Childcare software for small centers to manage daily essentials
Trade the clipboard and cashbox for simple flat-rate billing, digital attendance, and messaging that carries your brand. Starter is the single-site plan for in-home daycares and small preschools.
- $50 per site / month
- Unlimited children · 1 site
- 10% off paid annually
- No long-term contracts
The core tools to run a small center
No complicated setup and nothing you will not use. Starter covers the day-to-day of an in-home daycare or small preschool.
Flat-rate billing and invoicing
Set weekly or monthly tuition and generate recurring invoices on schedule. Payment creation uses idempotency controls, and payouts run through Stripe Connect.
Digital attendance
Replace the clipboard with timestamped check-in and check-out. Parents and staff can use a secure PIN or QR code for a reliable daily record.
Leads, tours and waitlist
Capture enrollment inquiries, schedule tours, and keep waitlist records in one place for staff follow-up.
In-app messaging
Send updates and announcements to parents inside hayway, and each family reads them in their own language across 10 supported languages. Your personal cell number stays private, and conversations stay tied to each family.
Your center, your brand
Attendance, invoices, and messages all carry your logo and colors, so families see your center, not a generic app.
Low-fee payments
Collect tuition over ACH at a low 0.4% platform fee, capped at $2. Card payments add a 1.5% platform fee, itemized for families, with processing through Stripe.
Tailored to your exact routines
Starter is simple, not rigid. Even on the entry plan, you can shape hayway around the way you already run your center.
- Custom daily routinesTrack the milestones you care about and add activities beyond meals and naps so daily sheets match how your room actually runs.
- Your logo and colorsUpload your logo and brand colors so attendance screens, invoices, and messages always look like your center.
- Flexible invoice schedulingConfigure the recurring invoice schedule supported by your billing setup.
Optional add-ons
Need a little more room to grow? Layer on extras when you do.
Add-on availability and pricing are confirmed during onboarding. When you outgrow Starter, the Pro plan unlocks hourly and age-based billing, staff scheduling, and more.
Live in three steps
Starter is built to set up in an afternoon, not a quarter.
Set your rates
Add your flat weekly or monthly tuition and connect payouts through Stripe Connect.
Invite your families
Add your families to hayway so you can take attendance and send them invoices and messages from day one.
Run your day
Take attendance, send messages, and review recurring invoices generated from the configured schedule.
Pay annually and it drops to $45 per site / month
Unlimited children at one site, basic billing, no parent app, no long-term contracts. Starter leads to a paid subscription, not a free trial.
Ready to leave the clipboard behind?
Set up flat-rate billing, take attendance digitally, and message your families, all on the Starter plan. Built in New Albany, Indiana.
Research before you choose
Practical guides and source-cited state requirements for childcare operators.
Software for in-home childcare
See Starter and Pro capabilities in the context of a single home program.
Read resourceChildcare billing software guide
Evaluate invoicing, payment methods, fees, reconciliation, and idempotency controls.
Read resourceCompare hayway Pro
Review advanced billing, subsidy, CACFP, scheduling, parent-app, and multi-center capabilities.
Read resource