What's the best software for our daycare business? - Tax Tips Article - Child Care Provider Tax Preparation, Daycare Taxes, Payroll, Fremont, California

What's the best software for our daycare business?

Alison suggests a couple of options

A family child care provider writes:

>Would you mind telling us the best software to purchase for our daycare business? We would like to keep our records better than last year.

Better record-keeping is a great goal. It's one of the most straightforward ways to reduce the income and self-employment tax you pay and keep more of your hard-earned dollars. You may earn a higher hourly rate working on your bookkeeping than you do caring for children!

...

Many child care providers I know are using Minute Menu Kids Pro. This web-based software grew out of the Redleaf Press Calendar-Keeper product (which is a good record-keeping option for providers who prefer a paper method). You subscribe annually and enter your data, which is stored on their servers. I like this from a backup point of view. I have had several clients lose all their tax data when their computer hard drive died.

Minute Menu Kids Pro is geared for family child care and lets you track time and meals, as well as all your home and business expenses, including auto mileage. The year-end reports are good for tax preparation purposes. You can try the software free for 30 days. Last I checked, the cost for Minute Menu Kids Pro was $69.95 for the first year and $39.95 for annual renewals. I've heard that you can save $7 off the initial price by joining the National Association for Family Child Care at 800-359-3817.

Other providers are using Kidkeeper, which is a standalone childcare management software program that you purchase and then pay to upgrade, as necessary. I don't know much about this software, but it gets good reviews from some providers who use it. Last I checked, the cost was $195 for the full version and $75 for upgrades.

Last updated 7 December 2009

Posted on 2009-06-23 17:20:58

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Tom Copeland Bio and Contact info

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User alisonja_alison already has more than 'max_user_connections' active connectionsUser alisonja_alison already has more than 'max_user_connections' active connections Alison T. Jacks is an Enrolled Agent tax professional specializing in income tax preparation for California Family Child Care Providers. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, her highest priority is communicating effectively with day care providers regarding record keeping and tax preparation so that they pay the lowest tax and avoid audit troubles. Alison has a diverse clientele whom she helps with stock options, rental properties, and much more. Since 2007, she has been accepting family child care clients only.

Alison is located in Fremont, California. She has been working with clients in her local communities of Fremont, Newark, Union City and the greater San Francisco Bay Area since 1995, initially doing business as Taxes On The Net and now as Family Child Care Taxes. Via email, fax and phone she works with clients throughout the State of California.

Alison is a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, the California Society of Enrolled Agents, the National Association of Tax Professionals and the Redleaf National Institute, established by Tom Copeland in 1992 to improve the quality of family child care by helping providers successfully manage their businesses.

California cities where Alison's clients are located include Alameda, Benicia, Berkeley, Brea, Burlingame, Castro Valley, Concord, Cupertino, Danville, Dublin, Foster City, Fremont, Goleta, Hayward, Hercules, Highland, Irvine, Lincoln, Livermore, Los Angeles, Manteca, Martinez, Milpitas, Modesto, Mountain House, Mountain View, Newark, Oakland, Palo Alto, Paso Robles, Placentia, Pleasanton, Redwood City, Sacramento, San Anselmo, San Carlos, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan Capistrano, San Jose, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, San Ramon, Santa Clara, Stockton, Sunnyvale, Santa Rosa, Templeton, Union City, and Van Nuys.

Website by Cooksey-Talbott Studio

Special thanks to Cooksey-Talbott for his wonderful photographs of the Fremont Hills.