With the New Year approaching, it’s important to take time to evaluate, audit, and improve operations at your center. Whether it’s engaging with parents or organizing documents, there are different tools you can utilize to have a smooth transition into 2021. Investing in a CCMS like Kangarootime gives you access to a wide range of features that can make this process easier and help prepare your childcare center for the new year. In this post, we’ll outline some ways to prep your center along with some ways you can use a CCMS to increase efficiency and get your center ready for what lies ahead.
1. Organize Your Documents
Now is the perfect time to audit and organize the important documents your center needs to keep track of. Whether that’s allergy information, immunization records, handbook agreements, or enrollment packets, it’s important to make sure these documents are accurate and up to date. You can manually audit these documents to see what needs to be updated or filled out and pass the appropriate forms along to parents. If you have childcare management software at your center, you should have the ability to store and track these documents within the system. With Kangarootime, you can use our Document Manager to audit these important documents and send reminders to your parents if there are any updates that need to be made.
2. Prepare Tax Statements
With the upcoming new year, it’s hard to believe that tax season is almost upon us. To help your families prepare, make sure they can locate their tuition statements. These statements should outline their expenses relating to your center and whether they’re tuition or non-tuition related. To make it easier for them, you can print out these itemized reports and distribute them. If you use a software program, save yourself time by automatically sending these reports to parents or making sure they know where they can locate them themselves. In Kangarootime’s software, parents can access these statements by logging into their account and clicking Billing then Statement. Here they can see a Summary PDF of the charges from your center, making this process easy and seamless.
3. Update and Audit Your Billing Processes
Now is the perfect time to refresh your billing cycles. Look through your data to make sure each family and child is set up on the correct plan and is being charged the right amount. Now is also the time to add any additional charges that may have been overlooked throughout the year whether that’s for extracurricular activities, after-school programs, special events, etc. Chances are your CCMS comes equipped with billing and invoicing capabilities. You can complete this process right within your software to make sure your billing process is ready for 2021. If you need additional help to do a thorough audit, consider reaching out to support if you run into any issues or need a refresher. Going into the new year with accurate billing information will make for a smooth and easy transition.
4. Partake in Trainings
Before the new year begins, take some time to catch up on training hours. These trainings can easily be done online during any downtime you might have. Getting ahead on licensing requirements will make the upcoming year less stressful and ensure you can keep operating as normal at your center. Kangarootime frequently offers webinars by childcare professionals to provide insight into various topics. If you’re looking to learn more about childcare financials, marketing, center development, and more, subscribe to our mailing list to be notified of upcoming webinars. To catch up on previous webinars, visit our YouTube channel here.
5. Improve Marketing Techniques
Before the new year, reevaluate and improve upon your marketing techniques. One way this can be done by connecting to your parents and families which will increase the likelihood of word-of-mouth marketing and positive reviews. You could also consider using this time to offer a New Year promotion or discount as an incentive for new customers. For more tips and tricks on improving your center’s marketing before the new year, check out this blog post.
6. Deep Clean Your Center
Deep cleaning your center before the new year will help ensure your staff and families stay safe by entering a clean environment. Take some time to make sure all spaces, toys, electronics, etc. are sanitized and ready to go. For more tips and insight into preparing for and preventing a coronavirus outbreak at your center, click here. For best practices on cleaning your childcare center, see this infographic from the Cleaning Institute.
We hope you have a happy and safe holiday season and are ready to take on the new year!
Kangarootime is the leading all-in-one childcare management software for daycares and preschools. With billing and invoicing capabilities, parent communication and staff management tools and classroom automation, Kangarootime helps childcare centers grow and scale. To learn more about optimizing your center with Kangarootime, visit kangarootime.com.
