Why file electronically?

It’s fast, secure and provides an immediate receipt for proof of filing from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Also, electronic filers have a later filing deadline (the last day of March) vs. the last day of February for all other filers, according to the SSA “How To File” Instructions.

How will it work?

It’s easy. The Procare W2 Program will import your payroll data for the year so you can review it and make any necessary adjustments. Then, with one button click you’ll create an export file that can be uploaded to the SSA Website. You’ll just need to register at the SSA Business Services page and log in to your account to upload the file.

Learn more about ordering Procare W2 / 1099 Software and Tax Table formulas for the New Year – See: W2s Frequent Questions

Until next time, cheers!

-Phil

P.S. You may also like to Follow Me on Twitter.

If you have questions or comments about this article (or suggestions for another article) I’d be pleased to hear from you. Drop me a note at phil@procaresoftware.com.

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# 10 – Payment Reminders for Your Daycare Center

# 09 – Cool Kid Activities

# 08 – Pre-Register Children Online

# 07 – Your Daycare Dashboard

# 06 – Email Families at Your Daycare

# 05 – Straight Talk About Tuition Rates

# 04 – Make a School Directory for Your Preschool

# 03 – Text Messaging for Your Daycare

# 02 – Tracking Child Allergies: Part 1

# 01 – Plan “B” for Your Child Care Check In Station

Happy New Year and until next time, keep your hands out of the cookie jar!

-Phil

P.S. You may also like to Follow Me on Twitter.

If you have questions or comments about this article (or suggestions for another article) I’d be pleased to hear from you. Drop me a note at phil@procaresoftware.com.

Copyright © Procare Software – All Rights Reserved

For those of you already using Procare Software® we are pleased to introduce a new, free webinar called “Start the Year Right”. In this live, online broadcast, we’ll cover what you need to know when moving from one year to the next. This webinar is intended for people who have been using Procare and have data for the year just ending. If you are brand new to Procare and just getting started, you’ll be more interested in other classes on our Webinar Schedule.

Here’s a preview of what you’ll learn in the Start the Year Right class:

Family Accounting

We’ll show you how to print or email end of year statements to your families and how to include your tax ID number. You’ll also learn what accounting reports to print for your annual child care business records. We’ll talk about when it’s appropriate to delete or purge old accounting information and how to handle families that no longer have enrolled children. See also: Frequent End of Year Questions

Employees, Payroll, W2’s

You’ll learn how to record holiday hours and to zero out accumulated vacation time that may not carry forward to the New Year (if you have a “use it or lose it” policy). We’ll cover how to change your Payroll Year to the New Year and what to do if your pay period crosses from one year into the next (don’t worry). You’ll also want to know where to update any changes to your state unemployment (SUTA) rates. Of course, we will also explain how to order and install new payroll tax table formulas and, if time allows, cover use of the optional W2 / 1099 software. See also: Tax Table Questions and W2 Questions

Expenses, Year End Reports, New Year Balances

One thing, that will be a relief, is you don’t have to close the old year to start working in the new one. In fact, there is no official “closing” at all. If you have the Expenses & Ledger module, you’ll learn how to calculate new beginning balances at any time and even recalculate them later, if needed. We’ll show you suggested financial reports to run for the year, talk about the optional 1099 software and answer any questions you may have. See also: Calculate Balances for New Year

Remove Old Data?

We’ll talk about when and how to remove old information such as child schedules, time cards, meals counts, family ledger history, employee time cards, payroll checks, vendor checks, etc. Of course, there is no hurry to purge old data. You can always address that later, as time allows. See also: Maintenance Utility

Be sure to Sign Up for the “Start the Year Right” Webinar and until next time, Happy New Year and cheers!

-Phil

P.S. You may also like to Follow Me on Twitter.

If you have questions or comments about this article (or suggestions for another article) I’d be pleased to hear from you. Drop me a note at phil@procaresoftware.com.

