Child Day Care Software Review Site

(888) 233.3211

"ChildCare and DayCare Management Software Review
For Child and Day Care Providers"

Looking for a Real Child Care Management Software Review Site? Welcome!

Procare
JackRabbit

Home Choosing The Right Software Starting a Day Care - News ... ... Child Care Software Resources ... ... ...

CHILD CARE SOFTWARE HOME

Child Day Care Software Choose Right Software

Child Day Care Software Industry News

Child Day Care Software Resources

Translate this pageMicrosoft® Translator

Child Day Care Management Software Review of Child Care and Day Care Software for Home Care, Daycare, Preschool, Afterschool, Faith-Based, School Districts, and Learning Development Center Providers

With our child care software reviews you can learn which child care software is best suited to your child care center, home care center or day care center. Our ratings for the top brands in our industry is based upon available full featured child care software and then by the cost of the product as an offering of 'apples to apples' comparison. We will give you a calculated features to benefits differential of each product. Just because a software costs more or less does not make it the best product or value. Child care software is meant to run your whole child care organization not just one part of it. When we compare products we will be compare complete systems with equal functionality.

There are many childcare management software packages available that sell from $100 to over $3,000. The programs range from simple manual databases to fully featured automated systems, and come in both pc and web based varieties. There are many differences between the packages in quality, functionality, usability, stability, and support. These differences separate a useful and professional product from others that are really no better than using paper and pencil. When comparing software, look for features that would completely automate as many of your daily tasks as possible. Don’t settle for software that would still make you do many things manually, including billing, record keeping, attendance, and payroll.

Childcare Management software is usually divided into programs for family, small, medium, and large sized centers. Many packages seem to imply that the smaller the center, the less functionality it needs. Functions including extensive batch processing, networking, flexible rates, extensive scheduling, and comprehensive reporting are usually reserved for medium and large center programs that are much more expensive. Some packages for family and smaller centers don’t include a timeclock, and others require manual entry for all childcare charges. When comparing software for different sized centers, make sure that functionality to automate your center and save you time is included.

Most of our "professional software" competitors sell their software in modules, reasoning that you shouldn’t have to pay for modules you don’t need, and that you can start small and purchase additional modules later. Buying software in pieces is expensive, and modules are frequently codependent, so if you need a specific function, you have to buy several modules. In addition, how much time will you spend doing things manually until you can afford to purchase additional modules to automate the functionality you need? (see below, we priced out the needed modules from our "module" competitors for a minimal set of functions that most centers would need. Even though we didn’t include many other modules that most centers wind up purchasing, the prices are eye-opening.)

Childcare Management software comes in both pc-installed and web based systems. Both of these platforms offer somewhat similar quality and functionality, but there are some key differences. Disadvantages of web-based systems include: 1) The user is really leasing the software; they don’t own the software, they don’t own their data, and they must keep paying the monthly cost to use the software.

2) If something happens to the web-based software company, all the data is gone.

3) The user must have a reliable and fast internet connection to use the software effectively, and even with a fast connection, waiting several seconds to change children and to change screens is time consuming and counter-productive.

4) The monthly cost can always increase.

CHILD DAY CARE CENTER MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE COMPARISON CHART:

There are 2 basic types of systems available for your day care center, pc-based and web-based. Our system is pc-based because we believe that this is the best option for your center. The advantages of pc-based systems include: the system is faster and more interactive, you own the software and your data, you can use a time clock where parents and staff can sign in/out (so you don't have to transcribe hours each day, and you don't have to have paper sign-in sheets,) you can use the system when the internet is down, you can store child photos, and you can keep alumni children in your system without paying extra.

