How to Get Your Daycare Ready for the New Academic Year

Have you completed your yearly prep for the new academic year? Getting your daycare prepared is a time-consuming process. The summers just aren’t long enough, and before you know it, September has arrived.

There’s a lot to consider too. You have to think of things like:

  • Finding the right childcare management software.
  • Hiring and training new staff.
  • Making sure your facility is up to code and meets current regulations.
  • Budgeting for large expenses and finding ways to save money.
  • Improving the safety of your daycare.
  • Creating an activity-rich curriculum.
  • Purchasing all the necessary supplies you’ll need for the year.
  • Implementing the right systems to keep parents engaged.
  • Marketing your business to attract new families.

And while that list was long enough on its own – it’s still not long enough!

Running a daycare isn’t easy. Whether you’re new to the industry or an experienced veteran, here are a few tips that are sure to help you efficiently transition into the new academic year.

1. Invest in Childcare Management Software

You may be thinking, not another expense. But childcare management software isn’t optional anymore.

Why is that?

These apps do so much more than allow you to share pictures with parents. The best daycare apps will streamline all of your processes into one convenient location.

Yes, you read that right.

They can do everything like:

  • Handle enrollment and registration
  • Manage your payroll and invoicing
  • Track attendance
  • Centralize your paperwork
  • Simplify parent communication
  • Reduce the amount of time your staff spend on administrative tasks

Don’t underestimate how important this is. Time saved on administrative tasks allow your staff to focus on educating your students and improving other areas of your daycare. These time savings directly translate into cost savings for your business.

And guess what? Happy parents are more likely to recommend your daycare, which can lead to additional referrals and business in the future.

Childcare management software offers your business a sophisticated solution to many of its biggest problems. Don’t overlook how important that is to you.

2. Make Repairs and Upgrades, and Purchase Supplies

Sometimes it seems like the spending never ends. Running a daycare is expensive because you have to prioritize your students’ safety and development constantly.

Now, what you have to upgrade will depend on where you’re located. But there are certain repairs and upgrades every daycare should look to make. These include:

  • Baby-proofing doorways, staircases, and any areas where you don’t want kids to access.
  • Painting your center to give it a clean look for the new year.
  • Making your classrooms inviting for new children to prepare them for the eventual transition to public school.
  • Removing any furniture that could injure a child and padding any sharp edges.
  • Installing the right security systems and locks.
  • Ensuring that everyone’s CPR and first aid are up to date.
  • Purchasing essential supplies like toys, paint, paper, books, bowls, plates, cups, and other daily items.
  • Reviewing your fire safety and evacuation procedures and handing out your evacuation plans and map to staff.
  • Ensuring that your outdoor play spaces are fenced in and safe.

And let’s be honest. It’s not uncommon to discover you’re out of a certain supply when you actually run out of it. Managing all of your inventory on an ongoing basis is challenging, especially when you use a paper-based system.

That’s why childcare management software is so essential today. You can log all of your supplies, track them in a centralized location, keep track of what you need, and receive notifications when you’re running low. This level of organization makes it easy for you to stay in control.

3. Hire and Train New Staff and Supply Staff

Don’t wait until it’s too late to hire and train new staff. You want your staff to understand your internal processes and curriculum well before the academic year starts.

We recommend you look for educators who are passionate about this field. It makes a huge difference in the quality of care they will provide for your students.

You will also want to take the time to train them on any childcare management software you are using. Daycare apps provide your business with huge time savings, and they make the onboarding process that much easier.

4. Prepare an Activity-Rich Curriculum and Develop a Meal Plan

Have you taken the time to update your curriculum for the upcoming year? Every day needs to be fulfilling for your students. That means preparing a curriculum that is activity-rich and promotes a positive learning experience.

Meal planning is another essential area that you should invest significant time into. Parents love knowing that their children are eating healthy meals.

You can also use your curriculum and meal plans as unique selling points in your marketing strategy. This is a great way to keep parents in the loop and to promote your business. The easiest way to do this is to sync your lesson, activity, and meal plans with your childcare management software.

5. Get Your Budget, Billing, and Payment Systems in Order

You could run the best daycare ever, but still struggle if you don’t streamline your budget and billing and payment systems.

Creating a detailed budget helps keep your business organized. We recommend that you forecast for all the essentials, while still leaving room for unforeseen expenses. Remember, a budget is more than just a guideline. You need to respect it if you want to run an effective business.

And then there’s billing and payments.

There’s nothing more frustrating than chasing parents down to pay their invoices. Many daycares are solving this problem using daycare apps that have billing and payment systems built-in. These solutions are easy-to-use and incredibly accessible.

A daycare app allows you to automate invoices, reminders, and payment notifications. This lets you focus on other areas of your business while ensuring that you still get paid.

Having Trouble Planning for the Academic Year?

Kinderpass has all the tools you need to speed up the planning process. Sign up for our beta if you’re interested in streamlining your enrollment and registration, billing and payments, curriculum and meal planning, administrative tasks, and parent communications.

Are you interested in trying out Kinderpass for free for up to six months? Join our exclusive beta! Interested daycare providers can request a beta invite to test our software and see why it’s a good fit for improving your internal processes. Your participation is important to us, and will help us identify bugs and improve our platform before we launch KinderPass to the public.

We know how tricky running a daycare is because we used to work in them ourselves. Our childcare management software is designed to help you solve all of your biggest challenges.

Get your daycare ready for the academic year

Sign up for our exclusive beta today