Copyright © Procare Software – All Rights Reserved

For today’s take on comparing apples to oranges, we’re pleased to welcome guest blogger, Steve Suarez, from the Technical Support team at Procare Software®.

Deposit Reports and the Charge Credit Summary

Many people try to tie their Deposit Reports to their Charge Credit Summary reports as a check to see that all funds have been deposited correctly.

Although it’s possible the payment totals could match up on these two reports, often they do not. That’s not an indication that anything is wrong, it’s just that apples (Deposit Reports) don’t necessarily look like oranges (Charge Credit Summaries).

The main problem with this comparison occurs when you receive a daily stream of payments, but do not deposit them via your Deposit Report, until a later date. For example, if you record a payment for $100 on November 30th, and deposit it on December 1st, your reports will have different totals. The Charge Credit Summary for November will include the $100, while your November Deposit Reports will not, since the item was not actually deposited until December.

However, if all payments are consistently deposited on the day of payment, this comparison will usually work. There is one other possible complication, that could be caused by inter period voids.  If you void a November payment and use a December void date, the Charge Credit Summary would reflect the negative “payment” in the total for December charges. Once again, the Charge Credit Summary would not match the Deposit Report for the same period.

In summary, my recommendation is that you shouldn’t expect apples to equal oranges. Deposit Reports should only be used to confirm actual money deposited to your bank account, not compared against other reports.

That’s all folks!

- Steve

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Families are beginning to recognize, that a center which invests in making their business as efficient as possible, has more time to focus on quality programs for their children. Parents also appreciate the secure Check In Solutions (like biometric fingerprint ID) and the convenience of having payments made electronically from their bank or credit card – for centers using Tuition Express.

Get Your Powered by Procare Kit

For Your Window: If you’re already using Procare, just Request Your Free Window Kit to show your pride and let people know your center is indeed “Powered by Procare”. Then send us a picture of the logo in your window and receive a coupon good for a discount on your next purchase or annual update subscription.

For Your Website: Copy & paste the logo code to a page on your website then send us a link to your page. Choose from one of several Procare Web Logos. This also qualifies you for the coupon (limited to one per center).

Procare Demo: If you are not yet part of the Procare family, start by Requesting a Free Demo to learn how Procare can be a smart business decision for you and benefit your families as well.

Procare Window Gallery

With Procare in use at more than 25,000 child care facilities, we’ve received some great photos from centers near and far. So what are you waiting for? Send us a picture of your center to add to the “Powered by Procare” Photo Gallery.

Until next time, cheers!

-Phil

P.S. You may also like to Follow Me on Twitter.

If you have questions or comments about this article (or suggestions for another article) I’d be pleased to hear from you. Drop me a note at phil@procaresoftware.com.

Copyright © Procare Software – All Rights Reserved

What do I need in Procare?

First, you will need to create a Pay Code for this benefit, probably called Unpaid Leave or something similar. Once you’ve created the pay code, you would assign it as a Benefit Code, and make the compensation percentage zero. Each employee has a pay code, such as teacher, with their standard hourly rate but since your new pay code is set to pay out at zero percent you’ll be able to track the hours without adding any dollar amount to the paycheck.

How do I set it up and enter the times?

After creating the pay code simply record the time in the employee’s time card either directly or by using the Planned Time Off section on the Employee Benefits screen. Entering time off as Planned makes it easier to Batch Post this time later on. Normally this type of benefit would not be Earned so the balance would show as a negative amount. However, you could post an Earned amount for the employee at the start of their leave, such as 12 weeks worth of time. That way as the benefit hours are applied the balance would decline accordingly.

Can I see just these hours on reports?

Of course! By setting the employee’s Employment Status to something such as Family Leave you can filter employee reports like the Time Card or Benefit Hours reports so that only employees with a status of Family Leave are included. A good report to see the total leave hours for this particular benefit code is the “Employee Benefit Summary by Benefit Type” report, located under Reports > Standard Reports > Employee Data > Employee Benefit.

