Automation

Business Process Automation for Childcare

Childcare businesses deal with managing enrolments and waitlists. Business Process Automation fixes that. We build custom automation solutions for childcare professionals - fixed-price quotes, no hourly billing. We take the processes your team does by hand - enquiries, quoting, invoicing, reporting, data entry between systems - and make them run themselves. Built for teams of 2 to 200, owned by you, with no ongoing retainer required.

30%

of hours worked globally could be automated with current technology

McKinsey Global Institute

41%

of Australian childcare centres lose potential enrolments due to poor waitlist management

Deloitte 2024

Childcare centres spend too much time on waitlists, enrolment forms, and parent communication. Software handles all three, so staff can focus on the kids.

Callum Holt, Founder, 13Labs

Last updated: 2026-03-19

Childcare Challenges That Automation Solves

Childcare centres, family day care, and early learning providers. These are the specific problems we see childcare businesses bring to us:

1. Managing enrolments and waitlists. Our approach: no mandatory retainer - own it, or have us train your team to run it. This directly addresses the way childcare professionals actually work.

2. Tracking attendance and sign-in/out. Our approach: everything runs under your accounts with full documentation. This directly addresses the way childcare professionals actually work.

3. Communicating daily updates to parents. Our approach: built for SMB teams of 2 to 200, not enterprise RPA budgets. This directly addresses the way childcare professionals actually work.

4. Meeting compliance and ratio requirements. Our approach: no mandatory retainer - own it, or have us train your team to run it. This directly addresses the way childcare professionals actually work.

Business Process Automation Solutions for Childcare

Based on the challenges above, here are the applications we recommend for childcare businesses:

Student Management System: Enrolment and waitlist management. Learn how to build a student management system.

Customer Portal: Daily updates, photos, and communication. Learn how to build a customer portal.

Attendance Tracker: Digital sign-in and ratio monitoring. Learn how to build a attendance tracker.

Each of these can be customised to your specific childcare workflows. We scope the exact features you need during a free consultation.

What Childcare Businesses Can Expect

We measure success by real business outcomes, not feature lists. For childcare businesses, the key metrics are:

Occupancy rate: We set up tracking from day one so you can see the impact in real numbers.

Parent satisfaction: We set up tracking from day one so you can see the impact in real numbers.

Compliance audit results: We set up tracking from day one so you can see the impact in real numbers.

Tech adoption in childcare is at the medium level. About half of childcare businesses now use some form of digital tools. But most are using off-the-shelf products that only partially fit. Custom software built around your actual workflows is the next step.

Typical investment: $1000-2500. Most childcare clients see measurable ROI within the first month.

How We Work with Childcare Clients

Discovery. You tell us about your childcare business: what is working, what is not, and what you wish you had. We ask about your current tools, team size, and daily workflows.

Scoping and quote. We define exactly what we will build and send you a fixed-price quote. No hourly rates. For childcare projects, this usually falls within $1000-2500.

Build. We build your solution, typically within 2-4 weeks. You talk directly to our founder and lead engineer. No project managers or middlemen.

Launch and handover. We deploy, walk your team through everything, and provide ongoing support. You own all the code and data.

Childcare in Melbourne

High demand for childcare across Melbourne with many centres in family suburbs and growth corridors

We have worked with childcare businesses across Melbourne's inner suburbs, outer suburbs, and regional Victoria. Whether you are based in the CBD, Fitzroy, or Geelong, we can meet in person or work remotely.

At a Glance

ChallengeSolutionExpected Outcome
Managing enrolments and waitlistsStudent Management System: Enrolment and waitlist managementOccupancy rate
Tracking attendance and sign-in/outCustomer Portal: Daily updates, photos, and communicationParent satisfaction
Communicating daily updates to parentsAttendance Tracker: Digital sign-in and ratio monitoringCompliance audit results
Meeting compliance and ratio requirementsStudent Management System: Enrolment and waitlist managementOccupancy rate

Frequently Asked Questions

Will there be downtime when rolling out Automation in my Childcare business?

No. We plan rollouts carefully to avoid disrupting your Childcare operations. New systems run alongside existing ones during the transition, so there is no downtime for your team or customers.

Can I access Automation on my phone for my Childcare business?

Yes. We build responsive web applications that work on phones, tablets, and desktops. You and your Childcare team can access everything from any device with an internet connection.

I already use other software for my Childcare business. Can Automation work alongside it?

Yes. We regularly build solutions that complement existing tools. If you need Automation to connect with your current systems, we can build integrations so everything works together without duplicating effort.

Is my Childcare business data safe with Automation?

Absolutely. We use encrypted databases, secure authentication, and follow best practices for data protection. Your Childcare data is stored securely and backed up regularly. We take this seriously.

Will my Childcare staff need training to use Automation?

We build things to be intuitive, so most staff pick it up quickly. We also provide a walkthrough and documentation to make onboarding easy. The goal is software your team actually wants to use.

Will automation work with our existing software?

Almost certainly. We build on platforms with hundreds of native integrations covering the common Australian business stack - Xero, MYOB, HubSpot, Shopify, Google Workspace, ServiceM8, simPRO and more - plus API connections for anything else. We connect your existing tools rather than replacing them.

How much does business process automation cost?

It depends on how many workflows you automate and how many systems they touch. We scope the highest-value processes first and quote a fixed price before any work begins - no hourly billing and no mandatory ongoing retainer. Most clients start with one or two workflows and expand once the first ones prove themselves.

Get Business Process Automation for Your Childcare Business

Talk to us about building custom automation solutions for your childcare business. Free consultation, fixed pricing, delivered in 2-4 weeks.

Explore buildAutomation