Running a child care center is hard work. Automating time-consuming processes helps your center run more efficiently. That means more time to spend focusing on kids and staff!
Think about where you spend a lot of your time throughout the week, month or year. Is it billing? Talking to parents? Lesson plans? There might just be a daycare app or software that could save you time.
These five child care apps address common problems for daycare professionals.
Bloomz
Quick daily updates, parent meetings and in-app messaging are all included in Bloomz. The website and app focus on connecting families and child care providers through communication and coordination. This software was developed with elementary and middle schools in mind, so unlike many other daycare provider apps, there aren’t any administrative functions like billing or lead tracking.
Parents and educators have rated the app an average of 4.5 stars, with the majority of complaints siting a clunky user interface and slow load time.
Hi Mama
As the name suggests, Hi Mama facilitates communication between child care centers and parents. That’s not all it does. This is one of the more robust software options available to providers.
Photos and videos, teacher observations, daily sheets, attendance lists, program planning, invoicing and leadership resources are all included. One of the unique features Hi Mama offers within its parent-teacher communication tools is the ability for parents to easily forward photos and updates to other family members, such as grandparents.
Both the provider and parent apps have positive reviews from users.
HoppingIn
Like Bloomz, HoppingIn is not a multitasking app. However, it is focused on growing your revenue.
When one of your regular families isn’t at your center, whether they’re on vacation or fighting the flu, you have empty spaces at your center. This software allows you to let parents who don’t regularly attend your center know that you temporarily have a spot open. Maybe a stay at home mom is looking for a day to run some errands or grandma has a doctor’s appointment.
With HoppingIn, you can save your full-time families money without losing revenue! You may even be able to charge these last-minute drop-ins a little extra.
Kaymbu
If you’re looking for software focused on parent-teacher communication, Kaymbu could be for you. You can share photos and videos with families, as well as send messages through email and text messages. One unique feature Kaymbu offers is automated daily reports for parents called Storyboards, as well as physical photo books. They’re both visual, colorful and straightforward!
You can also track kids’ performance over time, sharing observations in the classroom with parents and other teachers through the assessment functionality.
The Kaymbu app for teachers is rated at 4.3 stars, while the parent app is rated at 4.1 stars. That’s pretty good compared to other parent-teacher communication apps and software.
Sandbox Software
Sandbox thought of everything when developing their daycare provider app. You can automate communication with parents, administrative tasks and staffing. Sandbox stores customer information, such as emergency contacts and allergy lists, acts as an employee time clock, lets parents register and pay online, and sends real-time updates to parents through the app or website.
