Iowa is gifting you free childcare software

Iowa HHS has partnered with brightwheel, the #1 childcare software, to offer you:

Free childcare software until June 2025
An opportunity to apply for a technology grant for your program
12 months of financial coaching and support by Child Care Collaborative of Iowa - *required*

Get started with your free childcare software and join millions of educators and families using brightwheel.

"Brightwheel saves us time and helps us get paid on time. It's easy to communicate with parents, and we have very few missed payments this way!" - Klint, Director, Albia Preschool, Iowa

Funding for this project is being made available through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

All the essentials in one integrated app

Automate billing and payments
Send real-time messages to staff and families
Efficiently run your program with check-in, admissions, reports, and multi-site management
Support educators in and out of the classroom with curriculum, lesson plans, and observations
Automatically sync time tracking with payroll for easy, accurate payroll processing

Brandyn B, Co-Founder of Magnolia Forest Preschools

“We chose brightwheel when we were evaluating different tools because it integrates billing, admissions, and a great visual experience for families. It’s awesome that it’s an all-in-one system.”

Brandyn B, Co-Founder of Magnolia Forest Preschools
Puget Sound, WA

Simplify billing and get paid faster

Easily set up and automate billing
Give families a way to securely pay tuition online
Track subsidy payments across multiple agencies
Stay on top of your finances and year-end taxes
Expense management (coming soon)

Munisha M, Director at Excelsior University for Children

“95% of families are on track with their payments, thanks to brightwheel! Before, it was really bad. Parents love that they can see exactly how much they owe, right on their phones.”

Munisha M, Director at Excelsior University for Children
Seabrook, TX

Build quality connections with families and staff

Give staff an easy tool to communicate with families, administrators, and other staff
Centralize messaging, newsletters, and alerts
Share milestones, photos, and videos

Cally B, Assistant Director at MBCC Journey

“Brightwheel has been a tremendous blessing. I’ve received great feedback from teachers on Messaging because I’m able to step in and help answer questions a teacher might not be as comfortable answering.”

Cally B, Assistant Director at MBCC Journey
Birmingham, AL

Support child development in and out of the classroom

Save time with tools to add, customize, and distribute your own curriculum
Add Experience Curriculum to enhance program quality with digital lessons and hands-on learning materials
Make it easier for staff to observe and share a child’s developmental benchmarks with families

Tiffany M, Pre-K Teacher & Curriculum Coordinator at Tarrytown Children’s Center

“Our teachers love Experience Curriculum. Newer teachers feel more confident because they can use it as a strong foundation and build from there to support child development in their classrooms.”

Tiffany M, Pre-K Teacher & Curriculum Coordinator at Tarrytown Children’s Center
Austin, TX

Efficiently manage your center

Centralize family and staff information
Manage your admissions process and waitlist online
Stay compliant with digital check-in, health checks, and room ratio tracking and run reports quickly
Fillable PDF forms
Enhanced CACFP reporting & logging (coming soon)
New reports for attendance, staff, and more (coming soon)

Kelly R, Director at Good Shepherd Learning Center

“Brightwheel has cut out a third of my busy work. Enrollment is now all online, and we no longer have manual processes where families come in and sign paperwork in the office.”

Kelly R, Director at Good Shepherd Learning Center
Douglassville, PA

Automate your Payroll with ease

Easily track upcoming & past payrolls
Auto-sync staff hours with payroll to quickly and accurately pay your staff
Get your local, state, and federal taxes filed for you
Enable your staff to access pay stubs & tax forms online, anytime
Staff time off for scheduling, tracking, and pay (coming soon)

Adriana W, Administrator at Steps to Success Inc.

“I highly recommend brightwheel's payroll solution. It is so easy to use. The connection between brightwheel and Gusto makes payroll so much faster because it syncs seamlessly!”

Adriana W, Administrator at Steps to Success Inc.
Leola, PA

Brightwheel is the best! I am 100% sure the app is helping grow my enrollment, and it helps me be more in control of my center.

Get Brightwheel before you think you need it! It’s been a life-saver for us as new business owners, allowing us to focus on the families and children we serve.

Brightwheel is user-friendly and saves mounds of time. I enjoy all the tools they give Directors. We love it!

Brightwheel gets an A+ for parent satisfaction. A huge piece families love is how brightwheel brings them into the room. We get so many compliments.

Brightwheel’s customer service is phenomenal. I receive quick answers, and I always tell people to write in to Support. They are so informative.

We were the first ones to use brightwheel in our town. Now, every other center has adopted it as their software. It is an amazing all-in-one tool… Worth every penny!

My staff love attending brightwheel webinars. They’re able to learn how to use the system to its fullest potential. I think we are using every single feature on the platform!

Having everything on one platform makes it easy for us to train teachers. We use brightwheel to set expectations on the quality we expect.

I LOVE how easy it is to record a payment in billing. We no longer cross our fingers hoping our numbers match! It’s beautiful.

We have many grandparents and they love using brightwheel. It’s easy for them to use, and they enjoy interacting with an app that is so user friendly.