Setting up your center

Before you start: the free trial sign-up

If you signed up on the Hi Kiddo website, your account started on the Try Hi Kiddo free for 14 days page. You filled in your nursery name, city, your title and name, email, phone and a password, then clicked Create my space.

What happens next:

1. You get an email confirming that your sign-up arrived. It does not contain a sign-in link yet.
2. The Hi Kiddo team reviews every new center, usually within a day.
3. When your trial is approved, you receive a second email with your sign-in link. Your free trial starts at that moment.

No card is needed. If you try to sign in before approval, you see the Your request is being reviewed page (see "The paused page" below).

Where to find the setup checklist

As a director, a bar appears at the top of every dashboard page until setup is complete. It shows Steps done: X of 5 and a Continue setup button. Click Continue setup to open the checklist page, titled Set up followed by your center's name.

During your free trial, the same bar also shows how many days are left (for example Free trial: 9 days left) with a Choose a plan link.

The five steps

Each step has a button that opens the page where you do the work. The next step to do is highlighted and its button says Start. Steps you have finished are ticked and crossed out, and their button says Open so you can go back and add more.

1. Add your address and opening hours. Opens Center settings. This step is done once your center has an address and opening hours saved. Families and staff see them in the app.
2. Create your first classroom. Opens the Create Classroom form. Every child belongs to a classroom, and teachers follow theirs. See Classrooms.
3. Add your team. Opens the Create User form. This step is done once at least one person with the Teacher role exists in your center. See Staff.
4. Add the children. Opens the Add Child form. One profile per child, with allergies and authorized pickups. See Children.
5. Add the parents. Opens the Create Parent form. Tick their children as you add them; parents sign in to the app with their email. See Parents.

The progress bar at the top of the card fills as you go. When all five steps are done, the page shows Your center is ready with a Dashboard button, and the setup bar disappears from the top of your pages.

You can do the steps in any order and come back at any time. The whole thing takes about ten minutes.

The paused page

Sometimes Hi Kiddo shows a single page instead of the dashboard. This happens in three situations.

Your request is being reviewed

Your sign-up is waiting for approval. The page says Your request is being reviewed and explains that you will get an email as soon as your trial is ready. The only button is Logout.

Your free trial has ended

Your trial is over and no plan has been activated yet. The page says Your free trial has ended and shows the date it ended.

• Directors see a Choose a plan button that opens the Plan page, plus Logout.
• Teachers and parents see a message saying the director can choose a plan to turn Hi Kiddo back on, and a Logout button.

Access suspended

The Hi Kiddo team has suspended your center's subscription. The page says Access suspended, and the only button is Logout.

• Directors are asked to contact Hi Kiddo at [email protected] to restore access.
• Teachers and parents are asked to contact the center, with its phone number when one is set in Center settings.

Access comes back as soon as the Hi Kiddo team reactivates the subscription.

While your center is paused, nobody in the center can use the dashboard or the app, except to sign out. After a trial, the director can still open the Plan page. Nothing is deleted: children, families, reports and invoices are all kept and come back as soon as a plan is active or the trial is extended.

Good to know

• Two days before your trial ends, directors receive a reminder email. Another email arrives on the day it ends.
• During the trial, the limits of the plan your trial is set up on apply (for example the number of children). If you hit one, a message tells you and links to the plans. See Plan and billing.
• The setup checklist is only for directors. Teachers and parents never see it.

Troubleshooting

I signed up but never got the sign-in email. Approval usually takes up to a day. Check your spam folder. If you still have nothing, write to [email protected].

The "Add your team" step is not ticked although I added someone. This step only counts people with the Teacher role. Adding another director does not complete it.

My team says the app shows a message and won't open. Your center is probably paused. If the trial ended, sign in on the web, open Plan and choose a plan. If the message says access is suspended, contact Hi Kiddo at [email protected].