Questions and answers

What is ChildCare Kiosk?

Sign-in and attendance for New York family and group family daycares. Parents sign children in and out on a tablet at your door, staff clock in on the same tablet, and you manage children, staff, records and reports from the provider portal on any computer or phone.

What do I need?

A tablet at your door (any tablet, phone or computer with a web browser works) and an internet connection. It runs in the browser, so there is no app to install or update.

How do I sign up?

Press Start free trial and enter your license or permit number. We send a code to confirm it is your daycare, then you create your account and add your location, its time zone and a 4-digit admin PIN.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. Every plan starts with a 30-day free trial.

How do parents sign children in and out?

Each child has a card on the tablet. The parent taps the big SIGN IN or SIGN OUT button, chooses who is signing, and signs with a finger. In Settings you choose whether a signature, a health check or a pickup PIN is required.

How do staff clock in?

Staff tap their own card on the tablet to clock in and out, so their hours are recorded without a separate time clock. You can also require each staff member to enter their own PIN.

What is the admin PIN?

A 4-digit PIN that opens Settings and Log out on the tablet, so parents and visitors cannot change anything. You can set a new one at any time in the portal under Settings, Tablet & sign-in.

How do I add a child from an application?

Open Children, Add a child. Choose Fill out an application to fill in the same form parents get by link, or Upload or scan an existing application to keep a PDF or photo of a paper application; then check the details in Applications and approve to add the child. You can also type the child in directly.

How do I sign a child in with one tap?

Tap the child's SIGN IN button: the time is saved right away. This is the default for new daycares. To add steps (a signature, a pickup PIN or a health check), open Settings, Tablet & sign-in and turn off One-tap sign-in; then sign-in asks for the steps you choose. Sign-out always asks for the steps you choose.

Is the health check required?

Only if you choose it. With one-tap sign-in, each child's card shows an optional Health check box beside SIGN IN, and a Health check button after sign-in. Tick it when the check is done. Leaving it unticked never blocks the sign-in and is not recorded as a completed check.

How many parents can a child have?

Up to two parents or guardians per child. Anyone else who may pick the child up (a grandparent, a babysitter) goes in the separate list Authorized pickup and emergency contacts, with Authorized to pick up ticked.

How do I get back to the start?

In the portal, the Home button at the top opens your Dashboard, and the Menu button (three lines) lists every page. On the tablet, Home or Back to Menu returns to the kiosk's main menu; the owner portal on the tablet always asks for the admin PIN.

Can I mark a child absent or a no-show?

Yes. Mark a child Absent when the family let you know, or No-show when the child did not come and nobody called. Both stay in that day's records.

What if the internet goes down?

Sign-ins and sign-outs tapped while the tablet is offline are saved on the tablet and sent as soon as the connection comes back.

What is the missing-child alert?

An optional alarm. At a time you choose, the tablet and the portal ring and list every child who is not signed in and not marked Absent or No-show, so no child is overlooked. Turn it on in Settings, Notifications.

What is the late sign-out alert?

An optional alert. A child still signed in after your closing time, plus the grace minutes you choose, shows up under Late sign-outs. Turn it on in Settings, Hours & closures.

What is the daily sheet?

One page per day listing every child, or every staff member, with time in, time out, Absent and No-show, where you can check and correct the day. You can also get an attendance PDF by email every day, week or month.

Who can see, change, print and export attendance history?

Owners, administrators and directors can see, correct and remove records, print them and export them. Teachers, staff and view-only logins can see and print the history and download exports, but cannot correct or remove records. Parents see only their own child's sign-ins and sign-outs. On the tablet, the history opens only with the admin PIN.

Can children be signed out automatically after closing?

Yes, if you want. Open Settings, Hours & closures, Automatic sign-out: turn it on and type how many minutes after closing (0 = at closing). Every automatic sign-out shows Auto in the attendance history and the printout, and can be corrected.

How do I print attendance or the visitor log?

Open Attendance history and tap Print staff, visitors or a month. Choose Child attendance, Staff attendance or Visitor log, then one day, one month or custom dates, and tap Print.

How do I record a drill and print it?

Open Drills and start an evacuation or shelter-in-place drill. Tap the name of each staff member taking part at the start and at the end; the staff count is worked out for you. Tap End drill when it is over. Print the record from the Drills page: it is laid out like the paper drill record.

Can a menu repeat, and how do I print it?

Yes. On the weekly menu, under Repeat this menu, choose every 1, 2, 3 or 4 weeks and the last date, and tap Repeat. Under Print the menu, choose this week, last week, the week on screen or custom dates.

Can I add my daycare logo?

Yes. Open Settings, Daycare and upload your logo. It shows on the tablet's screens and main menu, and at the top of printouts: attendance, drills and menus.

Can I print or export attendance?

Yes. Choose children or staff and the dates, then download a PDF in sign-in sheet style, an Excel file or a CSV file. You can also download a full export of your account's data at any time.

What is CAPS auto-fill?

An optional add-on that enters your children's attendance in CAPS Online for you, from the sign-ins you already record. You tick the children CAPS pays for; private-pay children are left out and are not counted in the add-on.

CAPS auto-fill add-on: +$9.99 per CAPS child per month, plus applicable sales tax.

Is there a CAPS attendance export?

Yes. A month of attendance laid out week by week the way CAPS Online asks for it, as Excel or PDF, made from the sign-ins you already record.

What happens when a child arrives before opening or leaves after closing?

ChildCare Kiosk never enters in CAPS a time before opening or after closing. The auto-fill leaves those times out, fills all the other times, and at the end lists each one it left out: the child, the date, the real time and the reason (Signed in before opening or Signed out after closing), so you can handle it by hand. A late pickup still has its sign-in entered; an early arrival enters nothing for that day, because CAPS takes no time out without a time in. The CAPS export and the auto-fill preview show the same list. The attendance record always keeps the real time.

How do I change the language?

Open Settings, Language. Language on this device switches every screen on that phone, computer or tablet between English and Spanish (the English / Español buttons in the Menu do the same). Language for emails sets the language of the emails the app sends for your daycare.

How much does it cost?

The price depends on the type of daycare you run. Every feature is included.

• Family day care

  $34.99/month

  plus applicable sales tax

  Up to 8 children · 30-day free trial

  Start free trial

• Group family day care

  $49.99/month

  plus applicable sales tax

  Up to 16 children · 30-day free trial

  Start free trial

Where do I see my plan or cancel?

In the portal, open Settings, Your account, Plan & billing. It shows your plan, its monthly price and your trial. You can cancel there; cancellation takes effect at the end of your billing period, and your records are kept.

Who can see my daycare's information?

Only people you give a login. Providers, assistants and staff each have their own sign-in and see only what their role allows, and parents you invite see only their own children.

Is my data backed up?

Yes. Your records are backed up every day, encrypted, and you can download a full copy whenever you want. The data is yours.