--- title: "Smartcare Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about Smartcare Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Daycare products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/141292/SmartCare/" page_type: "product" language: "en" --- # Smartcare Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on February 15, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Pros and Cons](#pros-cons)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Smartcare ## What is Smartcare? Smartcare is a cloud and mobile-based childcare center and classroom management software that helps childcare directors, K-12 program administrators, teachers, and parents connect. It offers automated billing and payment processing; attendance, record keeping, prospect tracking and many more features. The tool is suited for customers of all sizes, from single locations to multi-location enterprises. ## What is Smartcare used for? [Daycare](https://www.capterra.com/child-care-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 280 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 68% Neutral 23% Negative 10% Pros & cons Responsive customer assistance team Comprehensive childcare management platform Confusing parent billing process Cumbersome and limited reporting Contact vendor for pricing Free trial not available Free version not included Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Smartcare?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://www.vancopayments.com&name=Smartcare) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Smartcare 3.8 (280) VS. [4.6 (2,809)](https://www.capterra.com/p/23486/Procare-Child-Care-Management/reviews/) Starting Price Contact vendor Starting Price Contact vendor Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 3.7 (279) Ease Of Use 4.4 (2,808) Value For Money 3.7 (253) Value For Money 4.5 (2,391) Customer Service 4.0 (270) Customer Service 4.6 (2,630) ## Smartcare alternatives Highest Rated [4.7 (3,257)](https://www.capterra.com/p/144060/brightwheel/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 96% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.7 (264)](https://www.capterra.com/p/155536/Famly/reviews/) Starting price $49.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 95% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.6 (77)](https://www.capterra.com/p/181289/ChildPilot/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 95% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Lillio](https://www.capterra.com/p/134048/HiMama-Preschool-Child-Care-App/) [4.6 (3,623)](https://www.capterra.com/p/134048/HiMama-Preschool-Child-Care-App/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 94% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/134048/HiMama-Preschool-Child-Care-App/) [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/141292/SmartCare/alternatives/) ## FAQs about Smartcare Overview ### What problems does Smartcare solve? Smartcare solves fragmented childcare operations by combining parent messaging, staff communication, attendance, billing, scheduling, enrollment tracking, and child records in one system. It reduces paper forms, manual check-ins, scattered updates, and billing follow-up. Childcare directors, administrators, teachers, and parents benefit most from faster coordination and real-time visibility into each child’s day. Answer based on 122 reviews Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from Smartcare? Smartcare is most used by childcare center directors, assistant directors, and owners who oversee daily operations, enrollment, billing, and parent communication. Administrative teams use it to manage records and office workflows, while executive leaders and program managers rely on reporting, compliance oversight, and visibility across locations or classrooms. Answer based on 273 reviews Overview ### What company size and industries is Smartcare built for? Smartcare serves small childcare and education organizations, with 95% of reviewers from small businesses and 75% from Education Management. It is built for parents, teachers, and directors or owners of daycare centers, early learning programs, K-12 enrichment, Montessori, and faith-based preschools, with daycare as the main use case for 92% of reviewers. Answer based on 280 reviews Features and Usability ### What are the key features of Smartcare? Smartcare includes core childcare management features like parent-teacher communication through the Parent Portal, billing and invoicing with payment processing, and check-in/check-out with attendance tracking. Differentiating capabilities include customizable reports, daily reports with photos and updates, enrollments, and records management for child and family information. Answer based on 120 reviews Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does Smartcare integrate with? Smartcare integrates with 3 third-party platforms: LineLeader by ChildcareCRM, QuickBooks, and QuickBooks Desktop. These integrations cover childcare CRM and accounting workflows, giving Smartcare connectivity with child care management and bookkeeping tools. Answer based on 3 reviews Getting Started and Support ### How easy is it to onboard and train a team on Smartcare? Smartcare offers live online training, webinars, videos, and documentation, giving teams several ways to learn. Frontline staff and parents often get started quickly because basic tasks are easy to find, while admins handling setup, billing, and reports usually need more time, follow-up sessions, and responsive support during the learning curve. Answer based on 33 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does Smartcare offer, and how do users rate the experience? Smartcare offers email/help desk, FAQ/forum, a knowledge base, phone support, and chat. Many users describe support as friendly, patient, and quick to respond, especially during setup and transition. Others report inconsistent expertise, delayed fixes, callback waits, and uneven follow-through when problems become more complex or ongoing. Answer based on 70 reviews Features and Usability ### How well does Smartcare handle parent-teacher communication? Smartcare supports daily parent communication through messages, photos, videos, and real-time updates that many child care centers value. Parents often like seeing timelines and classroom activity from anywhere, but some teachers find posting cumbersome, want direct two-way messaging, and run into device or workflow limits. Answer based on 120 reviews Features and Usability ### How well does Smartcare handle tuition payments and billing? Smartcare handles online tuition payments and family billing in one place, which many directors and parents find