This article was originally published October 17, 2025 and was updated with new information on August 27, 2026.
Manual attendance tracking means that your center needs to provide a sign-in / sign-out sheet for parents and caregivers that allows you to understand the attendance status of each child. Unfortunately, paper logs pose several problems; something could spill on them, ruining the signatures or logs could get lost or misplaced. You also have to account for attendance events related to sickness, vacation or other issues, which further complicates the paper trails.
Attendance tracking software solves these pain points, allowing your center to streamline and simplify attendance via automation. Tracking attendance is a critical part of running a successful child care center. It ensures safety, helps maintain licensing compliance and provides parents with peace of mind. Yet, these processes don’t have to be messy or time-consumingLet’s explore how Procare can help you streamline attendance tracking, enhance security and simplify daily operations!
Procare’s Paperless Daycare Sign-In Sheets
Procare’s daycare sign-in and sign–out sheets are paperless experiences but they include the same key information as standard paper sign-ins, including:
- Parent/caregiver name (and signature, if required)
- Child’s name
- Child’s teacher
- Time of sign-in or sign-out
- Reason for sign-out or late sign-in
Parents simply access the virtual daycare attendance sheet at the front desk or online. They provide all the key information, and they also can submit a doctor’s note or other form of documentation (for an absence).
These tracking capabilities empower you to record and maintain real-time information on every child in your care with just a few clicks. The system automates calculations, which improves accuracy and saves valuable administrative time.
You can also easily record unscheduled attendance, which helps you manage room capacity and confidently accept drop-in students while staying within your required ratios.
A Check-In System vs. a Sign-In Sheet: What’s the Difference?
The most notable difference between a check-in system and a sign-in sheet is that a check-in system uses a digital platform while a sign-in sheet is a physical paper document. Check-in systems also may feature a digital kiosk at the front of a child care center, or parents may check-in online or via an app on a mobile device.
Both serve the same purpose, which is to provide documentation of student attendance events. Sign-in sheets and virtual or digital check-in systems request the name and information of any individual who signs-in or signs-out a child; these records also include time stamps (or written time documentation), a signature of the individual picking up or dropping off the child and any additional documentation about the attendance event.
How a Child Care Check-In System Improves Accuracy and Security
Your ideal child care check-in system must improve accuracy and security through additional authorization requirements and security protocols. With Procare, every person authorized to pick up a child is issued a unique four-digit PIN. This includes parents, guardians and any other approved individuals.
This feature is especially helpful during busy drop-off and pick-up times when it can be challenging to monitor everyone coming and going. Using PINs gives you confidence that you are providing an extra layer of security for your families and staff, ensuring only authorized individuals can take a child from your center.
Other Security Features in a Daycare Attendance App
Daycare attendance apps or child care attendance apps should include additional safety integrations that enhance privacy and provide contactless check-in capabilities; specifically look for apps that offer QR codes to simplify check-in and geofencing for another layer of security. Procare’s integrated technology supports a completely touch-free check-in and check-out system using QR codes and/or GPS technology.
- QR Codes: Each center receives a unique QR code that can be displayed on a tablet, computer or printed sign. When parents arrive, they simply open the Procare child care mobile app, select the QR code icon and scan it to check their child in or out directly from their phone.
- Geofencing: Procare is the only provider of child care management software that uses geofencing for contactless check-ins. This technology ensures a person must be within a certain distance of your center to check a child in or out, preventing unauthorized remote access and adding another layer of security.
Can I Easily Communicate Attendance Changes in Procedures to Parents?
Yes, you can! The Procare child care mobile app features built-in messaging that allows you to alert parents quickly about any changes to drop-off or pick-up procedures. You have the flexibility to send messages to parents individually or as a group announcement, ensuring everyone receives important updates in a timely manner.
Comparing Attendance Tracking Methods
When you’re trying to determine the best attendance tracking method for your child care center, it’s important to understand the benefits and downsides of each option. Use the table below to compare your choices.
| Method | Real-Time Data | Entry Type & Room Visibility | Audit/Compliance Ready | Best For |
| Paper sign-in/out sheet | No | Manual entry and no room-level visibility | Low; handwriting legibility issues, risk of loss or damage | Small or in-home daycare providers |
| Spreadsheet/basic app | Partial | Manual entry and no room-level visibility | Moderate; spreadsheets need to be exported | Good for a center with a single location that needs to grow beyond paper documentation |
| QR code check-in (Procare) | Yes | Automatic, room-level visibility | High; these are digital records with timestamps | Contactless check-ins ideal for multi-room larger care centers |
| Geofenced check-in (Procare) | Yes | Automatic, room-level visibility | High; these are location-verified | Centers that need more security for pickup/drop-off |
| PIN-based check-in (Procare) | Yes | Automatic, room-level visibility | High; these records ensure staff and guardian IDs are on record | Centers creating authorized pickup standardizations |
What You Can See On Procare’s Attendance Dashboard
With Procare, once a child is checked in or out, the information is immediately sent to your attendance dashboard.
From there, you can view comprehensive details, including:
- How and when a child checked in or out
- Their assigned room
- Total hours attended
- Absences
- Parent signatures (if applicable)
This centralized dashboard gives you a complete overview of attendance at a glance, helping you track ratios and compile daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly reports with ease.
How Procare Keeps Attendance Data Secure
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.
Designed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the SOC 2 Type 2 compliance framework evaluates and validates an organization’s information security practices. It focuses on security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy.
Learn more about how Procare keeps your families and staff safe!
FAQ
Document retention requirements vary by state and by funding source. Confirm retention requirements with all funding sources and your state’s licensing agency.
Most state licensing agencies and CCDF subsidy reviewers accept both paper and digital sign-in records. Reach out to your state licensing agency to understand the data your sign-in sheets or digital attendance apps need to provide. Many require that these records need to include a timestamp for room-level entry (or exit) for the child. Use a digital system to connect your attendance to payment records, which aids your record documentation in the event of an audit.
Look for an app that offers contactless check-in and that syncs in real-time to a digital dashboard (with all the data you need). These apps also may integrate features that let you provide updates to parents, message parents directly or even send schedule changes (like school closures) to an entire group.
