Why do 55% of childcare providers we surveyed in our National Childcare Survey use nursery management software? Quite simply, because they know time is precious.
Using management software, settings can cut down on the time it takes to carry out routine tasks like invoicing, administration and staff rota management. This allows them to refocus their attention and efforts into providing great childcare, rather than getting bogged down in paperwork.
One of our customers, chain nursery Banana Moon, has found that using Abacus software has cut down the planning and preparation work in their nurseries by an incredible 50%.
So, what benefits can nursery management software bring to your setting?
1. You can save time on your invoicing
Many of our customers say they save 5 days a month on invoicing, when they move from a paper-based system to Abacus software. That’s 3 working months a year more to spend on the things that matter, like providing a nurturing environment to children.
2. You can put your staff to maximum use
Our customers enjoy the fact that they can easily organise staff rotas by sessions and rooms each day, with the option to repeat the shift pattern where desired. Abacus will also give you reminders for things like staff appraisals, holidays or birthdays approaching, as well as any pending or completed qualifications achieved by your staff.
3. You can instantly evaluate your setting’s performance
With 2 in 5 childcare providers not expecting to make a profit this year according to our National Childcare Survey, having a detailed insight into your nursery’s performance can help set you apart from other settings. Abacus allows you to run over 70 different reports to make sure nothing gets overlooked. Whether it’s unpaid invoices, free entitlement allocation, enquiry conversions or occupancy, you’ll always be on top of things.
4. You can track sessions in more detail
With Abacus, you’ll instantly be able to see how many spaces are available for each room week by week, based on attendances booked and room movements selected. Abacus can then predict room movements, based on how you want each child to move through your setting. This gives you a clear insight into whether booking a child into a session would cause an excessive capacity.
5. You can keep children’s personal data secure
With so much sensitive data about children and their families in your possession, you need make sure it’s all held safely and cannot be lost. With Abacus, you can safeguard personal data 24/7. You can even lock down parts of the system so that only certain members of staff can access it. All this makes Abacus much more secure than a paper-based record system!
Although embracing change is scary, there are many positive benefits you can bring to your setting by using nursery management software. There’s no time like the present, so change how you run your childcare business for the better!