you more time to focus on more important matters.
