NestliCare for home daycares
Free home daycare software
NestliCare gives home daycares every feature free: attendance and check-in, parent messaging and daily reports, billing with online payments and autopay, enrollment, and meal tracking. Unlimited children, no trial, no credit card, no premium tier. The only cost anywhere is the standard processing fee when a parent pays tuition online, and by default the parent covers it at checkout.
Not a trial
Free is the plan, not a countdown. Daycares that join keep every feature free.
Unlimited children
No child caps, no per-child fees, no per-staff fees, no feature tiers.
No credit card
Sign up with an email address. Your daycare space is ready in minutes.
Everything a home daycare runs on
Attendance and check-in
Digital check-in and check-out, QR codes, kiosk mode, authorized pickups, and instant parent notifications.
Parent messaging and daily reports
Direct messages, announcements, newsletters, photos, and a daily activity feed parents actually open.
Billing, invoices, and autopay
Recurring invoices, online payments, autopay, discounts, subsidies, late fees, and offline payment records.
Enrollment and paperwork
Online enrollment forms, e-signatures, document requests, and child records in one place.
Meals and CACFP
Menu planning, meal logging, and CACFP-friendly reporting, with a My Food Program integration for claims.
Apps for everyone
Native iOS and Android apps for parents, staff, and you, plus a web dashboard and a check-in kiosk mode.
How the software stays free
We earn a standard processing fee when parents pay tuition online: 2.9% plus 50 cents on cards, or 1% capped at $6 on bank transfers, in the US. By default the parent covers it at checkout, the way service fees work on most online payments, and you can choose to absorb it instead. Families who pay by cash, check, or subsidy cost nothing. That is the whole business model, written up in more detail on how we make money.
Home daycare software, answered plainly
- Is NestliCare really free for a home daycare?
- Yes. Every feature is free for every daycare, home or center, with unlimited children, staff, rooms, and locations. It is not a trial and there is no premium tier holding features back.
- What is the catch? How does NestliCare make money?
- The only cost anywhere is the standard processing fee when a parent pays tuition online: 2.9% plus 50 cents on cards, or 1% capped at $6 on bank transfers, in the US. By default the parent covers that fee at checkout, and you can choose to absorb it instead. If you do not collect payments online, the software costs nothing at all.
- Do I need a credit card to sign up?
- No. Signing up takes an email address, and your daycare space is created immediately with a default room ready to go.
- Is there a limit on the number of children?
- No. Unlimited children, unlimited families, unlimited staff. The free product is the whole product, whether you care for two children or two hundred.
- Can families that pay by check or subsidy still use it?
- Yes. You can record offline payments like cash, check, and subsidy alongside online ones, and families who never pay online cost you nothing.
- Is there a parent app?
- Yes, native iOS and Android apps. Parents see check-ins, daily reports, photos, and invoices, message you directly, and pay tuition from their phone. Staff and admins use the same apps to run the day.
- Does it handle food program paperwork?
- Meal tracking is built in, with CACFP-friendly records and an integration with My Food Program for claims.
- How long does setup take?
- Minutes. Add your families yourself from the web or the app, or send us your existing records and we will load them for you at no cost.