DaycareMS Family Guide

Welcome! Your daycare provider has chosen DaycareMS to securely manage their business and stay connected with you.

Step 1: Check Your Email

• Your provider will create a profile for you using your email address.
• Wait for them to tell you they have added you to the system.

Step 2: Create Your Account

• Click the "Log in" button in the top right corner of the DaycareMS website.
• Enter the email address your provider used to invite you, and enter a secure password.
• Check your email inbox for a verification link and click it to confirm your identity.
• Note: If you use the exact same email address for a Google or Facebook account, you can use the "Sign in with Google/Facebook" buttons for instantly secure access!

Step 3: Access the Portal

• Once you log in, the system will automatically recognize you as a family member and take you directly to your secure Family Portal.

The Family Portal is your private dashboard where you can see everything related to your child's care.

Dashboard Overview

• Home Tab: Here you can quickly see your current Wallet balance and read any recent Announcements broadcasted by your provider.
• Daily Activity: This area will show you a history of when your child was checked in/out and what meals they ate that day.
• Consents: If your provider requires you to sign any digital forms (like permission to use bug spray or take field trips), they will appear here for you to digitally sign.

DaycareMS uses a "Wallet" system. Instead of manually paying individual invoices every single week, you simply load money into your Family Wallet, and the system automatically deducts your weekly tuition from it!

How to Top Up Your Wallet

• Navigate to the "Financial" tab in your Family Portal.
• You will see your current Wallet Balance. If it is negative (red), it means your tuition invoices have drafted more money than you have in your wallet, and you are overdue!
• Click the "Top Up Wallet" button.
• Enter the dollar amount you want to add (for example, you might add enough to cover an entire month of care to save time).
• You will be securely redirected to Stripe, the industry-standard bank processor, where you can enter your credit card or bank account information.
• Once paid, your wallet balance updates instantly! The payment will be automatically logged under your name in the payment history, where you can also see any comments left by your provider on manual payments.

Viewing Reports & Payment History

• On the Financial tab, you will see a detailed ledger of all invoices and payments.
• If your family has multiple people making payments, you can use the dropdown filter to view "All Family Payments" or just "Only My Payments".
• You can also click "View Reports & Statements" to generate official account statements for tax purposes (like Dependent Care FSA receipts), or download complete attendance and meal logs!

Note: Your provider may pass on a standard 3% Digital Payment Fee to cover the cost of secure credit card processing. This will be added automatically to your total if they have it enabled.

You can securely message your daycare provider directly through the app without needing to text their personal phone number.

• Go to the "Comms" (Communications) tab in your Family Portal.
• You will see a chat window connected directly to your provider.
• Type your message and hit send! This is perfect for letting them know you are running 5 minutes late or asking how your child's day is going.