For the second year in a row, the 2025 Child Care Business Trends Report from Procare Solutions found that ACH, which are electronic fund transfers typically used for recurring monthly debits, is the most common form of tuition payment among child care centers surveyed.
Yet the report also showed that many centers rely on more dated payment forms, even as families seek the ease of automatic, digital payments:
Let’s take a look at why your child care center should consider digital forms of tuition.
Families Want Simple, Secure Ways to Pay Tuition
By choosing software designed with robust security controls that include multi-factor authentication and strong privacy policies, your center can safeguard sensitive data and strengthen its reputation as a credible and responsible business.
The use of ACH and credit cards is the preferred method for today’s parents.
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.
Moving toward accepting credit cards, and wrapping credit card fees into tuition, set up on an autopay schedule will eliminate missed payments and give parents the ease they prefer – more than 75% of people use autopay for at least one bill, according to the payment company Fiserv.
And the Procare Solutions Child Care Business Trends Report also found that about 46% of centers have received more than one rejected or declined transaction or bounced check, which is a slight uptick from the previous year.
Offering card payments provides the option of accepting point-of-sale payments, such as at a 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.
How Payment Processing from Procare Can Help!
Efficient and secure tuition collection and sound financial management are vital for the success of child care centers. By implementing best practices and using technology, you can ensure a seamless and financially sustainable operation.
Procare Solutions stands out as one of the few U.S.-based child care management software providers with exceptional data security credentials. Both its Procare and ChildPlus software brands hold the prestigious SOC 2 Type 2 certification, a gold standard for secure and trustworthy data management.
This certification showcases Procare Solutions’ commitment to protecting client data while ensuring its systems remain reliable, compliant and secure.
Security standards in place include:
Two-factor authentication: Also known as multi-factor authentication, this step adds an extra layer of security by requiring an additional verification factor beyond just a username and password.
Strict data security: Sensitive data is encrypted in transit and at rest while requiring strong passwords with a minimum of 12 characters.
Pick-up and drop-off security features: Anyone who is authorized to pick up a child uses a personalized four-digit PIN for access. This ensures extra security during busy times.
Real-time attendance monitoring: Information on child check-ins and check-outs is automatically updated for tracking attendance, ratios and generating reports.
Contactless check-in: Paper-based check-in processes are eliminated with QR code and GPS-enabled systems, including geofencing technology to prevent unauthorized remote access.
Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards: PCI-DSS 4.0 certification ensures compliance with industry-standard encryption and authentication protocols.
Procare’s payment processing capability ensures flexibility by offering various payment methods. This allows your child care center to offer the payment methods that benefit your business while giving families the freedom to use the payment options they prefer. This facilitates a smooth and secure payment experience while addressing concerns related to rejected or declined payments.
With Procare, you can be confident when you tell families that their financial data, including credit card numbers and information related to ACH transactions, are being protected.
Want to know how much time and money your center could save using Procare’s tuition collection and payment processing? Use our online calculator to get an estimate of how much time and money you could save:
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!*
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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.
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Procare Cost and Time Savings Calculator
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