This blog post originally ran Jan. 21, 2021, and was updated on Oct. 11, 2023, with new information.
Managing the complexities of different family dynamics can be challenging in child care – especially when it comes to back-office tasks like billing.
For example, a recent Census Bureau report found that the number of children living only with their mothers has doubled in the last 50 years. It also found that the number of children living with their father only, although still small, more than quadrupled in that timeframe.
When a child has divorced or separated parents who are both responsible for child care payments, the situation can create additional hassles, both among the parents and the child care provider.
That’s why it’s helpful to have child care management software that offers multifamily or split-family payments.
What are Multifamily Payments?
Through our Multifamily Payments functionality, Procare allows each parent or caregiver to have their own, separate account that enables them to make payments to the center.
By having a separate account, each parent has complete privacy and only has visibility into their own account. Multifamily Payments also allows each parent to communicate with the center and know their messages will not be shared with their child’s other parent or family.
How Does it Work?
The center selects Multifamily and can configure two separate accounts for each parent.
The center can then select how much each family pays, whether it’s half and half or a split depending on how much each family has agreed to pay.
Payment plans can be set as either monthly or recurring, and you can easily create invoices with the click of a button.
Learn more about Procare’s capabilities to split payments among family members.
A full end-to-end solution that provides child care management software and payment processing in one place makes your business more efficient while improving your bottom line. 
With Procare, you get a solution that helps you manage these top challenges to drive more to your bottom line and increase your profitability, including:
- Enabling families to pay via the Procare child care mobile app
- Automated invoicing
- Ledger posting
- Quicker funding (next day in most cases!)
- Reduced administrative payroll hours processing tuition payments
Want to know how much time and money you could save by using Procare’s secure and effortless child care payment processing? Enter some details into this online calculator to learn about your potential savings of using automation!
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 will save you hours and a month!*
| Manual | Procare | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | |
| Family Registration | ||||
| Attendance Tracking | ||||
| Family Communication and Engagement | ||||
| Financials | ||||
| Payment Processing | ||||
| Classroom Management |
| Family Registration | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Attendance Tracking | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Family Communication and Engagement | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Financials | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Payment Processing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Classroom Management | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Procare | ||
| Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
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 $25 per month. Let us handle the business of child care so you can get back to caring for your children.
To learn more about Procare home version, click below.
*Please note that the report you see only factors in cost and time savings for the in-home solution features. For Procare home version users that are interested in seeing how they can benefit from Procare’s full suite of capabilities, contact us today to speak to a Procare representative.​ *Please note that the report you see only factors in cost and time savings for the in-home solution features. For Procare home version users that are interested in seeing how they can benefit from Procare’s full suite of capabilities, contact us today to speak to a Procare representative. *Please note that the classroom management functionality is not available for in-home users. For Procare home version users that are interested in seeing how they can benefit from Procare’s full suite of capabilities, contact us today to speak to a Procare representative.
| Cost & Time Savings | |
|---|---|
| Date | |
| Automation | |
| Number of Staff | |
| Number of Students | |
| Hourly Rate | |
| Savings per Month | |
Procare Cost and Time Savings Calculator
| Family Registration | Manual | Procare | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Enrollment | ||||
| Waitlist / Lead Management | ||||
| eDocuments | ||||
| Family Data Entry / Management | ||||
| Health and Immunization Records | ||||
| Total per month |
| Attendance Tracking | Manual | Procare | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Check-in/Check-out | ||||
| Class Roster Management | ||||
| Teacher-Student Ratio Tracking | ||||
| Total per month |
| Family Communication and Engagement | Manual | Procare | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Child Activity Tracking | ||||
| Family Messaging | ||||
| Staff Messaging | ||||
| Meal Planning | ||||
| Total per month |
| Financials | Manual | Procare | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) | Time(hr/month) | Cost($/month) |
| Payroll | ||||
| Financial Reporting | ||||
| Business Planning and Reporting | ||||
| Staff Time Tracking / Scheduling | ||||
| Total per month |
