FAQ
Questions owners and directors ask us
If yours is not here, ask Steve, write to [email protected], or bring it to a demo.
The basics
What is Centerly?
Software that runs a child-care center or preschool: records, attendance, tuition billing, payments, parent communication, enrollment, licensing compliance and staff onboarding. What makes it different is that AI agents do the routine office work and your staff confirm it.
What does "fully agentic" mean?
Software agents do jobs, not only store data. One reads and files paperwork. One checks every file against your state's rules each night and sends reminders. One answers parents on your website and books tours. One manages your advertising to a budget. Each shows its work, and a person stays in charge.
Who is it for?
Licensed child-care centers, preschools and Montessori schools in the United States, from a single location upward. See who it is for.
Which states do you support?
All of them. Centerly's licensing checks follow the rules of the state where your center operates.
Do we need new hardware?
No. Centerly runs in any modern browser. The attendance kiosk and classroom screens run on tablets you already own.
Is there an app to download?
No download is needed. Staff and parents open Centerly in a browser, and can add it to a phone's home screen so it opens like an app.
The AI assistant
What does the assistant actually do?
It reads immunization records, screenings, CPR cards and background-check notices; names and files scanned documents; turns a parent's vacation email into dates, a notice check and a tuition credit; checks staff documents at upload; and answers questions about your center's records. See it screen by screen.
Does it change records on its own?
No. It proposes a change and your office confirms it with a click. The one exception is routine staff-document checks, which you can switch off.
What if it reads something wrong?
Each suggestion shows the document and the values it read, so the person confirming can catch a mistake. If the assistant is unsure, for example about a name, it holds the item for a person. Every confirmed change can be undone.
Do my staff need to learn to "prompt" it?
No. Most of the time they drop in a document or paste an email. They can also ask plain questions such as "who still needs a hearing screening?"
Licensing and compliance
How does Centerly know my state's rules?
Each state has a rule pack covering required records, the immunization schedule for child care, staff training hours, ratios and forms. Your center's files are checked against your state's pack.
What happens on the day licensing visits?
You open the files the inspector names. Each shows every required record with its date and signatures, and you can print or share them as one packet. Walk through a visit.
Will it remind staff and parents for me?
Yes. Reminders go to an employee before a CPR card or background check lapses, and to a parent before a dose or a form is due.
Does Centerly guarantee we pass inspection?
No software can. Centerly shows you the gaps and helps you close them. Your center remains responsible for meeting the standards.
Billing and payments
How does billing work?
Charges are generated from each family's signed tuition agreement on your schedule: weekly, monthly, twice a month or your own. Discounts, hold-spot fees and registration fees are applied by rule.
What is automatic proration?
When a child starts or withdraws mid-month, or is away long enough to qualify for a credit under your agreement, Centerly calculates the amount from the dates and the agreement and posts it for your review.
How do families pay?
By bank draft or card, with autopay, or offline by check or money order, which your office records against the family's account.
What happens when a payment is returned?
It is flagged the day it happens, with the reason and tools to retry it, split it or use the family's other payment method.
What does Centerly cost?
Pricing depends on the size of your center and the parts you use. You get a written quote after a demo, including payment processing rates.
Parents and teachers
What do parents get?
The Family Journal for photos, daily reports and notices; a portal to upload records, manage pick-ups and update details; online enrollment and e-signatures; and payments from a phone.
What do teachers get?
A tablet screen for attendance, meals, naps, diapers, photos, notes and incident reports, with live room counts against ratio.
Can parents share photos with grandparents?
Yes. A parent can share a moment of their own child as a simple page on your school's web address.
Switching and support
How hard is it to switch?
Our team converts your data and you go live in stages, so tuition keeps flowing. See the plan.
Can you import from Procare, Brightwheel or Lillio?
Yes. We convert from the reports your current system produces.
Do we have to switch everything at once?
No. Start with the part that hurts most. You are charged only for the parts that are live.
Who supports us?
The team that built Centerly, by email at [email protected], and alongside your office through go-live.
The hard questions
You are a new company. Why should we trust our center to you?
It is a fair question. Three things lower the risk: our own center's records are in it; you go live in stages and are charged only for the parts that are live; and you keep your current system running until your first Centerly billing run has gone through.
Will this replace my office staff?
No. It takes the reading, typing and chasing off them. Someone still makes the decisions, talks to families and knows the children. Most centers use the time for the things that never got done.
What if the AI gets something wrong?
It will, occasionally. That is why every change waits for a person, shows the document it came from, is logged, and can be undone.
What happens if the internet goes down?
Centerly needs a connection. Keep a paper sign-in sheet for an outage and enter the times afterwards; the record shows they were added later and by whom.
How do I explain this to my owner or my partner?
We wrote a one-page summary for exactly that, including what Centerly does not do.
What does a week actually look like?
See the same week, twice: by hand and with Centerly.
Security
Where is payment information kept?
Card and bank details are held by a licensed payment processor or kept encrypted. More on security and data.
Who can see what?
Access is by role. Teachers see their room, parents see their own children, and every change shows who made it and when.
Do you have a SOC 2 report?
Not yet. Centerly is a new company; ask us where it stands.