Brightwheel review

Brightwheel ranks first because it covers the full working day of a center in one app that staff and families already know. Billing handles invoices, deposits, autopay, tuition plans, subsidy management and tax reporting, and families pay online. Attendance covers check-in and out with digital signatures, student schedules and ratio tracking, and the operations side adds custom forms, document uploads, menu and CACFP tracking and licensing reports. Teachers get lesson plans, observations, assessments and state standards, and directors can run staff scheduling, time tracking and payroll on the same platform. Admissions tools manage waitlists, tours and online enrollment forms, though Brightwheel listed its CRM and Enrollment Forecasting module as coming soon when we checked. Support includes personalized onboarding, a dedicated account specialist and live chat. The main drawback is cost transparency: Brightwheel publishes no prices and asks for enrollment capacity and number of locations before it quotes, so you cannot compare it with per-child vendors until you talk to sales.

Who it is for

Single-site and small multi-site centers and preschools that want every daily task in one easy app.

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Invoicing, deposits, autopay, tuition plans, subsidy management and tax reporting
• Student check-in and out, digital signatures, ratio tracking and attendance reports
• Parent and staff messaging, photo and video sharing, newsletters and school calendars
• Lesson plans, observations, assessments and state standards
• Staff scheduling, time tracking, payroll and development hours

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: More than 100 listed features in one platform
• Strength: Personalized onboarding, a dedicated account specialist and live chat support
• Strength: Menu planning and CACFP tracking for food program centers
• Weakness: No published prices; pricing is custom after a seven-step form
• Weakness: CRM and Enrollment Forecasting was still listed as coming soon
• Weakness: Hard to compare costs against per-child vendors without a quote

Key facts

• Pricing: Custom, based on enrollment capacity and number of locations
• Reviews cited by vendor: 160,000+ across app stores and Capterra
• Payroll: Yes, with staff scheduling and time tracking
• Food program: Menu and CACFP tracking

Where it ranks

Brightwheel is No. 1 in our Best Childcare Management Software verdict.