A director's checklist for switching child care software

Switching systems feels big, but most of the work is gathering the right information and picking a sensible date. Here is a simple checklist you can work through over a few weeks.

1. Gather your data

• Families and children: names, birthdates, guardians, contact details, authorized pickups and classroom assignments.
• Billing: each family's current balance, rates, discounts, recurring charges and any payment plans.
• Subsidy and agency details: which families have an agency paying part of tuition, and how much each side pays.
• Staff: roster, roles, certifications and their expiry dates, and training hours.
• Health records: immunizations, allergies and medical notes, handled carefully.
• Reports you rely on: list the reports you actually use each month, so you can check they exist in the new system.

2. Pick your go-live date

The start of a billing cycle is usually the cleanest moment. It keeps one month's charges and payments in one place, and opening balances are easy to confirm.

3. Check everything side by side

Before you go live, compare a handful of families' balances, a few classroom rosters and your staff list in both systems. Fix any differences before families see anything.

4. Tell families early

• Send a short note two to three weeks ahead explaining what's changing and why.
• Tell them what they need to do (download the app, set up autopay) and by when.
• Offer help at drop-off and pickup for families who'd rather set it up in person.

5. Train your team by role

Teachers, front desk and directors use different parts of the system. Short, role-based sessions work better than one long training for everyone.

6. Keep the old system read-only for a while

Don't cancel your old system the day you go live. Keep access long enough to look up history and pull year-end information you might need.

Thinking about switching to Orbit? See how onboarding and switching work.