What childcare software should do in 2026
What a director should ask any vendor. Brightwheel's answers come from its own public pages; where they list something, we say so.
| Ask for | Bloomz | Brightwheel |
|---|---|---|
| The whole app in the family's language, 250+ languages | ✅ Menus, forms, invoices and pickup screen, both directions | Different: a Spanish toggle is shown; no language count is listed |
| Free for families | ✅ No parent subscription, ever | Different: parent pricing is not stated on the pages we read |
| Payment rates published before the call | ✅ Cards 2.95%, no per-transaction fee; ACH 0.6% | Different: pricing is by request; no payment rates are listed |
| A Best Price Guarantee | ✅ We beat a written competitor quote by 10% | Not listed† |
| Kiosk check-in with health check and signature | ✅ | ✅ Check-in by scan, e-signature or PIN is listed |
| Care log and a daily report with photos | ✅ Sent at check-out | ✅ Daily reports with activities, notes and photos are listed |
| Tuition billing, autopay and subsidy copays | ✅ Hourly and daily rates, late-pickup fee, agency share and copay on one invoice | ✅ Recurring invoices and payments are listed |
| Enrollment, waitlist and a seat forecast by room | ✅ | ✅ Waitlist, tours and forecasting by classroom are listed |
| Center website with the inquiry page connected | ✅ Included option, quoted per center | Different: a linkable or embeddable interest form is listed; a website builder is not |
| Parent Q&A AI that answers from your own documents | ✅ With citations, in the parent's language | Different: an AI assistant answers operator questions from live program data; parent Q&A is not listed |
| Newsletters, translated per family | ✅ Newsletter Studio | ✅ Newsletters are listed |
| Alerts by app, SMS and voice call | ✅ Voice in about 49 languages | Different: SMS and mobile alerts are listed; voice calls are not |
| Visitor management with watchlist screening and badges | ✅ | Not listed† |
| Background checks for parent volunteers | ✅ | Not listed† |
| Staff scheduling with a ratio check | ✅ Shifts by room and role, published to phones, call-outs with cover, scheduled vs actual | ✅ Staff scheduling, absences and real-time room ratios are listed |
| Lesson plans and a curriculum library | ✅ 24 starter activities, a weekly plan per room, a daily schedule; no packaged curriculum or preloaded state standards | Different: lesson plans are listed, and so are a packaged curriculum and pre-loaded standards for all 50 states |
| Observations, milestones and a progress report | ✅ Private by default, shareable per observation; report in English, Spanish or Arabic; DRDP and GOLD results import through a preset set up against your export | ✅ Observations, milestones and printable progress reports are listed; class assessments are also listed |
| CACFP menus and meal counts | ✅ Menu check, counts checked against attendance, exported for your sponsor; Bloomz does not file claims | ✅ Meal-pattern validation and CACFP reports are listed |
| Licensing records beside check-in and billing | ✅ Ratios, drills, staff credentials, Washington DCYF export (not yet on DCYF's approved list) | Different: compliance through check-in, health checks and ratio tracking is listed, with state licensing requirements as a resource |
| Staff pay rules, PTO and hours synced to payroll | ✅ Pay rates, overtime rules and PTO; approved hours synced live to QuickBooks Payroll and Gusto; Bloomz does not run payroll | Different: time tracking synced with payroll, and payroll, are listed |
| Import of tuition plans and past invoices | ✅ Plus opening balances and an autopay request to families | Different: rosters and billing rate cards are listed as migrated; past invoices are not |
| A 1:1 onboarding specialist and a 24-hour import | ✅ Your data imported within 24 hours of receiving your export | ✅ A 1:1 specialist and migration in under 24 hours are listed |
| Help when something breaks | ✅ Help in the app, by email or from the help center; an AI support agent works every request around the clock and a person picks up anything it can't solve | Different: live chat and phone support are listed |
What Bloomz has that Brightwheel's public pages do not list
Each row is a feature Bloomz has today. For each one we checked Brightwheel's own pages and name the page we read. "Not listed" means the term does not appear on the page named. Brightwheel is ahead of us in places, and the table above says where.
