Let’s Get Started: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Open the Dashboard Overview

1. Sign in to your daycare management platform as usual.

2. Go to the Dashboard area.

3. In the dashboard menu, click Overview to open the main dashboard screen.

On this screen, you will see different views and widgets that give you quick snapshots of what is happening in your center or organization.

Step 2: Choose Center or Organization View

1. At the top of the overview, look for the options to switch between:

   • Center (sometimes called “Center overview”)

   • Organization (sometimes called “Organization overview”)

2. Click Center if you want to see information for a specific center only.

3. Click Organization if you want a combined view of all centers you have access to.

Notes about access:

• Only organization administrators and center administrators who have access to multiple centers can use the Organization view.

• Center administrators with multiple center access will see a consolidated view of only the centers they personally have access to.

Step 3: Customize Which Widgets You See

1. At the top of the dashboard overview, look for the Customize toggle or button.

2. Click Customize to open the customization options.

   

3. You will see a list of widgets (small information panels) that can appear on your dashboard.

4. Check the boxes for the widgets you want to see.

5. Uncheck the boxes for widgets you do not need.

6. Close the customization area (or save, if there is a save option) to return to your dashboard with your chosen widgets.

Step 4: Use the AI Briefing Widget

1. In the Center view, find the AI briefing widget.

2. Read the brief summary it provides. It can include:

   • Children whose enrollment is starting today.

   • Children whose enrollment is ending today.

   • A quick snapshot of children present.

   • Staff who are off today.

   • Tours and other key items.

3. Use this widget as a quick “morning check” so you know the most important changes and activities for the day.

Step 5: Respond to the Needs Attention Widget

1. Locate the Needs Attention widget.

2. Review the list of urgent items. These are issues that can lead to licensing noncompliance or serious concerns if not fixed quickly. Examples include:

   • A room that is below the required staff-to-child ratio (for example, a specific room needing another staff member).

   • A scheduled medication dose that is past due and has not yet been recorded.

3. Click any hyperlink in this widget to open the detailed screen for that item. The page will open already filtered for that specific alert so you can act right away.

4. Make the needed adjustments (for example, adjust staffing or record the missed medication dose).

Step 6: Monitor Medications with the Medication Widget

1. Find the Medication widget on your dashboard.

2. Review the list of:

   • Past due medications.

   • Due now medications.

3. Use this list to quickly check if any medication for the center was missed or is about to be missed.

4. Open the related items (where links are available) and record or administer medications as needed so everything stays up to date.

Step 7: Check Daily Activity with Today’s Rhythm

1. Look for the Today’s Rhythm widget.

2. Review the snapshot of sign-ins and sign-outs throughout the day, broken down by room.

3. Use this view to get a sense of how children are flowing in and out of rooms over the course of the day.

Step 8: Work Through the Needs Your Review Widget

1. Locate the Needs Your Review widget.

2. Understand that items here are not urgent, but they are important tasks for you as an administrator to review in the next few days.

3. Look through the types of items that can appear here, such as:

   • Student information changes submitted by parents that you need to approve.

   • Lesson plans submitted by staff that are waiting for your approval.

   • Progress reports that are pending approval.

   • Upcoming expiries within the next thirty days (for example, staff certifications, criminal record checks, subsidy expiries, or other expiring items).

   • Reports awaiting parent acknowledgment (such as incident reports or illness reports).

   • Staff overtime items.

   • Children missing critical information required by licensing.

4. Click any hyperlink in this widget to go directly to the correct place in the system. The page will open already filtered for those specific items.

5. Review and approve, update, or complete each item until the list is cleared or reduced.

Step 9: Review Events with the Calendar Widget

1. Find the Calendar widget on your dashboard.

2. Look at the events listed for today.

3. Use this widget to stay aware of scheduled events happening at your center on the current day.

Step 10: Check Ratios with the Right Now Widget

1. Locate the Right Now widget.

2. Review the list of rooms and their current status:

   • Rooms that are out of ratio appear at the top with a red alert.

   • Rooms that are in ratio are listed below.

3. For each room, you can see:

   • The number of children.

   • The number of staff.

   • Other quick details about attendance.

