DaycareMS Provider Guide

Welcome to DaycareMS! Let's get your business profile set up so you can start managing your daycare.

Step 1: Create Your Account

• Click the "Sign up" button in the top right corner of the website.
• Enter your email address and choose a secure password.
• Check your email inbox for a verification link from DaycareMS and click it to confirm your email.

Step 2: Set Up Your Business Profile

• Once logged in, you will be prompted to create your business.
• Enter your official Business Name, address, and any required tax IDs (like an EIN) if you have them.
• You will then be taken to your main Dashboard!

To start tracking attendance and billing, you need to add the families and children you care for into the system.

Step 1: Add a New Family

• On your Dashboard, click on the "Families" tab on the left-side menu.
• Click the "+ Add Family" button.
• Enter the primary contact's name and email address.
• Tip: Make sure the email is correct! This is what they will use to log into their Family Portal later.

Step 2: Add Children to the Family

• After creating the family, click on their name to open their profile.
• Click "+ Add Child".
• Enter the child's name, date of birth, and any important medical or allergy notes.
• Set their Standard Weekly Rate (how much you charge per week for this child) and their Drop-In Hourly Rate (if applicable).
• Save the child profile. You can repeat this for siblings!

DaycareMS makes tracking daily attendance and food program (CACFP) meals incredibly easy.

Logging Attendance

• Navigate to the "Attendance" tab.
• You will see a list of all active children.
• When a child arrives, click "Check In". You can optionally log their temperature.
• When a child leaves, click "Check Out".
• If a child is just visiting for the day and not on a weekly schedule, you can mark them as a "Drop-In" to bill them hourly!

Logging Meals (CACFP Compliance)

• Navigate to the "Meals" tab.
• The system will automatically list the children who were checked in that day.
• Simply check the boxes for the meals they ate (Breakfast, AM Snack, Lunch, PM Snack, Dinner).
• To save time, you can click "Auto-fill Week" or "Auto-fill Month" to instantly populate meal records for children who are regularly scheduled!

Generating CACFP Reports

• Navigate to the "Reports" tab and select the "CACFP Meals" view.
• You can toggle between a detailed "By Child" view or a summarized "Total Meals" view.
• If you ever miss logging meals during the month, you can use the Overrides column on the "Total Meals" view to manually add meals to your final PDF report without modifying past database records.

DaycareMS includes a powerful automated billing engine. Families have a digital "Wallet" that they load money into, and the system drafts tuition from that wallet automatically.

How Invoicing Works

• You do not need to manually create weekly invoices! Based on the Standard Weekly Rate you set on each child's profile, the system will automatically generate invoices every week.
• If a family's wallet doesn't have enough funds to cover the invoice, their balance goes negative, and they are marked as "Overdue".

Setting Up Online Payments (Stripe)

• Go to the "Settings" tab, and click on "Billing & Integrations".
• Click the button to connect with Stripe. Stripe is the secure bank processor we use.
• Follow the on-screen steps to verify your identity and link your real-world bank account so you can receive payouts.
• Once connected, families can use credit cards or bank transfers to top up their wallets directly from their Family Portal!

Logging & Managing Manual Payments

• If a family pays you with cash, check, or outside platforms (like Venmo), you can manually log the payment to update their wallet balance.
• Go to the family's profile and click the green "+ Pay" button next to the Financial Ledger.
• Enter the payment date, amount, method, and select which contact made the payment. You can also leave an optional comment for the family to see.
• If you ever need to fix a mistake, you can use the Edit or Delete buttons next to the payment on the ledger. This will automatically adjust their wallet balance to reflect the changes.

Payment Reports & Statements

• Navigate to the "Reports" tab and select "Family Records".
• You can generate a full financial ledger statement for any family over any custom date range.
• If a family has multiple contacts (e.g. Mom and Dad both pay separately), you can filter the ledger to show only payments made by a specific contact, or view the family as a whole!

Keep in touch with the families you care for without having to give out your personal cell phone number.

Sending Broadcasts (Announcements)

• Go to the "Comms" (Communications) tab.
• At the top, you will see a Megaphone icon for "Broadcasts".
• Type a message (like "Daycare will be closed on Friday for the holiday!") and click Send. This message will instantly appear on the dashboard of every family connected to your daycare.

Direct Messaging

• Also in the "Comms" tab, you can select an individual family from your contact list.
• This opens a private, secure chat room just between you and that family.
• You can send updates, photos, or answer questions directly. Families can reply from their own Family Portal!