--- title: "Switching from other daycare software" description: "Migrate your families, children, staff, and payment setup to NestliCare without losing history or disrupting your day." type: guide updated: 2026-09-14 canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/getting-started/switching-from-other-software roles: ["center_admin", "super_admin"] platforms: [web] --- Most centers are switching from something — Procare, brightwheel, Sandbox, Kinderlime, LifeCubby, HiMama — and nobody wants to lose a year of data to do it. Here's the honest playbook for switching without pain. ## We migrate your data for you, free You don't have to retype anything. Go to **Settings → Data Migration** and upload whatever you can export or photograph from your current setup: - Children rosters or enrollment lists - Staff and employee lists - Family or parent contact sheets - CSV exports, spreadsheets, or PDFs from your current software - Photos of paper sign-in sheets or handwritten records Our team takes it from there and sets up your families, children, and staff in your account. This white-glove migration is free for every daycare, whatever your size. The same option appears as **Import your data** in the welcome checklist on your new dashboard. ## What you can bring over | Data | How | Your effort | |---|---|---| | Families + children | Upload to **Settings → Data Migration**, we do the rest | Minutes to upload | | Staff | Upload your staff list with the same files, or invite each person via **Staff** | Minutes | | Rooms + capacity | Configure once in **Organization → Rooms** | 15 min | | Billing plans | Recreate in **Billing & Payments → Billing** | 30 min | | Saved payment methods | Families re-add on first invoice (security requirement, no platform will let us move saved cards) | Parents do this themselves | | Historical attendance / photos | Not migrated — keep your old system read-only for records | N/A | | Active Stripe account | Keep the same Stripe account — connect it during onboarding, no payout interruption | 5 min | With the migration handled for you, your side of a full cutover is typically **an hour or two of configuration**, spread over a week. Parents re-link their payment methods on their next invoice, which takes them under a minute each. ## Recommended migration sequence **Week 1 — set up in parallel** 1. Sign up, create your organization and centers 2. Upload your roster and staff files to **Settings → Data Migration** (we set them up while you do the rest) 3. Configure rooms, programs, and billing plans 4. Invite staff (they can start exploring while your data lands) **Week 2 — cutover** 1. Pick a start date (ideally the 1st or 15th of a month to align with billing cycles) 2. Mark your old system read-only 3. Send parents a one-sentence email: *"We're switching to NestliCare this month. Watch for an invitation email to set up your login."* 4. Invite parents via the family import flow 5. Generate first NestliCare invoices; parents pay via the new system **Week 3 — monitor and adjust** 1. Keep old system accessible for reference (don't cancel subscriptions yet) 2. Confirm payouts land correctly from Stripe 3. Cancel the old software once the first pay cycle completes cleanly ## What to keep from your old system You can't migrate *everything*, and you shouldn't try. The goal is forward-looking data: - **Migrate**: current roster, enrollment info, billing setup, contact info - **Don't migrate**: historical attendance logs, photo libraries, activity history, old messages For licensing or tax records you need to keep, either keep your old system on the lowest-tier subscription for read access, or export CSVs/PDFs once before canceling. Most platforms allow a final data export — ask. ## Stripe continuity If you already have a Stripe account, **use it**. During NestliCare onboarding: 1. **Billing & Payments → Finances → Connect Stripe** 2. Sign in with your existing Stripe credentials 3. Your existing payout schedule, bank account, and tax settings carry over Parents' saved payment methods don't transfer (PCI rules — no platform can move stored cards). On their next invoice, they'll re-enter their card or bank. Most do it in under a minute. ## Parent communication template Here's a message that works. Copy, edit, send: > Hi families, > > We're moving our daycare's billing and daily updates to a new system called **NestliCare** starting [date]. Here's what's changing for you: > > - **Daily activity feed, messaging, and photos**: all in a new app. Same content, cleaner interface. You'll get an invitation email to set up your account. > - **Invoices and payments**: you'll receive your [next month] invoice through NestliCare. If you paid by auto-pay before, you'll need to re-add your card or bank once — after that, auto-pay continues. > - **Nothing about your child's day is changing** — same teachers, same routines. > > If you run into anything, reply to this email or message the teachers through the new app. ## What to ask your current vendor for Every platform we have seen — brightwheel, Procare, Lillio (HiMama), Playground, Kangarootime, Sandbox, Kinderlime, LifeCubby — lets an administrator export at least a roster, and their support teams can usually produce the rest on request. Ask in writing about a week before you plan to cut over: - **Student or child roster** as CSV or spreadsheet, with birthdates and room assignments - **Family and guardian contacts**, including authorized pickups - **Current balances and open invoices**, so nothing gets billed twice across the switch - **Immunization records and signed documents** as PDFs - **A final export of anything you must keep** for licensing or taxes If an export is not offered, photos of printed rosters and paper sign-in sheets work just as well for **Settings → Data Migration**. Our team does the data entry either way. ## What switching costs Nothing on the NestliCare side. The software has no paid plan, and the migration is done for you at no cost, whatever your size. Your only cost is time — typically an hour or two of configuration spread over a week — plus one minute per parent to re-add a payment method on their first invoice. Keep the old subscription running through the first NestliCare pay cycle so you never lose access to records mid-switch, then cancel it. The marketing-site version of this playbook, with the same steps in a printable layout, is at [nestlicare.com/switching-daycare-software](https://nestlicare.com/switching-daycare-software). ## If you're leaving NestliCare The same courtesy applies from our side. Export your data any time from **Settings → Data Export** — full family roster, transaction history, and activity logs in CSV. We'll never hold your data hostage. ## Need help with a migration? The upload in **Settings → Data Migration** covers the data itself. If you want help planning the whole cutover (timing, parent communication, billing alignment), email [support@nestlicare.com](mailto:support@nestlicare.com) with your current software name and family count and we'll plan it with you. Also free, whatever your size.