4. Use this widget to spot and fix ratio issues immediately, such as moving staff or children between rooms as needed.

Step 11: Track Inquiries and Tours with the Pipeline Widget

1. Find the Pipeline widget.

2. Review the high-level numbers it shows, including:

   • How many inquiries you have.

   • How many tours you have.

3. Look at the breakdown for the current week, such as:

   • New inquiries this week.

   • Tours scheduled for this week.

   • New applications for this week.

4. Use this widget to stay on top of your enrollment funnel and follow up with families in a timely way.

Step 12: Celebrate Birthdays with the Celebrations Widget

1. Locate the Celebrations widget.

2. Review the list of birthdays it shows.

3. Use this widget as a friendly reminder of upcoming birthdays so you and your team can plan small celebrations or acknowledgments.

Step 13: Use the Quick Actions Widget for Common Tasks

1. Find the Quick Actions widget.

2. Review the list of quick links it offers for common tasks.

3. Click the action you want to take to jump straight to that screen and complete the task more quickly.

Step 14: Review Finances with the Financial Overview Widget

1. If you have finance access, locate the Financial Overview widget on your dashboard.

2. Use the period selector in the widget to choose a time period you want to review. For example, scroll back to a previous period for your demonstration center.

   

3. Select a period that has billing data, such as June, so you can see a meaningful example.

   

4. Review the totals shown, such as:

   • The total amount billed out in that period (for example, twenty-one thousand out of a total of sixty-six thousand billed).

   • The breakdown between:

     • Family billing.

     • Third party billing.

   • The number of families registered at that time.

   • The number of third parties you are billing to.

5. Look at alerts shown in this widget, such as:

   • Registrations with no billings (current families during that period who had no billing attached).

   • Returned payments during that period.

6. Use this information to spot billing gaps or payment issues and then go to your finance area to correct them.

Step 15: Follow Up on Past Due Amounts with the Collections Widget

1. If you have finance access, find the Collections widget below the Financial Overview.

2. Review the all-time past due invoices broken down into age buckets, such as:

   • 0–30 days past due:

     • Family amount and number of families.

     • Third party amount and number of third parties.

   • 31–60 days past due:

     • For example, around nine hundred dollars outstanding from families, made up of three families.

     • For example, one thousand six hundred outstanding from third parties, made up of one third party.

   • Over 60 days past due, and so on.

3. Click any of the amounts or categories to open the finance module filtered for exactly those items (for example, the three families with 31–60 day balances, or the one third party in that range).

4. Use these filtered lists to follow up on overdue payments.

5. If you instead click the general finance link in the widget, you will go to the finance page without any filters applied, and you can search from there.

Step 16: Check Capacity with the Registration Snapshot Widget

1. Locate the Registration snapshot widget.

2. Review the number of registered children in each group and the total capacity for each group.

3. Use the date selector in this widget if you want to see registrations for a different date.

4. Decide whether to:

   • Include applications in the counts, or

   • Turn off applications so you only see children whose registration status is registered for the selected date.

5. Use this view to understand how full each group is and to support enrollment planning.

Step 17: Manage Upcoming and Past Due Expiries

1. Find the Upcoming and past due expiries widget.

2. Review the detailed breakdown of:

   • Expiries that are due in the next thirty days.

   • Expiries that are already past due.

3. For expiries that are no longer relevant:

   • Click through to the expiries tab using the hyperlink in the widget.

   • Archive any expiries you no longer wish to see.

4. For active expiries:

   • Click on the specific expiry item to open its record.

   • Update the record as needed so the expiry is no longer overdue or upcoming without a plan.

5. Use this widget regularly to stay ahead of staff and child documentation deadlines.

Step 18: Approve Lesson Plans with the Learning Plan Widget

1. Locate the Learning plan widget.

2. Review the counts it shows for:

   • This coming week’s plans.

   • Next week’s plans.

   • How many have been approved.

   • How many are still waiting for approval.

3. Click the hyperlink in this widget to open the learning module filtered for the relevant lesson plans.

4. Review each plan and approve any outstanding ones so your educators have everything ready for the week.

You’re all set! Using these dashboard widgets, you can quickly see what needs your attention and keep your center running smoothly throughout the day.