| Only in Bloomz | Bloomz | Brightwheel's pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-click export of everything, including every photo, video and message | ✅ Roster, attendance, care log, billing, staff, every photo and video, every message | No data export, message export or photo export is listed | mybrightwheel.com/features, read 2026-10-24 and checked again 2026-10-25 |
| A website for the center, published from the app | ✅ Your own site with the enrollment inquiry page connected | A linkable or embeddable interest form is listed; a website builder is not | mybrightwheel.com/features and /communication/, read 2026-10-24 |
| Parent questions answered from the center's own documents | ✅ Parent Q&A AI, with citations, in the parent's language | An AI assistant answers operator questions from live program data; parent Q&A from documents is not listed | mybrightwheel.com/ai-assistant/, read 2026-10-24 |
| Polls and surveys | ✅ Re-enrollment intent, satisfaction, trip interest | Not listed. Sign-up forms are listed | mybrightwheel.com/features, /communication/ and /childcare-forms/, read 2026-10-24 |
| Alerts by voice call | ✅ Voice calls in about 49 languages, beside app, SMS and email | SMS and emergency alerts are listed; voice calls are not | mybrightwheel.com/communication/, read 2026-10-24 |
| Visitor management with watchlist screening and badges | ✅ Visitor and contractor sign-in | Not listed | mybrightwheel.com/features and /childcare-forms/, read 2026-10-24 |
| Background checks for parent volunteers | ✅ Check and approve parent volunteers | Sign-up forms for volunteer events are listed; background checks are not | mybrightwheel.com/childcare-forms/, read 2026-10-24 |
| Substitute access that expires on its own | ✅ Substitutes Lite: room access for exactly the shift | Accounts for substitute teachers are listed; time-limited access is not | mybrightwheel.com/childcare-staff-scheduling-software/, read 2026-10-24 |
| A ratio check by room and hour before the week, using expected attendance | ✅ Staff scheduled against children expected from check-in history, by age band | Real-time room ratio monitoring while scheduling is listed; expected-attendance forecasting for scheduling is not | mybrightwheel.com/childcare-staff-scheduling-software/, read 2026-10-24 |
| Try-at-home tips translated for each family | ✅ Shown with "This week in" the room | Lesson plans and daily schedules are listed; family tips and translation are not | mybrightwheel.com/features/learning/ and /daily-schedules/, read 2026-10-24 |
| Progress reports in the family's language | ✅ English, Spanish or Arabic, with Arabic right to left | Shareable, printable progress reports are listed; translating them is not. The app offers English or Spanish | mybrightwheel.com/preschool-progress-report/ and /communication/, read 2026-10-24 |
| A free, reduced or paid category per child in the meal count | ✅ Admin only, logged, in the monthly sponsor export | CACFP reports are listed; a per-child category is not | mybrightwheel.com/cacfp-software/, read 2026-10-24 |
| Payment rates published before the call | ✅ Cards 2.95%, ACH 0.6%, on the pricing page | Pricing by request through a Request pricing form | mybrightwheel.com/pricing, read 2026-10-24 |
† Not listed on the Brightwheel pages we read on 2026-10-24 (home, features, pricing, security, switch-to-brightwheel, ai-assistant, crm-and-enrollment-forecasting, menu-planning-software, communication, childcare-forms, staff scheduling, progress report, daily schedules, cacfp-software, features/learning). Verify directly with the vendor.
Three things that matter most.
Bloomz translates the app itself, the menus, forms, invoices and pickup screen, into 250+ languages, and families reply in theirs. Check how far translation goes in Brightwheel for your families' languages.
Bloomz publishes its payment rates for childcare: cards 2.95% with no per-transaction fee, ACH 0.6%. And our Best Price Guarantee beats a competitor's written quote by 10%.
Signed sign-in sheets, ratios by age band, immunizations, a drill log, staff credentials and a Washington DCYF attendance export, next to check-in and billing.
Check-in, pickup and ratios at Little Harbor.
Families and staff check in on the same kiosk, with a PIN or a QR code.
