---
title: "Childcare Cost Savings Calculator"
id: "15979"
type: "page"
slug: "calculators-childcare-cost-savings-calculator"
published_at: "2026-04-13T17:30:08+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-04-14T16:21:15+00:00"
url: "https://mybrightwheel.com/calculators-childcare-cost-savings-calculator/"
markdown_url: "https://mybrightwheel.com/calculators-childcare-cost-savings-calculator.md"
excerpt: "Childcare cost savings calculator How to use this calculator The calculator has five inputs. Here’s what each one represents and how to fill it in accurately. 1. Number of children enrolled Use the slider to let us know the total..."
---

# Childcare cost savings calculator

Free calculator

## See what running things manually is actually costing you

Time, paperwork & printing, and late payments add up fast. See what it’s costing you — and how much you could save.

Enrolled children30 children

Staff members4 staff members

Count yourself too

Average staff hourly rate$18 / hour

Families who pay late each month30% of families

Most programs say it’s more than they’d like

How do most families currently pay you?

Affects reconciliation & follow-up time per family

Cash or checkVenmo / ZelleMix of everything

Calculate my savingsBased on typical center operations — adjust inputs to personalize.

## See how much you could save with a digital solution

Here’s where your time and money are going every month — and what switching to brightwheel puts back in your hands.

Annual savings

$—

Based on —

$—per month

Recovered in cycle 1

— hrs

Admin time saved / mo

$—

Late payment / mo

$—

Paper & printing / mo

Check-in & sign-out**— hrs**

Chasing late payments**— hrs**

Forms, reports & filing**— hrs**

Most programs are live and saving within 2 weeks.

A brightwheel specialist will give you a customized demo for your center size.

[Get a demo](/demo/)

 How we calculated this Estimates reflect separate, non-overlapping tasks.

Estimated monthly savings = time on admin tasks × hourly rate + paper costs. Late payment cash flow is shown separately.

Check-in/out: (children × 1.25 min × 2 directions × 22 days) / 60.

Late payment follow-up: late families × billing mins / 60 (Cash/check: 15 min, Mix: 10 min, Venmo: 7 min).

Forms & admin: ((15 min/day) + (2 min/day × staff) + (1 min × children)) / 60, capped at 80 hrs/month.

Paper cost: children × $3/month. Annual savings = monthly × 12.

Subscription cost is excluded from this estimate.

Recalculate

## How to use this calculator

The calculator has five inputs. Here’s what each one represents and how to fill it in accurately.

### 1. Number of children enrolled

Use the slider to let us know the total number of children your program currently serves. This drives the baseline billing volume. More children means more invoices to manage, more payment records to track, and more families to follow up with when payments are late.

### 2. Number of staff members

Include everyone who spends time on manual work. Think about who sends invoices, tracks payments, follows up on late accounts, or reconciles records. Count yourself if you’re involved in any of this work.

### 3. Average staff hourly rate

Use the average hourly wage for the staff members. The calculator uses this to convert time into a dollar figure, so you can see what the administrative overhead is actually costing your program.

### 4. Families who pay late each month

Use the slider to estimate the percentage of families who regularly pay after the due date. Late payments create extra work: Reminders, follow-up calls, and manual reconciliation. The higher this number, the larger the administrative burden.

### 5. How families currently pay

Choose the payment method that best describes your program. Cash and checks require manual deposits and reconciliation. Peer-to-peer apps like Venmo and Zelle are faster but often lack the billing records and reporting that most programs need. A mix of both tends to create the most administrative overhead.

## Understanding your results

The estimate is based on typical program operations. Use the sliders to match your situation and see how the numbers change. Your actual savings may vary depending on your team’s workflows and how your billing is currently set up.

If the number is higher than you expected, that’s common. Between tracking down late payments, reconciling multiple payment methods, and sending manual reminders, billing tends to take more staff time than it looks like on paper. Use this calculator to better understand your potential ROI with brightwheel.