How An Electronic Billing Program For Preschool Improves Education

Using technology to make life easier is a day-to-day experience we are coming to rely on. We use smart tech to make shopping, travel, and managing our personal finances fast and simple. Over time, these small conveniences add up to an overall better quality of life. The same is true of using a management application for childhood education and other community programs. From better emergency management to built-in marketing angles, a billing program for preschool is the most powerful tool available to community educators today. Consider all of these ways smart tech enables good communication and creates the best possible environment for quality childcare.

Efficiency
Time is money, and using smart tech to streamline your clerical procedures just makes sense. Using a web-based portal for scheduling, billing, and important messages is convenient for staff and parents alike.

• Self-service reduces labor costs for customer service
• User-friendly menus let staff focus on the kids
• Eliminating data entry saves time and reduces opportunities for clerical error
• Analytics inform scheduling decisions with real data

Safety

A child’s wellbeing is non-negotiable to parents. For ethical, legal, and professional reasons, a child's safety must be given the utmost priority. Parents will choose the preschool that gives them the most peace of mind. With a single databank that makes every student’s info searchable, any staff member can access important notes:

• Allergies (food or environmental)
• Prescription medication information
• Emergency contacts
• Guardians authorized for pickups

Communication

Kids cannot benefit from programs if parents aren’t aware of what’s available at your preschool. Leverage the capabilities of your billing program for preschool to do double duty as a marketing tool. When new programs are publicized to the parents’ dashboard, the self-service portal doubles as a dynamic course calendar. You can also help busy parents find the right courses by offering searchable program listings. For example, if your facility offers adult enrichment, parents may find courses for themselves by happenstance.

The capability to send SMS messages gives you a leg up in responding to emergencies or notifications that are too urgent for email. Text messaging is convenient and the preferred contact method for more and more parents. When your billing program for preschool has fully-integrated features, you can message any user or group of users with a cell number right from your desktop in a few simple clicks. The best systems allow you to easily customize the “from” field for a particular campus or a specific department as needed.

In a medical emergency, parents will view a text sooner than they can listen to a voicemail, helping them to respond faster. There are lots of occasions when it would be easier to text than call out to groups of parents or class instructors. Send direct SMS updates for:

• Emergency cancelations
• Late busses
• Facilities emergencies (plumbing break, power outage)
• Other urgent messages

Consistent staff

Childcare experts agree kids do well with an established routine. But, bear in mind that adults appreciate consistency, too. Parents prefer familiar faces over new hires, so it’s good business to retain employees. A chaos-free environment makes for a better place to work, and studies show happy employees are 12% more productive. Removing the stress from operating your preschool and by reducing turnover has many benefits:

• Build more rapport between parents and staff
• Reduce cost of recruiting
• Decrease down-time during new hire training

Imagine how much more you can do for your students using today’s best technology. From greater enrollment to faster emergency response, any one of these benefits is reason enough to adopt a new billing program for preschool.