Families who read another language get the same center.
Childcare families are some of the most linguistically diverse in education. Bloomz translates every screen, not only the message, so a family that reads Haitian Creole signs the medication form and reads the invoice in Haitian Creole.
Published rates, and a price we put in writing.
Childcare payment rates are on our pricing page. The platform is quoted per center on a short call, with the Best Price Guarantee behind it.
The records a licensor asks for, kept with the day.
Sign-in sheets, immunizations and staff clock-in history come from the same check-ins and records your staff already make. Ratios by age band, a drill log and staff credentials with reminders sit beside them.
Side by side.
Based on publicly available information as of October 2026. Found something out of date? Tell us.
| Capability | Bloomz | Brightwheel |
|---|---|---|
| Kiosk check-in and check-out with signature | ✅ | ✅ per published materials |
| Health check at check-in | ✅ | ✅ per published materials |
| Staff clock-in and live room ratios | ✅ | Room ratio tracking listed |
| Pickup list of approved adults | ✅ | Approved pick-up people listed |
| Verified pickup with custody stop | ✅ | Not listed† |
| Photos and class posts | ✅ | ✅ per published materials |
| Care log and daily report | ✅ | ✅ per published materials |
| Whole-app translation, 250+ languages | ✅ Menus, forms and invoices | Not listed† |
| Two-way translated messages | ✅ | Not listed† |
| Tuition plans, autopay, late fees | ✅ | ✅ per published materials |
| Subsidy agency awards against balances | ✅ | Subsidy management listed |
| Enrollment & Waitlist: inquiries, tours, waitlist, offers, deposits, contracts | ✅ | Admissions and waitlist listed |
| Before and after school programs | ✅ Extended Day: rosters, capacity, verified pickup, tuition | Camps and afterschool programs listed |
| Bloomz AI | ✅ Drafts and translates; staff approve every send | An AI assistant answering operator questions from live program data is listed |
| Security statements | ✅ Encrypted in transit and at rest; SOC 2-certified hosting; SSO | Encryption, two-factor authentication, AWS hosting and PCI Level 1 listed; SOC 2 and SSO not listed† |
| Published pricing | ✅ Payment rates published; platform quoted per center | Pricing by request; payment rates not listed† |
| Integrations | ✅ QuickBooks Online payments, calendar sync, QuickBooks Payroll and Gusto sync | Payroll sync listed; QuickBooks not listed† |
| Import from Brightwheel: children, families, tuition plans, past invoices, balances | ✅ Self-serve, plus a 1:1 onboarding specialist; data imported within 24 hours of your export | Data migration in under 24 hours and a 1:1 specialist listed |
| Bring your history: attendance, daily reports, incidents, medications, learning notes, waitlist | ✅ Shown where families already look, labelled "From Brightwheel" | Not listed† |
| Photos and videos from your Brightwheel gallery | ✅ Parents bring their child's gallery, dated and de-duplicated; centers import an original-file ZIP. Message history can't be exported from Brightwheel | Not listed† |
| One-click export of everything: roster, attendance, care log, billing, staff, photos, videos, messages | ✅ Your data is yours | No data, message or photo export listed† |
| Parent Today row: check in or out, report, message, pay, sign, week's plan | ✅ | Not listed† |
| Director board: Today at the center, plus Ask Pulse | ✅ Rooms out of ratio, incidents due, medications due, credentials expiring, timesheets, charges, inquiries | Not listed† |
| Hourly and daily-rate plans billed from attendance | ✅ | Not listed† |
| Late-pickup fee | ✅ | Not listed† |
| Agency share and family copay on one invoice | ✅ | Subsidy management listed |
| Seat forecast by room and week | ✅ | Enrollment forecasting by classroom listed |
| Weekly menus with allergen flags per child | ✅ | Weekly menu planning and CACFP meal log listed; allergens not listed† |
| Center website with the inquiry page connected | ✅ | A linkable or embeddable interest form listed; website builder not listed† |
| Alerts by SMS and voice call | ✅ | SMS and mobile alerts listed; voice calls not listed† |
| Visitor management with screening and badges | ✅ | Not listed† |
| Volunteer background checks | ✅ | Not listed† |
| Washington DCYF electronic attendance | Attendance export (SSPS number, edit audit, monthly report); not yet on DCYF's approved list | Listed on DCYF's approved-systems page |
