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Due to a long-acknowledged cycle of government underfunding, combined with the mounting pressures of the cost-of-living crisis, many early years settings have found themselves in financial difficulty.

Mounting debts are not uncommon within the sector. Therefore, it’s understandable that — in some cases — nurseries would feel the need to cut back on their spending to help remedy the issue. And while this is often a wise choice, it’s important that settings remain alert to solutions that could help in their quest to regain the upper hand in the long term.

At an affordable monthly cost, nursery management software could be one such solution — with a host of benefits to boot. 

Here are four ways that Connect Childcare could help tackle debt within a nursery setting…

Benefit from increased cost oversight 

Providing the ability to invoice quickly and easily, while providing an at-a-glance overview of monies outstanding, nursery management software can help overhaul a setting’s approach to finances.

With grant funding functionality, allocation is simple thanks to a parameter tool which allows for the bulk distribution of any government contributions, making sure that invoices are right first time. 

Providing the ability to record ad-hoc payments, or to set up bespoke contribution plans, nurseries can begin understanding and controlling their cashflow with ease. Forecasting and comparison options further bolster the offering – enabling nurseries to take a more detailed look at their progress.

With the ability to streamline cashflow processes, staff can utilise their time elsewhere — while resting assured that nursery managers have the oversight necessary to secure a tighter handle on their financial futures.  

Plan rotas to prevent overspend

Catering for everything from single- to multi-sited settings, Connect Childcare contains rota planning functionality that will provide complete oversight of staffing levels across the nursery network. 

This ensures that settings are compliant from a ratio perspective and ensures that nurseries are operating in a way that is both safe and cost-effective. Incidences, whereby practitioners are overbooked, can prove costly – especially if a site is forced to use expensive agency provision as a means to cover. 

With a birds-eye view of staffing across an entire organisation, practitioners can be re-deployed as needed — whether to cover annual leave or illness — to prevent unnecessary agency spend. 

Enjoy effective capacity planning

With a means to record planned holidays for children, settings are able to maximise their availability with the offer of additional ad-hoc places for parents who may need additional childcare support. 

For nurseries where little ones’ families are contracted to pay during periods of voluntary leave, this provides an opportunity for nursery managers to maximise their earnings — making for a more profitable week or month. 

Reduce the admin burden

The early years sector is notoriously saddled with huge amounts of paperwork, which can have a detrimental impact on overall productivity. And what’s more, with early years specialists tied up with admin responsibilities, they are able to spend less time doing what they love best — nurturing the children in their care.

Not only can this have a negative impact on little ones, but it can be detrimental for the overall wellbeing of practitioners — a factor encouraging many to leave the industry all together. 

Due to a lack of qualified professionals, many settings have become reliant on expensive agency provision, while incurring additional costs as they navigate lengthy recruitment, onboarding, and training processes. 

But with the help of nursery management software, the early years sector can reduce the hours spent on paperwork and provide a fulfilling and productive experience for practitioners — a move that will have positive implications not just for individual settings, but for the industry as a whole, as staff retention and overall business resilience improves. 

To learn more about how our nursery management software can support your setting to reduce debt, contact our team for an informal chat, or book a free demo, here.