Running a child care center is not an easy task. Staying on top of administrative, scheduling, and day-to-day financial issues requires a lot of energy and effort. For example, child care directors are not only responsible for the payroll of early childhood teachers and other staff members, they need to track tuition payments, handle rent and make financial decisions. 

Moreover, they have to communicate with parents, solve classroom problems as they arise, check on teachers and their lesson plans, and deal with unexpected daily emergencies. 

Unfortunately, these managerial tasks, albeit menial, take away precious time from what really matters: the children. 

Fortunately, as technology evolves, care management software becomes the hero that saves the day by enabling child care centers to take care of business seamlessly, effortlessly, and efficiently. So, how does child care management software do that exactly?

Child care management software does just what it says – it helps child care centers manage their daily tasks from learning and development updates to employee and payroll management, to billing and invoicing financial expenses and child portfolios. Moreover, the software enables child care professionals to communicate with parents and record the students’ progress. 

If you are a parent looking into potential child care centers for your child, finding one that uses care management software might not top the list of things you are looking for. Admittedly, the software sounds fantastic, but should you care as a parent? Does it even make a difference when it comes to the quality of care your child receives? 

The answer is yes. And this is why.

Organization 

A child care center that lacks organization will not offer the highest quality care for your child. There is a lot that goes into running a daycare, and as a parent, you may not often see everything that happens behind closed doors. 

Much like any business, a daycare center has a lot going on. Having a system in place helps keep everything organized and running smoothly. 

Poor organization starts from the top but rolls over to the classroom and the adverse effects are ultimately seen in your child. 

Choosing a child care center that uses daycare management software ensures that such organization problems are never encountered.

Efficiency

Management system automation helps with many administrative tasks making the day-to-day proceedings run smoothly, efficiently, and accurately. For example, the benefits of child care management software can be immediately seen in areas involving registration, billing, and attendance. 

Registration 

The period leading up to registration and the days that follow it are incredibly hectic. As a result, it is easy to lose track of registrations and misplace critical documents. And, in light of the recent pandemic, visitors are sometimes discouraged from entering school premises, altogether. 

However, child care management software enables parents to complete their child’s registration remotely online and completely hassle-free. In addition, the program offers customizable enrollment forms, class lists and class schedules. 

Billing 

As a busy parent having to physically visit the child care center to pay the monthly tuition can be a tedious chore, but one that must be completed on a monthly basis nonetheless. Wouldn’t you prefer to have access to online billing and payment instead? 

Care management software allows the child care center to set up an automated billing system for parents, which can be remotely accessed on their phones.  Then, as a parent, your life becomes easier, and you have a record of when you last paid and when your upcoming payment is due so that you can keep track of your finances. 

Attendance

Child care centers using care management software are more efficient and more accurate in their attendance procedures. Contactless attendance and the option to track absences means that less time is required to complete this task, leaving the staff members with more time to deal with what is really important; your children. In addition, health screening options and illness reporting abilities allow the child care center to detect whether a flu bug is circulating around the premises, and can take extra precautionary measures to disinfect areas within the center. 

Communication

Being a parent of little ones, you are understandingly worried when you first leave them in someone else’s care. A bridge connecting the home and the child care center is paramount and ranks top amongst parents’ demands when choosing a care facility for their children. 

Daycare management software provides that bridge of direct communication between care facilities and their parents and helps stressed parents feel more at ease when they have to part with their little ones. 

Even better, child care management software will allow parents to stay in touch with the school through a parent app from the center to home and from teacher/classroom to home. Parents can receive photos and updates shared through the parent portal newsfeed, and they will get notified when changes are made in the curriculum. In addition, parents can be given a heads up about important upcoming events through newsletters and snack calendars. 

Schools that foster communication are building a strong relationship based on trust between child care and home, resulting in happier families and happier children.

Tracks Your Child’s Progress

Even though child care centers do not have an academic curriculum and learning objectives to cover, per se, giving your child a strong headstart is critical. So, choosing a child care center that allows you to track your children’s progress is paramount. 

Early childhood educators can usually recognize whether a child requires intervention services in order to overcome some developmental difficulties. Even if your child faces no difficulties and is a stellar little student, it is still helpful to be able to track their progress. If nothing else, you will know where your money goes and what new skills your child is learning along the way!

A daycare management software will help you keep track of how your child is doing so you always have an up-to-date report of your child’s progress. 

Staff Management 

Inefficient staff management will definitely impact the quality of child care your little one receives.  For child care center managers, managing their staff is a stressful and time-consuming task that can sometimes affect the children in their care. As managers are left with little time to grow their business, train their teachers or pop into the classroom to see how well the program is going causes everyone to miss out on great educational opportunities.

However, child care management software will immediately free the hands of managers and child care center owners, allowing them to deal with more pressing issues such as offering your children top-quality daycare. The benefits of child care management software include tracking staff requirements and staff hours, managing payroll, sending out collective emails and notifications to their staff email list, as well as keeping their staff contact information handy and easily accessible. 

Final Words

Choosing the right child care center for your children is a decision that should not be approached lightly. Setting the right foundations for your child’s future is paramount so you should not settle for anything less than a perfect fit for your family and your child. Making sure that you choose a child care center that enjoys the benefits of child care management software is crucial. Make this a no-brainer decision for you and your child!