One of the most important aspects of your childcare business is the enrollment process. Having a smooth, straightforward, and efficient childcare enrollment in place not only saves you time and stress but also creates a winning first impression for the families who are considering your services.
To simplify the process, many childcare professionals use some sort of digital solution for quick registration and onboarding. If you’re ready to streamline your system for customers, here are 10 features to look for in an enrollment software for your business.
What is Childcare Enrollment Software?
Childcare enrollment software is a digital technology specifically developed to help childcare business owners deliver an exceptional enrollment experience for new customers. It automates important aspects of enrollment, such as lead management, waitlists, and official registration.
This solution enables you and your staff to replace paper-based enrollment tasks with a digital tool that’s more efficient and accurate. It provides the parents at your childcare or daycare with a user-friendly option they can use at their convenience, strengthening their trust in your brand and securing easy childcare sign up for their child.
10 Software Features That Enhance Childcare Enrollment
When looking for the best childcare enrollment software, choose features that make the whole process smooth, accurate, and accessible for everyone involved. Here are some specific examples of the important features you’ll need.
1. Online Registration Forms
The foundation of any good childcare enrollment tool is the ability to complete online registration forms. This is because:
- You need to be able to customize, upload, and monitor the progress of registration forms for new families.
- Parents need the courtesy of being able to fill out, save, and deliver their forms at their own pace.
Another helpful feature of online childcare registration is mobile-friendly forms. This minimizes the chances of forgotten forms and enables parents to complete their applications on the go.
2. Documentation Uploads
Childcare enrollment can require a lot of different documents, from child allergy forms to billing payment methods to emergency contacts. Look for childcare software that lets parents upload all required documents directly to the platform.
This option gives you instant access to the required forms you need to complete a child’s enrollment. It also reduces the risks of lost or stolen information, keeps track of what forms are pending vs. submitted, and makes it easy for your staff to verify important information they need to keep each child safe once they enter the classroom.
3. Automated Waitlist Management
The more your childcare center grows, the more likely you’ll start to form a waitlist for families ready to sign up. Managing waitlists on top of existing enrollment processes throughout the year can get messy. But with a digital solution in place, it becomes organized and simple.
Waitlist features help you keep track of updates as they become available. It gives you and your staff the ability to automate notifications to parents when their child moves up the waitlist. This feature helps maintain fairness and transparency among families, making the enrollment process smoother and more efficient.
4. Secure Payment Processing
Financial deposits and registration fees are often part of the childcare enrollment process. Try to find an enrollment software that comes with secure payment processing features to make it easy for parents to pay online. This typically allows multiple payment options like credit cards, ACH transfers, childcare subsidies, and more. It also provides automatic receipts, making record-keeping easier.
5. Parent Portal
An enrollment software that comes with a parent portal is helpful for families. It allows parents to:
- Update their contact information
- View their child’s registration status
- Access important documents and agreements
- Find your business contact information for easy outreach
Giving parents the option to manage and update their information online minimizes your workload while improving parent satisfaction.
6. Staff Dashboard
Your staff also needs to be able to access the enrollment platform for things like at-a-glance updates. This is especially true if you have multiple classrooms and programs.
Employees may also need tools for managing parent inquiries or follow-ups. Plus, classroom and child attendance reports can be integrated with enrollment data to make sure all the spots are filled with the correct teacher-to-child ratios.
7. Communication Tools
Parent-teacher communication is crucial to the enrollment process. Remember, the enrollment phase is the first experience that families have with your childcare center so it has to be a positive one overall.
Childcare enrollment tools sometimes offer:
- Email notifications throughout the stages of enrollment
- Automated email segments to specific groups (pending waitlist, incoming students, etc.)
- Templates for common emails and reports (fundraisers, special announcements, etc.)
- Instant messaging or chatbot capabilities to help parents one-on-one with registration
These childcare communication tools are useful beyond just enrollment. They keep parents informed throughout the duration of their family’s time at your childcare center.
8. Integration With Child Management Systems
If you have a general childcare management tool (which you should!), pick an enrollment feature that integrates with your existing system. This type of integration lets you transfer enrollment data to child profiles once they’re onboarded. It also supports your business records, keeping track of due dates, timeframes, payments, attendance, and more.
9. Customizable Enrollment Workflows
Every childcare business has a unique process for enrollment. Ideally, you have a digital platform that lets you customize your workflows to ensure ease and a user-friendly experience for everyone.
Signs of a customizable enrollment software include:
- Options to create custom steps in the enrollment funnel
- Ability to set up automated triggers for next steps (such as sending emails, receipts, waitlist notifications, and more)
- Ways to adjust your workflows depending on your childcare center’s needs
Bottom line: your childcare software should be adaptable to your business. It shouldn’t make your business adjust to its platform.
10. Reporting and Analytics
Childcare data reports are vital to making informed decisions about your enrollment process and overall business management. Opt for a childcare enrollment software that delivers valuable reporting features that involve:
- Enrollment trends
- Registration process tracking
- Customer conversion tracking (from first inquiry to enrollment)
- Custom reporting dashboards to show various childcare operators (directors, teachers, staff, etc.)
Enrollment analytics give you insights into ongoing patterns. It shows you what works, what doesn’t work, and how to strategically improve your processes long-term.
Choose the Right Childcare Enrollment Software for Your Business
Finding a childcare enrollment tool that supports your business is essential to your success. If you can find a software that has all of the features mentioned in this article, you’ll benefit from a solution that gives you faster onboarding and better experiences for families.
For a free trial of one of the top-rated childcare enrollment software available today, download the Daily Connect app for a free trial.
