# Staff time tracking for daycare and after-school care > Staff time tracking for daycare and after-school care: rosters per location, part-time staff, sick cover through open shifts, leave and payroll exports. URL: https://timetracking.tech/for/childcare Language: en Last updated: 2026-10-26 In childcare the roster follows the children. How many are booked, at which location, at what time of day. TimeTracking helps you plan staff hours around that. You cover sick days fast and send correct hours to payroll. It records staff hours only, never anything about children. Start free for up to 5 users. ## How childcare organisations use TimeTracking 1. **Plan per location**: Plan shifts per location and day, based on the staff you need for the children booked. Repeat patterns cover the normal week of every part-timer. 2. **Staff record their hours**: Staff clock in at a tablet in the staff room with a personal PIN. Or they confirm their shift in the app. Breaks are recorded as separate entries. 3. **Cover sick days**: Someone calls in sick? Their shift becomes an open shift. Colleagues can pick it up in the app. The sick day is recorded in the same place. 4. **Approve and export**: Location managers approve the period. Worked hours, leave and sick days go to payroll in one export. ## Rosters that follow the children The number of staff you need changes during the day. A busy drop-off. A quiet hour while the youngest sleep. A peak when school ends. Ratio rules depend on the age group and the country. Your planners know them best. TimeTracking does not calculate ratios or store children's details. It gives planners a clear roster per location. They put the right people in the right hours and see gaps straight away. Shift templates and repeat patterns cover the normal week. Copy a week when little changes, instead of building the roster again. Before a roster goes out, planners get a warning if it breaks the rest-time rules you set. - Rosters per location and day - Templates, repeat patterns and copy week - Rest-time warnings before publishing - Planned versus worked per location ## Part-time staff and split days Most childcare teams work part-time. They have fixed days, split shifts and now and then an extra afternoon. Every staff member sees their own shifts in the app. Extra hours are recorded on the day they happen. Planned versus worked hours per person and location show where extra hours build up, before the month ends. After-school care has its own rhythm. Short afternoon shifts in term time, long days in the school holidays. Term weeks and holiday weeks are just different weeks in the roster, each with its own pattern. ## Sick cover without a phone tree A sick call at a quarter to seven is a normal childcare morning. The planner marks the absence, and the shift becomes an open shift. Colleagues can pick it up in the app. The planner sees who accepted, and the roster updates. Colleagues see open shifts in the app today. Push notifications are coming soon. The sick day is recorded in the same system. So it lands in the period and in the payroll export, without a separate list. - Open shifts colleagues can pick up - Shift swaps between colleagues - Sick leave in the same period as worked hours ## Leave around the school calendar Leave requests peak around the school holidays. That is exactly when after-school care needs more hours. Managers see each request next to the roster for those days. So they know who else is off before they approve. Approved leave blocks the roster and updates balances right away. Public holidays are loaded per country. You set your own leave types, such as annual leave, special leave or unpaid leave. ## Staff only, never children TimeTracking is a time tracking tool for your staff. It holds no data about children or parents, no attendance lists and no observations. So it stays apart from your childcare management system. It is easy to explain to staff, parents and works councils. The app does not track location and takes no screenshots. Data is hosted in the EU, in Ireland. ## Payroll and costs per location You export approved periods with worked hours, allowances for unsocial hours, leave and sick days. Each one goes to its own payroll code. Live today: an SD Worx-format export, CSV and XLSX exports in your own layout, and the REST API. Connectors for Loket, Nmbrs and AFAS are coming soon. You pay per active user. Free up to 5 users, then €1 per user per month on Core. That includes rosters, leave and payroll exports. Pool staff who only step in now and then can be deactivated when you do not need them. Start free today. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does TimeTracking register children or attendance? No. TimeTracking records staff hours, leave and expenses only. It holds no data about children or parents. ### Can TimeTracking calculate staff-to-child ratios? No. Ratios depend on your bookings and local rules. Those live in your childcare management system. TimeTracking gives you the staff roster per location to plan against them. ### How do we arrange cover when someone is sick? Mark the absence and offer the shift as an open shift. Colleagues pick it up in the app, and the roster updates. The sick day is recorded in the same period. ### Can staff clock in without their own phone? Yes. A tablet kiosk in the staff room lets staff clock in and out with a personal 6-digit PIN. ### Are leave and sick leave included? Yes. Leave requests, balances, sick leave and public holidays are part of Core at €1 per user per month. ### What does it cost for a small daycare centre? Free for up to 5 users. Above that, Core costs €1 per user per month, with no add-ons and no seat minimum.