convenient. Child care centers often like mobile payments, balance visibility, and reduced front-desk work, but accountants and administrators sometimes struggle with deposit reconciliation, reporting, transaction corrections, and billing setup across multiple screens. Answer based on 49 reviews ## Pros and Cons Responsive customer assistance team 77% positive reviews out of 61 Most reviewers indicate customer support is accessible, friendly, and provides timely help during onboarding and troubleshooting. Confusing parent billing process 41% negative reviews out of 82 Some reviewers describe parent billing as unclear, error-prone, and challenging for both staff and families to manage. Comprehensive childcare management platform 80% positive reviews out of 30 Most reviewers find childcare center management features centralize operations, simplify record-keeping, and support daily administrative tasks. Cumbersome and limited reporting 62% negative reviews out of 48 Most users report reports are difficult to generate, lack customization, and require manual adjustments for usefulness. Streamlined staff-parent interactions 92% positive reviews out of 25 Most reviewers describe staff-parent communication as efficient, user-friendly, and time-saving for daily updates. ## Features AI summary Based on 3,326 Daycare reviews Capterra reviewers point to these as the top features buyers look for in daycare software: - **Parent Portal** (**50%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Data Security** (**54%**) - **Communications Management** (**46%**) Smartcare supports all three features that reviewers rank as most important: **Parent Portal**, **Data Security**, and **Communications Management**. Together, these capabilities help daycare providers keep families informed, protect sensitive child and billing information, and manage day-to-day communication more efficiently, allowing teams to build trust with parents and keep operations running smoothly. Parent Portal 2.5 (6) 16.67% of 6 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Portal for parents to see and update childrens' info, track progress & more Communications Management 3.3 (6) 33.33% of 6 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Record and track all relevant internal and external communications Daily Reports 4.0 (6) 16.67% of 6 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important A document that lists daily activities or maintains a record of all events that happened in a day Payment Processing 4.1 (7) 42.86% of 7 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Accept, record, and reconcile financial transactions Attendance Tracking 3.8 (8) 37.50% of 8 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track the attendance of specific individuals or groups Enrollments/Onboarding 2.3 (3) 33.33% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Manage the enrollment and onboarding of all new members and accepted applications Smartcare 23 features ### All Features - Activity Dashboard: Dashboard to view the status of ongoing processes, identify current incidents and track past activities - Activity Tracking: Track and document all activities across devices, networks, and other systems - Attendance Tracking: Track the attendance of specific individuals or groups - Billing & Invoicing: Create, manage, and send invoices or bills to customers - Calendar Management: Track and manage schedules and meetings via an integrated calendar - Check-in/Check-out: Track the status of assets and whether they're checked in or out - Communications Management: Record and track all relevant internal and external communications - Contact Database: Centralized database of stakeholders and their contact information such as names, address, phone number etc. - Customer Accounts: Record customer information, purchase history, and other notes - Daily Reports: A document that lists daily activities or maintains a record of all events that happened in a day - Electronic Signature: Digitally sign online documents - Employee Management: Track employee schedules, availability, and performance across projects and tasks - Enrollments/Onboarding: Manage the enrollment and onboarding of all new members and accepted applications - Immunization & Allergy Tracking: Manage updates to member's immunization records and track individual allergies - Meal/Nutrition Management: Meal and snack planning, scheduling and distribution - Milestone Tracking: Monitor task progress and planned accomplishments to better manage project status - Parent Portal: Portal for parents to see and update childrens' info, track progress & more - Payment Processing: Accept, record, and reconcile financial transactions - Records Management: Ability to record, store, update, and retrieve information - Registration Management: Oversee and coordinate the registration of attendees, visitors, customers, events, activities, etc. - Reporting & Statistics: Collection, analysis, and representation of numerical data and generation of reports to understand various patterns - Role-Based Permissions: Set & manage permission levels based on user roles and restrict access to only authorized individuals - Wait List Management: Record, update and manage waiting lists --- Features 3.4 (269) 3.4 Based on 269 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 3.7 (253) Value for money 3.7 (253) 3.7 Based on 253 reviews ## Integrations [ QuickBooks Desktop](https://www.capterra.com/p/212058/QuickBooks-Desktop-Pro/)[ LineLeader by ChildcareCRM](https://www.capterra.com/p/129630/Child-Care-CRM/) ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.0 (270) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.0 (270) 4.0 Based on 270 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 3.8 Based on 280 reviews Filter by rating 5(83) 4(106) 3(64) 2(17) 1(10) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent MG Melody G. Admin Education Management ### "Smart Care Use " 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 4/10 April 22, 2025 Pros It was useful for signing children in and out of the center.Customer service was helpful. Cons We ran into a lot of glitches. I don't really know if the program was explained well enough to use all the the program entails Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. SU Samantha U. Assistant Director Education Management ### "Good, but could be better" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 2.0 2.