Childcare cost savings 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.
Based 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.
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.
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.