Until next time, Happy Motoring!

- Doug

If you have questions or comments about this article (or suggestions for another article) I’d be happy to hear from you. Drop a note to doug@procaresoftware.com.

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What about Using a Paper Sign In/Out Sheet?

That is one option, and if all of your computers are down, it is the best strategy. Of course, you’d need to print a standard Sign In/Out report ahead of time (to have on file in the event you need it) or just use a sheet of lined notebook paper. You’ll also need to manually enter those times later on which ends up being extra work. You can avoid that if the only computer offline is your Check In station while another Procare computer is available. If that’s the case, instead of trying to fix the Check In station’s problem at your busiest time of the day, try using the Receptionist instead. You’ll get everyone checked in/out and you won’t have to manually enter any times later. You can diagnose the Check In computer problems at a more convenient time without the pressures of recording arrival and departure times.

What is the Receptionist?

The Receptionist feature is part of Procare’s Attendance Tracking module and is available through the main screen of Family Data & Accounting, rather than through the Check In screen. It’s intended as an alternate method for checking in.  Times are recorded with the authorized pick up person’s initials and accurate in and out times. You access it by going to Functions > Attendance Tracking > Receptionist.

How Does it Work?

The concept is simple: as parents bring their children to the front desk, a staff person clicks the name of the drop off/pick up person along with the children they are checking in or out, then clicks Post to Time Card. This records the times as if the authorized person performed the action at the checkin station, with the current time. It looks like this:

1. Your staff person identifies and selects the authorized person.
2. Next, they identify the children being checked in or out.
3. They click the Check In or Check Out icon, as appropriate, for each child.
4. Then they click Post to Time Card.

Try it out some time. You’ll be surprised how quick and easy this option is to replace your Check In station, either temporarily or if you don’t have a checkin station at all, routinely!

Until next time, Happy Motoring!

- Doug

If you have questions or comments about this article (or suggestions for another article) I’d be happy to hear from you. Drop a note to doug@procaresoftware.com.

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Sometimes you need to contact people in a hurry, like when you have a power outage, a flood in your school, a big storm is approaching or other event. You want to let everyone know quickly so they can take appropriate action.  If you’re already sending email through Procare Software® it’s easy to now send short texts (up to 140 characters) directly from Procare too. You’ll save time and reach your families, employees and vendors in the quickest way possible. They’ll likely be impressed with your up-to-date communications techniques! Best of all there is no cost to send messages from Procare.

What Do I Need?

Text Messaging is available in Procare version 10.2.4261 or higher and will use your school’s Email Settings to send messages, so you’ll need that configured first. You’ll also need to download Messaging Networks information before you can assign phone numbers and carrier networks in the Text Message button for a person.

For ideas on how you might use email in Procare see the related article Email Families at Your Daycare.

How Do I Send Messages?

You simply record the person’s 10-digit mobile phone number and carrier. To do this go to their Person Information screen by dbl-clicking their name, then click the Text Message button.

Record and Save the phone number and network carrier they use to receive text messages.

Send Individual Messages

You can send an individual message to any person by filling in the message at the bottom of the person’s Text Messaging screen, then click Send.

Send Group Messages

You can send a message to groups of people such as Parents (known as Payers), Employees, or Vendor contacts. For example go to the Functions > Family Data > Bulk Text Messaging.

Any Payers whose phone and carrier have been saved are available to include in the group by just checking the box. Pink lines indicate someone not yet setup to receive text messages:

Have fun using the new Free Text Messaging feature in Procare!

Until next time, Happy Motoring!

-Doug

If you have questions or comments about this article (or suggestions for another article) I’d be happy to hear from you. Drop a note to doug@procaresoftware.com

Copyright © Procare Software – All Rights Reserved

You’ll look very organized and professional when you can hand them (or email them) a nice looking school directory or class roster. You know the drill, the type of report showing the children, parents and basic contact information like email, phone number and maybe a good old fashioned street address. What a great way to help parents coordinate their own play dates and get in touch with other families.