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 4/10 November 6, 2024 Overall it was okay. We liked the automatic billing. I wish there was an app for the teacher side of posting but there isn’t. If your are just wanting billing software, and the option to batch message parents, its great, but it could be better. Pros We where excited about the opportunity to share in the moment posts with parents and guardians. Cons The website is not at all user friendly for teachers. There were many crashes and a few times payments weren’t charged, and the double charged on the parent’s causing issues. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. CR cheyenne R. mom E-Learning ### "mom approved" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 October 8, 2024 Super easy to use! so helpful to me as a mom Pros Love love love this product!!! Truly an essential as a mom Cons A little tricky to navigate but overall great Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RC Rahul C. Student Computer Software ### "Try and go with flow.be smart" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 July 23, 2024 Pros Allover it's good and worth to using this Cons Till now nothing much. Will use more and check Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. MH Michelle H. Curriculum Director Education Management ### "Preschool management in one app" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 6/10 May 11, 2023 Pros I liked the ease of navigating the system when it came to pulling reports, uploading photos and communicating with parents. Cons Customer service was great, but over a year into the product and it was hard to get service that made sense. There was problem with billing and no one that helped so our organization switched to Procare (which has its own pros and cons) Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. NB Neha B. Senior Manager Computer Software ### "Great app to monitor your child's activity" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 August 24, 2022 I like the app and I am glad that most of the child care centers are using it. Pros I like the app as it allows me to be able to receive photos and videos of my toddler. I have been using the app since over 6 months and I like it a lot. It's a great app to get real-time updates about your child at day care and allows you to view the bills as well. Cons Sometimes I face issues with the quality of the photos and videos but the app is improving and getting better. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. PN pam N. business manager Education Management ### "Waiting six months for resolution" 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 1.0 1.0 Features 1.0 1.0 Customer Service 1.0 1.0 Likelihood to Recommend 0/10 June 28, 2022 Sales side needs to know more about what is customizable. In our case, we could not customize the welcome letter, which stated all the features of Smartcare that would be available to our parents, even the features we were not signed up for. This would have created a "%\*storm when we launched, so we cancelled prior to launch. Pros Nothing, since we didn't use it. The introduction of product by sales team turned out to be what was possible when we got ready to use it. Cons In our inquiry phase, we were told we could have features and flexibility that were not possible when we were ready to roll out the product, so this was a failure to launch. Did not use Smartcare, cancelled in November 2021 for failure to deliver and have struggled since then to receive reimbursements for auto billing payments that Smartcare did not cancel. Reasons for choosing Smartcare We wanted communications, forms etc. Did not want billing. Sales person said we could just use what we wanted. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. CW Chelsea W. After School Program Director Education Management ### "You get what you pay for " 2.0 Overall Rating 2.0 2.0 Ease of Use 1.0 1.0 Features 1.0 1.0 Customer Service 1.0 1.0 Likelihood to Recommend 0/10 May 9, 2022 Poor experience. We are super low maintenance and patient and have not been able to get issues resolved within the last two years. Pros Ability to bulk email parents at the same time. Cons Billing, admissions, not user friendly, can only be used with Chrome-many parents use Safari or other web browsers. Very slow if any turn around on development ticket items, so many glitches, not user friendly, not capable of billing for the current month. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. JS Julie S. Director Education Management ### "SmartCare provides for all electronic childcare needs!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 March 22, 2022 FANTASTIC! Highly recommend. Our center used a different electronic system prior to Smartcare and Smartcare hands down offers what centers need. Pros Most! Definitely the ease of the QR tags for parents to sign in/out daily. The CACFP reports are hands down our top time and money saver (reduces staff). Direct link to Missouri Depart of Social Services which allow smooth attendance reporting meeting the state guidelines. Tracking staff in-service training throughout the year instead of figuring it out at times of inspection. Smartcare customer service is always helpful! Cons The employee option does not allow rounding; therefore, time cards show overtime a few minutes a day when staff is early or leaves a few minutes late. Reasons for choosing Smartcare Each of these programs had a strength. However, Procare had bad reviews on customer service and that is critical to me (comes from a center I know that tried Procare, not trying to throw them under the bus), Bright Wheel does not link to Missouri DSS and no food program reports, Kangarootime was pricey and limited reports, Himama only let me set up "per class room" not for whole center. I didn't feel these were as user friendly as SmartCare. I talked with each organization, did each demo, and talked with at least one person using each program. Smartcare was the right choice to meet our food program and DSS needs. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. DW Desiree W. Owner/Director Education Management ### "Smartcare provides smart care for my childcare center!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 September 1, 2021 I have tried 4 different childcare software programs over the past 20 years, and Smartcare continues to be the best choice for my childcare needs. Pros Smartcare automatically calculates daily fees based on children's attendance which is critical for me. It also keeps great track of employee's timecards which makes payroll a breeze for me. Cons I would prefer teachers and staff be able to use contactless sign in too. Switched from [Procare Solutions](https://www.capterra.com/p/23486/Procare-Child-Care-Management/) Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/141292/SmartCare/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. 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