Where a daycare's week goes
Most childcare centers don't lose time on care. They lose it on the paperwork around the first visit. A parent calls during drop-off. Another emails late at night. A third fills out a paper form at the front desk. Each one ends up typed into the enrollment system by hand, usually by the director.
- The same parent questions, answered one at a time: hours, age groups, meals, pickup rules.
- Tour requests spread across the phone, the inbox and social messages.
- Enrollment details copied from a form into the platform you already run.
- A waitlist kept in a notebook or a spreadsheet only one person understands.
- Families who toured and then went quiet, with no record of who to call back.
How we'd set it up for a daycare
We'd usually start by mapping how a family moves today, from first question to first day. Then we connect the steps in order, using the tools you already have.
- The website answers first. One page per age group or program, with your hours, location and what a day looks like. The questions parents always ask go on the page, so fewer of them reach the phone.
- Tour requests. A short form on the site. The request reaches the right person by email, and the family gets a confirmation. A reminder before the tour goes by email, or by text only if the parent opts in.
- The enrollment form. If your center already uses an enrollment or childcare management platform, the website form feeds it directly. Your staff reviews the entry there instead of re-typing it.
- The waitlist. When a room is full, families can join a waitlist from the site. Each entry keeps the child's age group and the start date the family wants, so the list can be sorted when a spot opens.
- Parent follow-up. When a spot opens, your director picks the family. We can have a draft email ready for that family, and nothing is sent until a person approves it.
What we built for The Children's Club
The Children's Club is a daycare in Yonkers, NY. We built its website so parents can find the daycare, read what matters to them, and start enrollment in one place. The enrollment form on the site goes straight into the enrollment platform the daycare already uses, so it arrives ready to review, with no re-typing. We also set up business email on the daycare's own domain. See the build →
This build was small: a website, one connected form, and email. The center kept the system it already ran.
What we don't do
- We don't replace your enrollment platform by default. We connect to it when it allows that, and tell you plainly when it doesn't.
- We don't decide admissions or waitlist order. Who gets a spot stays with your director.
- We don't give licensing or compliance advice, and we don't text parents without their consent.
Related
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Book a free 30-minute review →Daycare questions
Can our website enrollment form go straight into the enrollment software we already use?
Often, yes. For The Children's Club in Yonkers, the website's enrollment form goes straight into the enrollment platform the daycare already runs. We check what your platform accepts before agreeing to anything, and we tell you plainly if it can't be connected.
Can parents request a tour online?
Yes. A tour request form on your website can reach the right staff member by email and send the family a confirmation. Reminders go by email, and by text only to parents who opt in.
How would a daycare waitlist work?
Families join from your website, and each entry keeps the child's age group and the start date they want. When a spot opens, your director chooses the family. We don't automate who gets a spot.
Will you text parents?
Only parents who opt in. Email and text are separate choices on the form. Parents who don't opt in still get their confirmations by email.
Do you set up email on our own domain?
Yes. For The Children's Club we set up business email on the daycare's own domain, so staff write from the center's name instead of a personal address.