Using Child Care Scheduling Software Can Help Improve Your Margins

Child in a childcare center who has been finger-painting as part of a flex scheduling program

Child care scheduling software can make it easier for your center to save money in staff scheduling. We know running a profitable childcare center is certainly not easy. Filling unfilled attendance spots means more revenue. But it also makes staffing more complicated because you can over schedule staff and lose revenue. The right balance is tricky. However child care scheduling software is opening the door to make flexible schedule management simple and cost-effective.

Back to school means hustle and bustle for parents, teachers and childcare staff members. As a childcare administrator, you’re tasked with all the behind-the-scenes work. You must build out your childcare software templates for the new school year. You’ll update your tuition billing rates to ensure your automated billing is correct. Additionally, you organize children in the classrooms to ensure compliant teacher-child ratios. And you’ll schedule staff in each classroom.

Staffing is the largest expense childcare centers incur. Yet of course it’s also the most important expense. Getting staffing just right means ensuring you meet teacher-child ratios without over staffing. Because when you do, you incur needless expenses within your childcare center. It’s a very fine balance and one that’s difficult to do well without the best childcare software.

Child Care Scheduling Software and Flex Schedule Management

Pairing child schedules with staffing is how childcare centers can save money by avoiding over staffing. When you can see each child’s scheduled arrival and pick-up time, you can schedule your staff around that. Then, add in some flexibility to cover sick days, make minor adjustments to a child’s schedule, etc.

The key is in not over staffing your backup resources. Schedule your teachers in the classrooms where you need them. And have just enough backup resources to cover lunch breaks and possible sick days. A schedule management plan can help ensure you have on-call substitute teachers who can be at your center within short notice. Yet, you’ll avoid putting them on the schedule unless you know you’ll need them.

Factor in days you know children will be out for vacations or other scheduled non-attendance days. This can help you avoid over scheduling staff when you know you’ll have fewer children that day.

Daycare software also makes it easy to accept part-time children without overspending on staff for those days. Get a clear view of how many children will be in attendance at your center within half-hour increments using iCare Software. In the software, you can see in-depth reporting and scheduling. After more than 20 years in the industry, we know the tools that make childcare administration simple. We’ve built those tools into our childcare software.

All-in-one Childcare Administration Software

Childcare owners that use one software in the classroom, a different one for accounting and billing, and a separate one for staff scheduling will struggle to experience the full benefits and ROI that childcare software has to offer. Instead, bringing all those software needs under an all-in-one childcare administration software. You’ll experience extensive cost savings and efficiencies. This includes managing your childcare payroll while meeting student-teacher ratios.

iCare Software is one software for a nominal fee that offers all the following tools:

  • Classroom management: teachers can use state-based templates to document developmental milestones. They can also take attendance, journal notes and engage their classroom.
  • Administration softwaremanage enrollment, automate tuition billing, schedule staff and view attendance data. Admins can also document and file necessary licensing or childcare subsidy information, and much more.
  • Virtual classroom: enable virtual enrollment in your classrooms from anywhere securely. Teachers can educate some children in-class and others virtually at the same time. The iCare Virtual Classroom software integrates with your classroom management tool. Within the iCare Software web-based application, teachers just push a button to begin a virtual classroom session.
  • Parent engagement: engaged parents are more likely to remain loyal to your childcare center. With the tap of a button, teachers can share photos and send a message to parents. They can also document developmental milestones with the iCare Parent and Teacher App.

Learn how you can enable more effective flexible schedule management for students and staff with iCare Software. Our live demos help answer your questions and showcase the cost-savings and cashflow benefits the software offers.  Schedule a 15-minute call now to learn why iCare Software is right for you.

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