Child Care Tuition Processing in the 21st Century
“Oh, Mrs. Jones, thank you for your payment. Let me just write you out a receipt.” Sound familiar? It’s the age-old way of taking payments for child care or just about any other business. Now be honest. You’ve probably got a manual receipt book tucked in your desk drawer, just like thousands of other child care, daycare and preschool owners.
Video: Tuition Processing in the 21st Century
Does it work? Well sure, if you don’t mind being interrupted as various parents drop off payments throughout the day. That is, assuming they “remember” to pay at all, let alone on time. Some of them may even pay by cash, which could leave you open to finding a bit less money in the till at the end of the week. And, if someone “forgot” to make out a receipt, how would you know for sure – wink, wink?
The hand kept receipt book may have been a fine tool for the 1970’s, 80’s and even the 90’s. But, now that we’re well into the twenty-first century, it’s no longer the most efficient or secure way to accept payments for tuition and other fees at your child care business. What words would best describe the perfect payment processing system for your preschool or child activity center? Ultra-secure? Super convenient? Parent friendly? Easy to use? Those phrases all define Tuition Express, a service provided by the biggest name in child care management, Procare Software. Continue reading
Plan on Making a Good Impression
When new families contact your child care or preschool program do you have a plan for what you’ll say, what you’ll do? Letting them know about your facility and what programs you offer is important, but there’s more to making a good first impression. Parents are trying to determine if your center is really the right place for their child. They want to be at ease with their decision; comfortable that little Johnny or Johanna will feel at home. After all, the children they place in your care will be spending a good deal of time with you, your staff, and the other children at your center.
Listen More, Talk Less
If you focus solely on what a wonderful place you have and tell the parents about your programs, you may be missing the key to getting the family to enroll. While some degree of talking is good, you’ll find that listening is even better. Your job, whether during a formal ‘intake interview’ or an informal phone inquiry, is to learn what you can about the child. Continue reading
Marketing & Your Child Care Logo
Do you have a logo for your child care business? Brand awareness and recognition are important aspects of marketing any business, especially child care. A professional looking logo helps separate you from the pack and will stick in the minds of parents and children alike.
Since your current families are typically the best way to get referrals, the more they see your logo, the better. In fact, you’d be surprised how many times a logo is used to help describe who you are and even where you’re located. Imagine a conversation where one parent says: “My children go to Little Red Schoolhouse. We love it. You know the one on the corner with the big red sign.” And the other parent says, “Oh, yes, the red schoolhouse, I know the one you mean.”
There are several places the logo of your center may look nice, such as on letters sent to families, on customer statements, or even at your check-in computer where parents clock their children in each day. In this article we’ll take a look at various ways to integrate your logo with Procare Software. Continue reading
Infographic: What’s so great about Preschool?
As those of you who work in the child care business know, there are many advantages to preschool. Some of those are evident early on, such as interaction with peers, sharing, and learning to get along with others. Of course the activities are wonderful learning experiences too, from arts and crafts to music, to story time; the list goes on and on.
However, some advantages are not recognized until much later in life. For example, children who attend preschool are 20% more likely to graduate from high school. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as this clever infographic, called The Perks of Preschool (courtesy of EducationNews.org) shows. Continue reading
Airship Child Care Center Opens
A new concept in child care was launched today when Airship Child Care, Inc. lifted off with some 35 children on board their historic first flight.
According to president, CEO and co-pilot, Kirk Flightson, the portability of the airship concept is attractive to parents. “We can appeal to families over a much wider geographic area by picking up children in your neighborhood and returning later at our scheduled landing time”, said Flightson.
Another advantage to Airship Child Care is that it’s no longer necessary to authorize individual drop-off and pickup people for each child, since an airship can offer direct rooftop pickup service. In fact, with each paid registration fee, the Airship staff assigns children their own custom-fit safety belt and vertical loop harness to simplify the pickup and drop-off process. This works especially well in tightly packed neighborhoods where open field landing areas are unavailable. Continue reading
