Child Care Seer Release Spotlight - Feb 14, 2023

On February 14, 2023, Child Care Seer® will release our latest upgrade to all customers. In this release, you’ll find many exciting new features and updates including Tuition Assistance copays, control of mobile push notifications, several new reports, staff management improvements, and so much more! Keep reading for more information on everything that is included.

Child Care Seer needs your help

We want to get the word out to everyone that Child Care Seer is a superior childcare management solution! It would help us reach more center owners and directors if you would be willing to write a review about your Seer software experience. In coordination with Gartner Digital Markets, the first 40 users to write a review will receive a $10 gift card of your choice when your review is accepted by Gartner. Readers of the Release Spotlight, we’re letting you know first before sending the link to all our Seer users. We want you to have the first opportunity to qualify for the $10 gift card! Please follow this link for this special review offer.

Tuition Assistance Copays

Does your state require a family copay as part of subsidy contracts? Child Care Seer now allows you to add a mandated monthly or weekly copay on the Tuition Assistance Commitment form. This special charge will be added to the child’s account automatically, or manually if you’d prefer, regardless of which program enrollment(s) and tuition schedule are selected.

We know setting up tuition assistance can be tricky – please check out our Knowledge Base or contact us via the Help button if you need more information about mandated copays or any other feature of Tuition Assistance!

Please note, if you are one of our customers that named your copay charges with TA23 prior to this feature being in place, these TA23 charges will automatically be converted to tuition assistance mandated copays for Services and Reports when the update is released.

Mobile App Notification Controls

Parents love to receive notifications throughout the day about their child’s activities or Inbox messages, but sometimes it’s just a little too much! New in this release, control what mobile app notifications you receive from Child Care Seer. We let parents pick which Family Connection entries they’d like to know about, and which ones can wait until reviewing the Daily Journal after checkout. Staff may also limit which Inboxes send mobile notifications. Have more than one Seer account? Simply select from the dropdown menu to customize notifications for each, all in the same place!

Convert to Kiosk or Class Device

At Child Care Seer, we’re making your job easier one click at a time. With this release, we’ll save you some walking steps as well! Now childcare managers can open a web browser on any device, log into their Seer account and then convert the device to a kiosk or classroom tablet. No QR code or device password required! You'll find this new option on the device icon on your Dashboard. Please note, this option is not available via the Seer mobile app and is also not available to staff who do not have management permissions.

Staff Management Made Easier

Directory Export and Copy Emails on Staff Page

Now in Seer, export and print a Staff directory right from the staff page. Use the provided PDF format, or export to CSV to use in another program or get creative!

We know you like the Center Inbox, but sometimes sending an email to your staff is still the best way to communicate. With this release, select as many Staff as you’d like, select “Copy Emails” at the bottom of the page, then paste into your favorite email client.

Thank you to Ashley in Virginia for suggesting both improvements!

Limit Early Kiosk Check-In

Did you know that Child Care Seer lets you limit how early families can check in at the kiosk? Now you can also limit how early staff can check in for their shift. Visit My Center: Devices & Kiosk settings to select any time from 0 – 15 minutes, or turn on all-day check-in to disable this feature. Whatever setting you select, students and staff may still be checked in via the Dashboard as necessary.

Staff Profile Schedule Updates

Similar to children, you will now see a Schedule Summary on all Staff profile pages. Don’t worry, if you prefer the visual graph format, it’s still there. We just moved it to the Schedule tab for better visibility.

New Reports

Children Attendance Log

We know you’ve been waiting, and it’s finally here! In the Attendance Reports section, you’ll find our new Children Attendance Log. Easily see drop-off and pick-up details, including time and responsible adult, for any period you’d like! Filter by child or Tuition Assistance Provider, then export as needed. Look for more improvements to the Attendance Log over the next several releases, including the option to require signature at check-in/out!

Tag Expirations Reports

In the previous release, we brought you expirations for child and staff tags. With this release, check out our new expirations reports for these tags. Just like expiring documents, you’ll be able to see which tags have already expired and which are expiring soon. Remember, you can create any tag you like for a child or staff member—the possibilities are endless! Whether it’s keeping track of staff certifications or child medications, set an expiration date and let Seer help you keep track of time for tags and documents!

Other things you’ll notice in Child Care Seer…

Homeclass Children on Class Device Messaging

We’ve added Homeclass children to messaging from your Class Device, no matter what their schedule. Whether it’s a reminder about pajama day or information about lessons for next week, letting the whole class know just got easier with Child Care Seer! Thank you to Juliana in Nevada for feedback leading to this update.

Director Notifications of Failed Payments

Do you know what that bell is on the top right of your screen? That’s where Seer provides notifications of important things happening in your center throughout the day! To help reduce unwanted surprises at check-in, we’ve added notifications of failed payments with this release. Parents may already choose to receive email notifications when their automatic payment doesn’t process. At Seer, we know it’s important for center managers to know about this as well!

Filters on the Happenings page

We've added new filters to the Happenings page, accessible from the Family Connection tab on your Dashboard. Easily see specific happenings for a child, staff or location throughout the day!

Coming Soon...

We've always got more exciting features in development at Child Care Seer! Coming soon, look for our new Food Report (designed for use with the USDA’s CACFP) and exciting new features designed to help owners and directors of multiple centers see everything going on all in one place! And, as always, we’re using your feedback and suggestions to help us know what you need most to run your center easily and efficiently!