---
title: "Your first week with NestliCare"
description: "A setup checklist that takes a new daycare from signup to a fully running center."
type: setup
updated: 2026-08-01
canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/getting-started/your-first-week
roles: ["center_admin", "super_admin"]
platforms: [web]
---
Follow this track in order. Each step is linked to a detailed article — skim them if you already know what you're doing, or follow the steps if you don't.

Prefer to watch? This full walkthrough sets up a daycare from scratch, every feature, in about twelve minutes.

<VideoEmbed
  src="complete-onboarding"
  title="Complete setup, start to finish: rooms, staff, families, billing, and going live"
/>

In this video:

- **0:00** Create your account
- **1:25** Settings and data migration
- **2:09** Rooms and programs
- **3:14** Add your team
- **4:23** Families and children
- **6:09** Billing and automatic invoices
- **8:01** Announcements, newsletters, and documents
- **10:06** Invites, check-in, and attendance
- **11:49** You're set up

## Day 1 — Set up your account

1. **Create your organization.** Signing up creates everything you need to start: your organization, your center (with the address you entered), and your first room (**Room 1**, with you assigned to it and your capacity set). You land straight on your dashboard.
2. **Confirm the basics.** Check your daycare's name and time zone under **Settings → General**. Every timestamp in NestliCare (check-ins, activities, invoices) uses this time zone.
3. **Upload your logo.** Your logo appears on invoices, emails to parents, and the parent app. A 512×512 PNG is ideal.

<Callout kind="tip" title="Already running on another system (or on paper)?">
Don't retype your roster. Go to <strong>Settings → Data Migration</strong> and upload whatever you have (CSV exports, spreadsheets, PDFs, even photos of paper sign-in sheets). Our team sets up your families, children, and staff for you, free. Most owners skip Day 5 entirely this way. See <a href="/getting-started/switching-from-other-software">Switching from other software</a>.
</Callout>

## Day 2 — Shape your rooms

1. **Make Room 1 yours.** Go to **Organization → Rooms**, rename the auto-created Room 1 to what you actually call it (Infant Room, Sunflowers, Preschool), and check its capacity.
2. **Add your other rooms.** If children are grouped into more than one room, add the rest. Capacity here feeds your ratio reports later.
3. **Multi-site only: add centers.** Most daycares have exactly one center and it already exists. If you run more than one location, add the others under **Organization → Centers**.

## Day 3 — Invite your staff

1. **Invite teachers and admins.** Go to **Staff & Time → Staff → Add Staff**. Each teacher gets an email with a link to set their password and install the app.
2. **Assign them to rooms.** A teacher only sees children in the rooms they're assigned to.

See [Invite your team](/getting-started/invite-your-team) for the full walkthrough.

## Day 4 — Set up billing (optional but recommended)

1. **Create your billing plans.** Go to **Billing & Payments → Billing** and click **Create Plan**. A plan defines how much you charge and how often. Examples: "Full-time toddler, $1,200/month", "Drop-in, $60/day".
2. **Get online payments enabled.** They're not self-serve. Go to **Billing & Payments → Finances** and message us; our team provisions your payment account, then you finish a short verification.
3. **Let invoices run themselves.** Turn on Auto-Invoice Generation so every family is billed on their plan's schedule.

See [Set up billing](/getting-started/set-up-billing) for the full walkthrough.

## Day 5 — Add your first children

1. **Add families.** A family is one or more parents plus one or more children.
2. **Add each child.** Enter their name, date of birth, room assignment, and emergency contacts.
3. **Assign a billing plan.** This is what you'll charge them each period.

See [Add your first children](/getting-started/add-your-first-children).

## Day 6 — Invite parents

On each family's page, send an invite to each parent. They receive an email with instructions to install the parent app and log in.

## Day 7 — Run a live day

1. In the morning, **check children in** — teachers use the mobile app's check-in screen, or families can self-check-in at the kiosk.
2. Throughout the day, **post activities** — meals, naps, diaper changes, photos.
3. At pickup, **check children out**.

You're live. 🎉

<Callout kind="tip" title="Need help?">
Stuck anywhere in this track? Email us at support@nestlicare.com and we'll jump on a call. Setup help is free.
</Callout>