ECCE Trends

Choosing The Best Childcare Management Software, 2024

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So, you’ve finally decided to pick childcare management software for your daycare—a wise choice! But with a variety of options, how do you choose the perfect one to match your needs and streamline your operations?

We’ll be diving deep into features, user-friendliness, scalability, and, of course, that all-important price tag. By the end of this blog, you’ll be equipped to pick the best childcare management software that fits your needs and keeps your daycare running smoothly.

Prerequisites of good childcare management software

Software for daycare management software is a digital tool used by childcare centres, preschools or home daycare providers to run their centres efficiently. They include tools for

  • Centre management  
  • Billing and accounting
  • Enrollment management
  • Parent communication
  • Attendance tracking
  • Lesson planning
  • And more…

While all of the below are well-known preschool management softwares in their capacity, this comparison guide will help you decide which works best for your centre’s unique needs.

Top Childcare Management softwares 2024

Overview of the best daycare Management Apps 2024

Childcare Software G2 Rating Price per month Customer Support Global Currency Support Best Suited For Gaps in Product Features
Illumine 4.7/5 $ to $$ 24/7 live support with a WhatsApp chat option Yes End-to-end daycare management Third-party curriculum is unavailable
HiMama (Lillio) 4.7/5 $$ to $$$ Time-limited support No Daily reports No CRM & tour scheduling
Famly 4.6/5 $$$ to $$$ Time-limited support No Parental communication & administrative operations USA state education framework support & online payments
Tadpoles 4.6/5 $ to $$ Limited email support No Parental communication & administrative operations Lacks centre management features
Storypark 4.5/5 $ to $$ Limited email support No Student documentation & parent communication Lacks centre management features
KangarooTime 4.5/5 $$ to $$$ Limited email support No Australia’s best daycare app with a government subsidy program No CRM & tour scheduling
Brightwheel 4.5/5 $ to $$ Time-limited live support No Daily reports & administrative tasks No CRM & tour scheduling, high online transaction fee
Procare 4.5/5 $$ to $$ Time-limited support No End-to-end daycare management Lacks assessment reports, portfolios & limited customer support

Here is more detailed information about each of the softwares:

illumine
himama
storypark
kangaroo time
Famly
tadpole

If you’re looking for the best app for daycares that tackles everything from A to Z, Illumine is the way to go. It has everything you need to run a daycare smoothly, from enquiry automation tools to AI-enabled assessments. Let’s take a deeper look at the offering.

Key Features:

✔ Sign-In/Sign-Out for children and staff
✔ Attendance and leave management
✔ Authorised pick-up and drop-offs
✔ Staff:Child ratio
✔ Assessments and reports
✔ Lesson planning
✔ Student portfolios
✔ Customisable registration forms
✔ Enrollment management
✔ Billing and accounting
✔ Parent communication
✔ Appointment scheduling

Language Support

English, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, and Thai, Japanese, Mandarin, and Hebrew

Integrations

It connects with WhatsApp, Facebook, Tally, QuickBooks, Xero,  Stripe, Ringgit Pay, Paypal, Oracle Net Suite, Gusto, Paychex

What users love about Illumine software

  • End-to-end centre management
  • AI-powered writing assistant for assessments
  • Enquiry automation with an in-built appointment scheduling tool
  • Childcare billing software, invoice automation, payment reminders, and in-app payments
  • WhatsApp and Facebook integrations for enquiry management
  • 24/7 live customer support with WhatsApp chat option

2. Himama (Lillio)

HiMama is focused on physical, intellectual, and social-emotional development for children under age 5. They provide resources and support for empowering daycare centres to empower little ones. They aim to improve early childhood programs with innovative design, quality content, and professional growth opportunities, for joyful learning experiences.

Key features

✘ Sign-In/Sign-Out for children and staff
✔ Attendance and leave management
✘ Authorised pick-up and drop-offs
✔ Staff:Child ratio
✘ Assessments and reports
✔ Lesson planning
✔ Student portfolios
✘ Enrollment management
✔ Billing and accounting
✔ Parent communication
✘ Appointment scheduling

Language support

English, Canadian French, French, and Spanish

Integrations

Connects with KinderConnect, FunShine Express

What users love about Illumine software

  • End-to-end centre management
  • AI-powered writing assistant for assessments
  • Enquiry automation with an in-built appointment scheduling tool
  • Childcare billing software, invoice automation, payment reminders, and in-app payments
  • WhatsApp and Facebook integrations for enquiry management
  • 24/7 live customer support with WhatsApp chat option

3. Storypark

Storypark is a platform that enables families and daycare staff to communicate seamlessly. It was created under the supervision of early childhood experts and also has features that allow educators to keep track of a child’s daily activities, monitor their progress over time, and gain developmental insights.  

