Our session setup, developed in collaboration with numerous clubs and schools, offers one of the most flexible childcare booking systems on the market. The system allows for customization and efficient organization of sessions, tailored to the needs of clubs, schools, and parents. Key features include detailed location and club management, meaningful session descriptions, and a robust course feature that links specific days together, ensuring seamless booking for recurring sessions. Additionally, parents can reserve spaces, with charges applied only upon sign-out.
The system provides precise control over session timings, including start and finish times, with an option to hide times from the booking form. Cut-off times help prevent last-minute bookings, ensuring staff schedules are managed effectively. Capacity restrictions, including simultaneous session capacities, allow overlapping sessions to share limits, enhancing operational flexibility.
Rates and discounts are fully customizable. Standard rates can be adjusted for sibling or staff discounts, and weekly discounts can be enabled through system settings. On-the-day rates integrate with electronic registers, automatically charging parents for same-day additions. Early booking discounts can also be applied to encourage advance reservations.
The Pick-up & Drop-off (PU/DO) feature enables parents to select pick-up and drop-off times within a session, guided by a pricing matrix that calculates costs based on duration. Restrictions and exclusions provide further flexibility in tailoring sessions to specific needs.
Lastly, the waitlist feature allows parents to join a queue for full sessions, replacing the “Full” badge with an “Add to Waitlist” option. This ensures no opportunities are missed while maintaining streamlined booking management. These features make the system an efficient and adaptable tool for childcare providers.
Creating / Editing Childcare Sessions
Details
Location
The Location Table is created in Set-up >> Location. Locations can have their own managers, disable WiFi to allow print-only registers, and be set as default locations for specific schools.
Club
Under Set-up >> Clubs, you can create categories like “Out of School Club” or “Holiday Club” to help organize your sessions effectively.
Description
Provide meaningful descriptions to assist parents in understanding the sessions.
Course
This feature links all specified days together. For instance, if a session runs every Monday throughout a month, parents must book all related sessions.
Reservations
If enabled, parents can reserve a spot. Charges will only apply once the child is signed out.
Start and Finish Times
Here, you can define the exact start and end times of a session. The Hide Times option is enabled by default to conceal session times from the booking form.
Cut-off Times
Manage the cut-off day/time for parents to make bookings. This helps you efficiently organize staff numbers and avoid last-minute bookings.
Capacity Restrictions
Capacity
Set the maximum number of children your club can accommodate.
Simultaneous Session Capacities
This powerful feature allows overlapping sessions within the same club and location to share a single capacity limit. For example:
- Breakfast Club 1: 07:30–08:40
- Breakfast Club 2: 08:00–08:40
Both sessions would share the same capacity.
Enforce Bubble
This feature was introduced for Covid-19 safety measures.
Rates (Pricing & Discounts)
Set the standard session rates and apply discounts like sibling or staff discounts. These discounts must be monetary amounts, not percentages.
- Weekly Discount: Enabled in system settings. Click here for more information.
- On-the-Day Rate: Works with the electronic register. If a child is added on the day, the fee is automatically added to the parent’s account. If an “On-the-Day Rate” is set, this rate will override the standard rate.
Early Booking / Early Bird Discounts
Enable early booking discounts to encourage parents to book in advance. Click here for more details on discount options.
Pick-up & Drop-off (PU/DO)
By enabling Pick-up & Drop-off (PU/DO), you activate the pricing matrix. This feature allows parents to specify a pick-up/drop-off time. For example:
- If the minimum session time is set to 60 minutes and your session runs from 09:00 to 17:00, parents can select a pick-up and drop-off time within this window as long as it exceeds 60 minutes.
- The pricing matrix lets you set pricing based on hourly increments.
Restrictions & Exclusions
Define any restrictions or exclusions for your sessions, providing flexibility for special cases.
Waitlist
If enabled in system settings, full sessions will display an Add to Waitlist option instead of showing “Full.” This allows parents to add their child to the waitlist for review.
