You are right Too Many Kitties, great background info for anyone considering them.
I decided it was not a fit for me but did some research: talking to Brightwheel and some of the providers signed up with them and wanted to share my over all thoughts here for those who may search this in the future.
Brightwheel provides you:
- guidance (hand holding) in getting your home licensed in CA & NY with plans to expand to other states soon
- guidance setting hours / rates / policies / marketing, etc.
- a webpage on their site
- payment processing for credit card payments with plans to add ACH payments soon
- detailed shopping list and discounts
- program insurance
You provide Brightwheel
- 10% of all earnings off the top for 2 years
- You agree (it appears) to not have your own website, etc.
From the two providers I spoke with they felt they still needed to do a great deal of marketing so Brightwheels marketing efforts in their eyes were minimal
IMHO it is easy enough to DIY but for someone just starting out and not concerned about giving up 10% it could be worth it.