Key features

✔ Sign-In/Sign-Out for children and staff
✔ Attendance and leave management
✘ Authorised pick-up and drop-offs
✔ Staff:Child ratio
✔ Assessments and reports
✔ Lesson planning
✔ Student portfolios
✔ Customisable registration forms
✘ Enrollment management
✔ Billing and accounting
✔ Parent communication
✘ Appointment scheduling

Language support

English, Canadian French, German, Japanese, te reo Māori

Integrations

Connects with Kidsoft, Xap, Xplor and QikKids

What users love about Storypark software

  • Promotes collaboration between educators and families
  • Best free daycare app for parents

4. KangarooTime

Kangarootime enables directors to run their businesses efficiently. The software features automated payments and billing, a digital classroom, and a parent contact tool. With Kangarootime, you can boost your centre’s operations, manage your team effectively, and establish strong relationships with the parents of the children in your care.

Key features

✘ Sign-In/Sign-Out for children and staff
✘ Attendance and leave management
✘ Authorised pick-up and drop-offs
✘ Staff:Child ratio
✔ Assessments and reports
✔ Lesson planning
✔ Student portfolios
✘ Enrollment management
✘ Billing and accounting
✔ Parent communication
✘ Appointment scheduling

Language support

No information available

Integrations

No information available

What users love about KangarooTime software

  • Flexible enrollment and last-minute drop-in care
  • Automated billing and payment

5.Brightwheel

Brightwheel is a childcare management software that facilitates operations for daycares. It specializes in streamlining processes for schools with low to medium capacity.

Key features

✔ Sign-In/Sign-Out for children and staff
✔ Attendance and leave management
✘ Authorised pick-up and drop-offs
✔ Staff:Child ratio
✔ Assessments and reports
✔ Lesson planning
✔ Student portfolios
✔ Enrollment management
✘ Billing and accounting
✔ Parent communication
✘ Appointment scheduling
✔ Staff management

Language support

English and Spanish

Integrations

Connects with KinderTrack, KinderConnect, and Gusto

What users love about Brightwheel software

  • The parent app is relatively user-friendly
  • Children’s daily activities are well organised
  • Offers comprehensive billing automation

6.Procare

Procare helps reduce day-to-day operational burden in preschools, or after-school programs. Their solution is functional on any device through either web or mobile applications. They offer services to centres—big and small and have been empowering childcare providers for over 30 years.

Key features

✔ Sign-In/Sign-Out for children and staff
✔ Attendance and leave management
✘ Authorised pick-up and drop-offs
✔ Staff:Child ratio
✔ Assessments and reports
✔ Lesson planning
✔ Student portfolios
✔ Enrollment management
✘ Billing and accounting
✔ Parent communication
✘ Appointment scheduling
✔ Staff management

Language support

English and Spanish

Integrations

Connects with Checkr, Gusto, IntelliKid Systems, Learning Beyond Paper, Listen360, Quickbooks, and KidKare by Minute Menu

What users love about Procare software

  • Supports year-end tax statements for financial reporting
  • Claim to offer a next-business-day settlement
  • Procare also supports small in-home daycare centres

7.Famly

The goal of Family is to create a collaborative platform for parents and carers of young children. They support early childhood providers and families to communicate, share information, manage administrative tasks together, run their businesses, and learn new things. They believe this frees up time and energy for parents and carers to focus on the early interactions that shape a child’s development.

Key features

✘ Sign-In/Sign-Out for children and staff
✔ Attendance and leave management
✘ Authorised pick-up and drop-offs
✘ Staff:Child ratio
✔ Assessments and reports
✔ Lesson planning
✘ Student portfolios
✘ Customisable registration forms
✘ Enrollment management
✔ Billing and accounting
✔ Parent communication
✘ Appointment scheduling

Language support

Danish, German, English, and Spanish

Integrations

Connects with FlourishCRM, Stripe, Xero (CSV only), Redfish, Funding Loop, WatchMeGrow, KinderConnect, and KitaBuli

What users love about Famly software

  • Tools to run the core activities of the daycare
  • In-app payments

8. Tadpoles

Tadpoles are changing the childcare and preschool market by assisting with smoothing out operations and parent collaboration through innovation. They work with centres worldwide to deliver management solutions planned explicitly to help understudy children’s accomplishments and parental inclusion.

Key features

✘ Sign-In/Sign-Out for children and staff
✔ Attendance and leave management
✘ Authorised pick-up and drop-offs
✔ Staff:Child ratio
✔ Assessments and reports
✔ Lesson planning
✔ Student portfolios
✘ Customisable registration forms
✔ Enrollment management
✔ Billing and accounting
✔ Parent communication
✘ Appointment scheduling

Language support

No information is available

Integrations

No information is availa

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