Switching Childcare Software: Plan Your Move to CareDay

Are you managing future enrollment in spreadsheets? Re-entering schedule changes for billing? Struggling to see when an opening will become available?

CareDay schedules children through the future rooms and programs your organization offers. A useful evaluation follows one child through a future attendance change, a classroom move, the resulting availability, and the applicable tuition.

Bring your most important operational challenge to your demo. Evaluate the work your team needs to accomplish, not just a list of features.

CareDay works best for programs with standard tuition rates by room or program and set weekly schedules, including part-time days and drop-ins.

CareDay supports split payers, with each parent paying a set share. A subsidy ledger on each family’s profile tracks subsidy transactions and balances.

Tell us early about anything outside that pattern: schedules that change week to week, hourly or attendance-based billing, half-day programs, stacked discounts, or tuition that differs for nearly every child. We’ll review these with you before agreeing on scope or a launch date.

Before switching, inventory the information your team relies on:

• Child and household records
• Enrollment dates, attendance patterns, and future room transitions
• Classroom structures, tuition rates, and discounts
• Account balances and transaction history
• Forms, documents, and other records you must retain
• Staff access and family account requirements

We’ve helped programs move to CareDay from Procare, Brightwheel, Waitlist Plus, SmartCare, and many other childcare management software products.

We import child and family records, including contacts, immunizations, and allergies, from our import template or an export from your current system. Excel or CSV files work best. Your team sets up current and future enrollment schedules in CareDay, and we can help.

Before your records go live, we review your data, flag anything that needs fixing, and run a test import.

Saved payment methods don’t transfer, so families add their payment method in CareDay. Agree how outstanding balances, credits, and prepaid tuition will be settled or entered manually. Historical transactions and balances are not included in the standard import described here.

Before ending service with your current provider, export the billing records, documents, messages, and attendance history you need to retain. Keep those exports securely in your own archive; CareDay does not store your old-system archive.

A switching plan should identify who supplies information, configures the system, checks the results, trains the team, and approves launch.

Identify who will own enrollment and billing setup on your team. One person may fill several roles.

CareDay sets up your organization, centers, rooms, and transaction types, and runs your data import. Your team supplies the data, sets room rates, applies discounts, adds recurring charges outside schedule-based billing, and enters schedules. Your implementation specialist is your main contact through launch and for your first 30 days after launch.

Before your first tuition run in CareDay, your team reviews the charges. We run our own checks, flag anything that looks off, and review the results with you at a final check-in. Your team approves going live and owns stopping billing in the old system.

Most programs launch the parent app about two weeks before billing starts. Decide when your current system stops billing so families aren’t charged twice or missed.

Identify what changes for directors, classroom staff, and families. Plan training around the tasks each group performs.

We train your administrators in live video sessions and provide recorded videos to help them train classroom staff. Help center articles are available any time. Your implementation specialist supports your first 30 days after launch, followed by general support.

Your team sends family invitations using templates we set up for you, and we provide how-to guides to share with parents. Families will:

• Download the CareDay app
• Create a password or sign in with Google or Microsoft
• Add a payment method
• Add approved pickup and emergency contacts

A single-center transition and a franchise-network rollout involve different coordination needs.

Typical implementation takes 4–6 weeks for a single-location program and 5–7 weeks for a multi-location organization. Timing depends on data readiness, schedule setup, training availability, and the agreed scope. Confirm your launch date with your implementation specialist.

Organizations with 10 or more schools can discuss a pilot location with us. Corporate teams can see across locations, while franchisee and location users have access to their own. Identify who will approve network standards, local choices, and launch.

Before launch, confirm that:

• Your required workflows and exceptions have been reviewed.
• Data-transfer scope is agreed and old records are exported.
• Configuration and billing checks are complete.
• Staff responsibilities and training are clear.
• Family communications are ready.
• Launch approval and support ownership are assigned.

Bring your current software, number of locations, licensed capacity, approximate enrollment, and the process you most want to improve.

We’ll explore product fit, walk through pricing—including the setup and training package—and discuss what a transition would involve for your organization.