For the second year in a row, a survey of more than 100,000 stakeholders in early childhood education found that ACH payments, which are electronic fund transfers typically used for recurring monthly debits, is the most common form of tuition payment.
The 2025 Procare Solutions Child Care Business Report also shows that about 46% of centers have received more than one rejected or declined transaction or bounced check, a slight uptick from 2024.
And many centers continue to rely on more dated payment forms, even as families seek the ease of automatic, digital payments. Let’s take a closer look at the report’s findings on how families are paying their tuition and how your center can accommodate parents while ensuring on-time, reliable payments!
Child Care Tuition Collection
The Procare Solutions report highlights that year-over-year, checks and cash comprise a smaller percentage of how tuition payments are made, while ACH and credit card use is on the rise along with payments made through a daycare app:
Offering options serves you and your families well, such as accepting point-of-sale payments at your center’s front desk or a kiosk. It is a convenient way to collect payments, although not as simple as setting up recurring tuition payments using a debit or credit card, or by ACH.
When your families use credit or debit cards, you don’t have to worry about a check bouncing or the security dangers of storing cash.
Protections Offered by Credit Cards
Credit or debit cards offer security features such as fraud protection to families. Many credit card companies monitor transactions for suspicious activity and may provide additional layers of security like two-factor authentication, while allowing parents to accrue credit card rewards such as cashback offers or airline miles.
The Fair Credit Billing Act protects against credit card fraud and limits the maximum liability to $50, according to CNBC. Some card issuers expand that law by offering $0 fraud liability on unauthorized charges, which means you won’t be held liable for any amount of fraudulent purchases.
Wondering how centers handle credit card fees? The 2025 findings from the Procare Solutions report show a wide range in doing so. Most notably, more centers this year are wrapping the fees into their tuition:
Save Time and Money with Digital Tuition Collection and Processing!
By relying on digital payments rather than outdated forms of payment such cash and checks, your business can improve your overall operations and bottom line while giving families the payment option they deserve and expect!
Taking advantage of all the capabilities offered within the Procare all-in-one solution enables you to handle all aspects of your business. And focusing on credit card payments means you don’t have to keep track of multiple forms of payments.
Take control of your tuition collection by initiating recurring payments on a weekly or monthly basis, or on a schedule of your choice. Payments transfer from each payer’s bank account or credit card (if applicable) directly to your account!
Want to know how much time and money your center could save by using payment processing? Use our online calculator to get a personalized estimate:
Procare Cost and Time Savings Calculator Automated Payment Processing Cost & Time Savings Calculator Digital Curriculum Cost and Time Savings Calculator
Calculate your potential cost and time savings by using Procare’s all-in-one child care management software. All we will need from you is some information about your child care location*: Calculate your potential cost and time savings by using Procare’s secure and effortless child care payment processing. All we will need from you is some information about your child care location*: Calculate your potential cost and time savings by using Procare’s classroom management. All we will need from you is some information about your child care location*:
* Our data model is based on our experience working with over 100,000 child care centers, before and after school programs and youth organizations since 1992.
Switching to Procare's automated payment processing will save you 8.28 hours and $139.93 a month!*
| Manual | Procare | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | |
| Family Registration | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Attendance Tracking | 1.5 hr | $25.35 | 0.25 hr | $4.22 |
| Family Communication and Engagement | 1 hr | $16.90 | 0.1 hr | $1.69 |
| Financials | 10 hr | $169.00 | 1.2 hr | $20.28 |
| Payment Processing | 10.8 hr | $182.52 | 2.52 hr | $42.59 |
| Classroom Management | 10 hr | $169.00 | 0.5 hr | $8.45 |
| Family Registration | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Attendance Tracking | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| 1.5 hr | $25.35 | 0.25 hr | $4.22 |
| Family Communication and Engagement | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| 1 hr | $16.90 | 0.1 hr | $1.69 |
| Financials | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| 10 hr | $169.00 | 1.2 hr | $20.28 |
| Payment Processing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| 10.8 hr | $182.52 | 2.52 hr | $42.59 |
| Classroom Management | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| 10 hr | $169.00 | 0.5 hr | $8.45 |
We understand that smaller centers and in-home daycare providers are operating on a tight budget, and that is why we provide all these features for the affordable price of just $25 per month. Let us handle the business of child care so you can get back to caring for your children.
To learn more about Procare home version, click below.
*Please note that the report you see only factors in cost and time savings for the in-home solution features. For Procare home version users that are interested in seeing how they can benefit from Procare’s full suite of capabilities, contact us today to speak to a Procare representative. *Please note that the report you see only factors in cost and time savings for the in-home solution features. For Procare home version users that are interested in seeing how they can benefit from Procare’s full suite of capabilities, contact us today to speak to a Procare representative. *Please note that the classroom management functionality is not available for in-home users. For Procare home version users that are interested in seeing how they can benefit from Procare’s full suite of capabilities, contact us today to speak to a Procare representative.
| Cost & Time Savings | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2025-04-03 |
| Automation | Payment Processing |
| Number of Staff | |
| Number of Students | |
| Hourly Rate | $16.90 |
| Savings per Month | $139.93 and 8.28 hours |
Procare Cost and Time Savings Calculator
| Family Registration | Manual | Procare | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Enrollment | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Waitlist / Lead Management | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| eDocuments | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Family Data Entry / Management | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Health and Immunization Records | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Total per month | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Attendance Tracking | Manual | Procare | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Check-in/Check-out | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Class Roster Management | 1 hr | $16.90 | 0.05 hr | $0.85 |
| Teacher-Student Ratio Tracking | 0.5 hr | $8.45 | 0.2 hr | $3.38 |
| Total per month | 1.5 hr | $25.35 | 0.25 hr | $4.22 |
| Family Communication and Engagement | Manual | Procare | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Child Activity Tracking | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Family Messaging | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Staff Messaging | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Meal Planning | 1 hr | $16.90 | 0.1 hr | $1.69 |
| Total per month | 1 hr | $16.90 | 0.1 hr | $1.69 |
| Financials | Manual | Procare | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Payroll | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Financial Reporting | 8 hr | $135.20 | 1 hr | $16.90 |
| Business Planning and Reporting | 2 hr | $33.80 | 0.2 hr | $3.38 |
| Staff Time Tracking / Scheduling | 0 hr | $0.00 | 0 hr | $0.00 |
| Total per month | 10 hr | $169.00 | 1.2 hr | $20.28 |
