Owning your own childcare center can be a dream come true. Getting to provide outstanding care for children is your mission. And yet sometimes, it can feel like finances get in the way of that.
The pressure to make a living, pay your teachers and constantly think 5-10 years down the road about how your center will not only survive but thrive can be a heavy burden.
There are things you can do to ensure the health of your finances and free yourself from the burden of constant worry about your success. Here’s a look at how to check the health of your finances through your accounting software for daycare.
Complete a Budget Performance Review
If your childcare center has a firm budget, review the past year’s actual spend with what you budgeted. In the case where you don’t yet have a childcare budget, it’s certainly time for one. Look at your supply costs and see if they’re constantly fluctuating. Can you normalize those costs so that your arts and crafts or food isn’t causing you financial hardships?
Take a look at your teachers compared with how many students you have enrolled. If you aren’t maximizing your teacher-to-child ratio, you aren’t maximizing your budget. You need to either find a way to reduce your staff costs or increase your enrollment to improve your bottom line.
If you’re paying for multiple pieces of software to run your business, consider consolidating your services. Childcare management software can do it all to save on costs. iCare Software can handle your finances, enrollment, parent communication and more.
Adopt Accounting Software for Daycare
Keeping your finances in check and having strong reporting is too difficult with spreadsheets and paper records. Digitize your records with finance management using daycare software. Software can capture all your money in and out without you having to even log it.
The simpler you can make your finance management, the more likely you’ll be to run reports and learn more about what’s driving your success and where you have room for improvement.
In addition to helping you manage your finances, iCare Software can help you manage your classroom.
See How You Compare in the Market
If you can, acquire benchmarks for others in your area. When your tuition is significantly higher or lower than centers in your area, it can impact enrollment. Or if your teachers’ salaries are extremely different than others in your area, you might find it hard to be successful.
Visit networking events and learn from others how you can lower your expenses while still being competitive and providing outstanding care for your students.
If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution to your finance and childcare software needs, contact iCare Software. We help you raise amazing children while managing a successful business.