In this article we’ll show you a couple of great ways to make a school directory or class email and phone list using Procare Software®.

Print a Standard School Directory

Procare includes hundreds of pre-built reports including everything from roll call and sign in sheets to financial reports. Among those there are several varieties of school directories from which to choose.

From the main screen of Family Data & Accounting:

1. Go to Reports > Standard Reports > Family Data > Filtered Reports. You’ll find several different “School Directory” reports. Just choose the one you like such as Child: School Directory II.
2. Set the Group By option to say Primary Classroom in order to get each class on a separate page.
3. You’ll also want to use the Filter button to include only children who are currently enrolled (those whose Enrollment Status is set to “Enrolled” As of Today).
4. Also the Report Header is a good place to indicate the school year.

Create Your Own Class Email or Phone List

Another option is to use the built-in Data Viewer to create your own view or list of information that can be easily printed “as is” or exported to as a spreadsheet for use in another program like Excel. This is a perfect for getting basics lists of information like name, email and phone numbers. You can even group the information by classroom.

From the main screen of Family Data & Accounting:

1. Go to Reports > Data Viewer > Child Relationships then click Create.
2. Use the Choose Fields button to include what you’d like such as first and last names, classroom, email, phone, etc. It’s good to choose Relationship Type so later you can include just parents and children.
3. Drag the Primary Classroom header up into the gray area just above the header row so the information is grouped by classroom.
4. Right-click the header Relationship Type and choose Filter Editor to include mom or dad or the children (choose “Is Blank” since a child’s relationship to themselves is indeed blank).
5. Then print the list or export it to another format like Excel, PDF, or CSV.

Happy back-to-school season and until next time, cheers!

-Phil

P.S. You may also like to Follow Me on Twitter.

If you have questions or comments about this article (or suggestions for another article) I’d be pleased to hear from you. Drop me a note at phil@procaresoftware.com.

Copyright © Procare Software – All Rights Reserved

Change Classrooms

Many children may be changing classrooms to start the school year. This could take a while if you had to go child by child to make the change, however, you can quickly adjust classrooms for everyone by moving an entire group of kids from one class to another or making individual changes as needed using the Classroom Graduation tool.

Change Enrollment

For those children who were away for the summer and are returning for fall you’ll want to change their enrollment status from something like “Summer Break” to “Enrolled”. Showing them as “Enrolled” is very important since typically you’ll only want enrolled children on reports like roll call sheets and a child must be enrolled in order to be charged tuition fees when you do automated billing. Use the Batch Enrollment Status tool to quickly change the enrollment of many children at once.

Change Schedules

Although you may change an individual child’s schedule at any time you may want to change many schedules at once for a particular day such as a school in-service day when many children would have an exception to their normal schedule. Of course Procare has another tool for that called Batch Schedule Overrides.

Waiting Lists

You may have a number of children on your waiting list. You can manage waiting lists a couple of ways. One is by assigning children an enrollment status like “Wait List” and using Enrollment Reports. Another is to let parents pre-register online using the Online Wait List, affectionately known as OWL. You may also be interested in OWL Videos.

Annual Registration Fee

If you charge an annual fee for registration – based on the month a child originally enrolled – you’ll want to see this article on Annual Registration Fees.

Annual Tuition

Some centers charge an annual tuition fee and would like a way to set up a family on an annual contract, but allow them to pay it gradually over the year, one month at a time. If that sounds like your center you’ll want to see the article on Annual Tuition Charged Monthly.

Now your tool belt should be well stocked with everything you need to start the school year. Until next time, cheers!

-Phil

P.S. You may also like to Follow Me on Twitter.

If you have questions or comments about this article (or suggestions for another article) I’d be pleased to hear from you. Drop me a note at phil@procaresoftware.com.

Copyright © Procare Software – All Rights Reserved