| Medication authorization and log | ✅ | Not listed† |
| Incident reports with parent acknowledgement | ✅ | Incident reports listed |
| Drill log and staff credentials | ✅ | Not listed† |
| CACFP meal counts and menu check | ✅ Menus by component, counts checked against attendance, exported for your sponsor | Meal-pattern validation, food and attendance data combined, and reports for claims listed |
| CACFP claim filing | Not offered | Reports for claim submission listed; filing inside the app not described |
| Staff scheduling | ✅ Shifts by room and role, published to phones, call-outs and cover | Staff scheduling, absences and PTO listed |
| Lesson plans and daily schedules | ✅ Activity library, weekly plan per room, daily schedule, family view | Lesson plans and daily schedules listed |
| Observations tied to milestones, with a progress report | ✅ Private by default; report in English, Spanish or Arabic | Observations, milestones and printable, shareable progress reports listed |
| DRDP and Teaching Strategies GOLD | Results import through a preset set up against your export, when Thrive is on; no scoring in Bloomz | Pre-loaded standards for all 50 states, DRDP and Montessori listed |
| Packaged curriculum and class assessments | Not offered | Experience Curriculum and assessments listed |
| Expense tracking and built-in payroll | Not offered; approved hours sync to QuickBooks Payroll or Gusto | Expense tracking and payroll listed |
| Staff hours to payroll | Pay rates, overtime, PTO; approved hours sync to QuickBooks Payroll / Gusto; no payroll processing | Built-in payroll listed |
† Not listed on the Brightwheel pages we read on 2026-10-24 (home, features, pricing, security, switch-to-brightwheel, ai-assistant, crm-and-enrollment-forecasting, menu-planning-software, communication, childcare-forms, staff scheduling, progress report, daily schedules, cacfp-software, features/learning). Verify directly with the vendor.
When Brightwheel may be the right fit.
Brightwheel is a good product, and plenty of centers are happy on it. It is ahead of Bloomz on built-in payroll, expense tracking, preloaded state learning standards and a packaged curriculum. If your center depends on those, or on filing CACFP claims inside your childcare app, keep that in mind. Washington centers on Working Connections should also know DCYF's approved-systems page lists Brightwheel and Bloomz is not on it yet. If your priorities are families who read another language, published payment rates, and licensing records next to check-in and billing, Bloomz is built for that. For everything Bloomz has live and what is planned, see the roadmap.
Switching to Bloomz.
Easier than you think.
A 1:1 onboarding specialist for your center. We import your data within 24 hours of receiving your export. Your children, guardians, pickup lists, health and immunization records, tuition plans, past invoices and opening balances come across from your Brightwheel export, along with your attendance, daily reports, incidents, medications, learning notes and waitlist, shown with a "From Brightwheel" label. Parents can bring their child's gallery photos and videos, and your center can import an original-file ZIP. Message history can't be exported from Brightwheel, and you preview every row before anything saves. Families re-enter their card unless your old app transfers it, so one request asks every family to set up autopay. Help in the app, by email or from the help center. Bloomz's AI support agent works every request around the clock, and a person picks up anything it can't solve. Most centers go live with families at the start of a month.
Four commitments, every city.
Common questions.
See Bloomz side by side
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Bring your Brightwheel feature list to a 30-minute Bloomz demo. We’ll map every capability and show you what’s possible.
Brightwheel® is a trademark of its respective owner, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse Bloomz. Comparisons are based on publicly available information, including competitor websites, app store listings, help centers, and press releases, as reviewed October 2026. Product capabilities and pricing change; we encourage you to verify current capabilities directly with each vendor. Statements of opinion reflect the views of Bloomz. Found something out of date? Tell us at [email protected] and we’ll review it within 5 business days. Last reviewed: October 2026.