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Sandbox 11:10 AM 11-25-2010
Hi All,

We're thinking about developing a software program for daycare organizations and we could use your advice. There's a lot of software programs in every market that are hard to use, or don't do what the user needs and we're going to avoid that scenario.

If anyone has ideas that they'd like to share, or things they think a program could help them with tell us. We want to build the best product to help you manage your center, and we want to do it right.

Thank you daycare.com for a providing a great place for us all to connect!

Some ideas:
Track attendance
Record family info
Record child info
immunization reminders
Enroll children
Manage enrollment rates and capacity

Jeff Morris
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kidkair 04:42 AM 11-26-2010
Track meals
And runs on a Mac with no Crossover type programming!
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Rachel 05:14 AM 11-26-2010
Track expenses
Meal planning software / recipes / nutritional values for foods
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MN Mom 08:05 AM 11-26-2010
Sandbox,

What kind of platform are you planning on useing for the program? Standalone Application or one that is "in the cloud" so to speak? I think it would be neat if you could offer both, honestly, or at least the option of synching info to an online application, so data loss isn't an issue if someones computer is stolen, lost, or has to be reformatted.

Also, I'm curious as to what type of UI you are thinking of. UI plays an enormous role in useability..but I'm sure you are aware of that

Sorry for all the questions, I'm a computer "nerd" in training and am very much interested in how the development process works.
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Sandbox 12:10 PM 11-26-2010
Yes, the program will be a cloud application and this means it runs on a browser, (including safari, YES it's Mac compatible).

There will be no need to do back ups, or install any software on your computer as everything is accessed through the web.

Meal planning is interesting, why track whether or not the child had breakfast for example? Does the family pay more?

UI is interesting, maybe a whole other conversation the trick is to only build features that are needed and to be very critical about what gets added. To many features = complicated, we have to nail down what the real problems are and not try to solve everything.

What does the typical center currently use to track things? We keep hearing Excel and Word?
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Abigail 08:05 PM 11-26-2010
Word is just convenient, we already use it for our handbooks and notes, lol.

Track meals because it's just a nice record to have. Some parents want to know what their child ate and how much: none, tried some, ate half, ate most, ate all. It's not necessary, but it's nice to have. If someone uses a food program it will already be noted.

Something nice to have would be personalized records for infants napping schedules, food consumed including how much and at what times, and diaper changes. I like to put these on paper, but some parents don't read it and it becomes a waste of printed paper. I just love record keeping though.
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Rachel 07:23 AM 11-27-2010
Yes, what Abigail said.

Also for the organization I'm working for next year, I have to print out menus. It would be neat to have something with costs, etc. so I know what meals are more expensive, what are cheaper, etc.

What would be really neat since it's online is if each parent could log in to their child's account and view what he ate, maybe some pictures, when he napped, etc. As Abigail says, saves paper waste.
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missnikki 06:42 AM 11-29-2010
How about an automated parent log in/out, like with a code? The program I use now is connected to a touchscreen with an ID number for each parent, but it can be just a keyboard too. That is one of my favorite things about its attendance tracking that I use daily (or that I don't have to bother with daily on paper is more like it)
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Unregistered 12:40 PM 11-29-2010
You've all alluded some some kind of parent portal. We wondered about some kind of system that let's parents know the progress of the children. If this information is already being recorded manually, you could very easily record it online and give them access through a portal.

We do intend on giving the ability to track attendance. The screen would be simply to use so there's no reason why a parent couldn't log the children in with a code.

How about the ability to track tasks, and appointments? you would have a home screen with a calendar and it would give you a to do list everyday. Once you finished a task you could cross it off the list.
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Daycare_Mama 06:23 PM 11-29-2010
Meal tracking would be good for food program purposes. If a provider is on a food program, they get reimbursed for meals and snacks, but you have to record which children ate what meals on what day, so that would be helpful to have in the same place as everything else.
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Sandbox 07:48 AM 12-01-2010
So tracking food would make sense for both the parents information, and to get the reimbursement.

Does anyone keep a journal for each child?

You're all so helpful, this feedback is great.
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Tags:daycare management, software
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