Feature

Child Care Sage™

Day Care
Sage™

Minute Menu™

EZ-Care Online™

Childcare Mangr ™

ProCare™

Basic Information

PC or Web Based

PC

PC

Web

Web

PC

PC

Can use software if internet is down

●

●

●

●

Can keep alumni kids in system without cost

●

●

Child Information

Store child, parent, and pickup person information plus bus run information, enroll dates, tuition, and schedule

●

●

●

●

●

M1

Store Photos for child, parents and pickup persons

●

●

●

M1

Track child immunizations

●

●

●

●

●

M1

Daily child log (progress reports, incidents, daily checklist, daily forms, etc)

●

●

Staff Information

Store staff information including photo, employment dates, and work schedule

●

●

●

●

M4

Store Photos for staff

●

●

●

M4

Track staff Certifications

●

●

●

●

M4

Child/Contact Functions

Create custom reports with selectable information, information column order and contact grouping

●

●

●

●

●

M1

Child Attendance

Separate Time clock Program to let parents sign their children in/out

●

●

M1

M3

Graphically track child attendance in main program

●

●

●

●

M3

Print attendance reports that show child counts, and arrivals/departures (useful for staffing)

●

●

●

M3

Child Billing

Basic fixed amount billing

●

●

●

●

●

M2

Flexible billing that includes tuition, overtime, expenses, hourly/daily/weekly/monthly/part time/full time billing

●

●

●

M2

Agency Billing (tracks copay payments, state balances, etc)

●

●

●

M8

Supports ACH and EFT automatic payment processing

●

●

●

●

●

●

USDA Meals Program

Plan menus, print production reports, check CACFP compliance

●

●

●

M2

M7

Print Meals Count Charts and CACFP reimbursement tables

●

●

●

M2

M7

Staff Attendance

Separate Timeclock Program to let staff sign themselves in/out

●

●

M1

M4

Graphically track staff hours in main program

●

●

●

M4

Print staffing reports that show staff counts for each class for each day of the week, and daily attendance schedules that count staff arriving and leaving per hour and staff schedules

●

●

●

M4

Staff Wages

Flexible wages that includes salary, overtime, expense reimbursement, hourly/daily/ weekly/monthly and part time/full time wages and automatically generates staff paysheets

●

●

●

●

M6

Store Payments

Store payments for childcare and pay to staff with date, amount, and description

●

●

●

●

●

M2,M6

Batch Payment Posting

●

●

●

●

M2,M6

Separately store tuition and copay payments and bill separately

●

●

M8

Center Expenses

Store center expenses including food, rent, utilities, time use %, etc

●

●

●

●

●

M5

Store mileage expenses

●

●

●

●

●

M5

Center Functions

Center Journal to record daily happenings and schedule and track inspections, maintenance, etc.

●

●

Accounting

Create accounting reports that show payments receivable

●

●

●

●

●

M5

Create accounting reports that show wages payable, and net income

●

●

●

M6

Organization Functions

Built in daily activities and appointment date book with calendars and alarms

●

●

●

●

●

M1

Built in Activity Planner

●

●

System Functions

Password protection

●

●

●

●

●

●

Built in database backup function

●

●

●

●

●

●

Available Support (E- email, P- phone, W-Web Direct Connect to your computer Training, EP- email first then phone, E + P- email and/or phone)

E+P +W

E

E

E + P

E + P

E + P

Typical Cost for Complete System for Home Based Centers

$495

$69/yr

$348/yr

$1,765¹

$1,535²

Typical Cost for Complete System for up to 60 Family Centers

$695

$299
20 kids

-NA

$828/yr

$1,765¹

$1,535²

Typical Cost for Complete System for Larger Centers

$895

- NA

$1188/yr

$2,485¹

$3,070²

Procare Mini

M1- Family Data

M2- Family Acct

M3- Attendance Tracker

M4- Employee Data

Cost

$349

$199

$195

$249

M5- Accounts Payable

M6- Payroll

M7- USDA Food Program

M8- Agency Accounting

*2- Typical Cost includes M1-8

$399

$149

$99

Childcare Manager

M1- Time Manager

M2- Nutrition Manager

*1- Typical Cost includes M1,2

Cost

$495

EZCare Online- Softerware, Inc.

Minute Menu- Skyhill Software

Childcare Manager- Personalized Software

Procare- Professional Solutions

ChildDayCareSoftwareReview.org™
Houston, TX USA

Have questions? Want to advertise here? Contact us at webmaster@childdaycaresoftwarereview.org
or call (888) 233.3211

"Value. Daycare Sage is relative inexpensive and because it is so full featured, you are definitely getting the best bang for your buck."