How The Children In The Shoe Used Daily Connect to Supercharge Operations

Finding an All-In-One Childcare Center Management Solution

When the leadership team at The Children In The Shoe found themselves juggling multiple software platforms that added more complexity than clarity, they knew something had to change. Their network of five thriving childcare centers across Maryland had a reputation for excellence in early childhood education—but behind the scenes, their fragmented management systems created daily headaches for everyone involved.

This all changed when The Children In The Shoe began consolidating various scattered tools into Daily Connect's comprehensive platform. Instead of using several different systems, none of which talked to each other, they’re now using just one: Daily Connect, a unified childcare management software.

The Challenge: A Tangled Web of Childcare Software Tools

For years, The Children In The Shoe operated like many childcare organizations—managing their business across fragmented systems that created inefficiencies and frustration. While they had been using Daily Connect's parent communication tools successfully for several years, they relied on other providers for critical functions including parent billing and immunization tracking.

This divided approach created significant operational challenges. Staff members were forced to constantly switch between different platforms throughout their day, disrupting their workflow and increasing the potential for errors. Parents experienced a disjointed journey when interacting with the center, having to navigate different interfaces for communications versus payments.

The team at The Children In The Shoe was looking for a more streamlined approach to billing—something that would simplify operations for their staff while also making it easier for parents to manage payments. They wanted a single solution where families could access billing information in the same app they already used for daily communication, creating a more seamless and transparent experience for everyone.

“Before we consolidated everything into Daily Connect, we were constantly jumping between different systems—one for communication, another for billing, another for immunization tracking. It was disjointed, time-consuming, and honestly pretty frustrating for both our staff and our families. Parents were confused about where to go for what, and our team spent way too much time on manual data entry and reconciling payments from different sources. It just wasn’t sustainable for a business our size.”

Tina Cusack, Executive Director

Expanding The Partnership with Daily Connect

The Children In The Shoe made the strategic decision to centralize all their operations in Daily Connect, but what makes this implementation particularly noteworthy is the collaborative nature of the relationship. Daily Connect worked hand-in-hand with The Children In The Shoe to develop functionality tailored to their specific operational needs.

Daily Connect’s parent billing tools, now used by thousands of users each week, were built with direct input from the team at The Children In The Shoe. The new system made payment tracking intuitive for parents, providing clear visibility into their account status.  Parents now have clear visibility into what they're being charged and why. And thanks to feedback from The Children In The Shoe’s team, our billing platform incorporates subsidy management—a critical feature for many families that rely on assistance programs to afford quality childcare.

With Daily Connect's support, The Children In The Shoe has begun moving toward accepting 100% online payments, dramatically reducing the administrative burden of processing cash and checks. This shift has simplified accounting processes through automatic reconciliation with bank transactions, reducing manual data entry and the potential for errors. It’s a new approach that’s unlocked significant time savings and more accurate financial records.

But we didn’t just work together with The Children In The Shoe on our parent billing tools: we also partnered closely with them to build our immunization tracking feature. The Children In The Shoe played an instrumental role in designing this functionality to ensure it met the real-world needs of childcare providers. With the help of The Children In The Shoe, we’ve created a new feature that eliminates the need for our users to pay for a separate system while ensuring that businesses like The Children In The Shoe remain compliant with health regulations.

Looking to the future, The Children In The Shoe is preparing to implement Daily Connect's enrollment system, replacing time-consuming paper-based forms with digital processes. This will create a more professional application experience while streamlining the enrollment workflow for both families and administrative staff.

Xavier Launay, CEO