OWNA

OWNA is childcare management software for daycare centres and before- and after-school programs, available on Android, iOS and the web. Its free plan includes curriculum planning, attendance sign-in and sign-out, a parent app and compliance features. Premium, billed from $39/mo, adds bookings and enrolments, invoicing and payments, financial reporting, rostering, timesheets and CRM. Families can check daily routines, programs, forms and bookings, manage re-enrolments, and receive photos and videos. They can message educators, comment on centre posts and provide feedback. The app also lets families view invoices and account details, update ACH information or make one-off payments. Educators can create programs, document learning and connect posts to a child’s learning journey. Staff functions include payroll, communication and performance management, alongside rostering and timesheets. Enterprise offers custom API integration; its enterprise CRM and analytics are marked as coming soon. OWNA recommends four to six weeks for onboarding, though it may be completed in as little as five days, and says no contract or notice period is required.

OWNA brings family-facing tools, educator documentation and staff administration together for childcare services. The free plan covers core functions, while bookings, billing and rostering are among the features listed for Premium.

OWNA suits childcare centres and services that need family communication, learning documentation and staff management in one system. Its listed solutions include daycare and before- and after-school programs.

OWNA is childcare management software for daycare centres and before- and after-school programs. It is best for services that want family communications, learning records and staff operations in one system. The free plan makes a useful starting point, but bookings, payments and rostering require a paid upgrade.

Overview

OWNA combines a family app with tools for educators and centre staff. Families can keep up with children’s routines and programs, while educators document learning and administrators manage attendance, finance and staffing. That breadth is appealing to centres seeking a connected workflow; services that need only one function may find the package broader than necessary.

Child-related posts are restricted to the associated family and centre, and OWNA says traffic between users and its servers is encrypted. Its privacy policy says children’s personal information is hosted in Australia, although limited personal information may be processed by US-based SaaS providers. Centres should consider that distinction when assessing their privacy requirements.

Key features

The parent app covers daily routines, programs, forms, bookings and re-enrolments. Families can receive photos and videos, message educators, comment on centre posts and provide feedback. This gives centres several ways to keep families informed and engaged, but bookings and enrolments are not part of the free plan.

Educators can plan curriculum, document learning and connect posts to a child’s learning journey. Attendance sign-in and sign-out and compliance tools are also included free, making the no-cost tier a practical fit for services focused on records and core administration rather than finance or scheduling.

Premium adds invoicing, payments, financial reporting, rostering, timesheets and CRM. Families can view invoices and account details, update ACH information or make one-off payments in the app. Payment processing adds to the subscription cost: Visa and Mastercard transactions cost 2.75%, while ACH costs 50 cents per transaction.

Staff management spans rostering, timesheets, payroll, staff communication and team performance management. Rostering tools include weekly forecasting, cost analysis, AI predictions, ratio and compliance tools, and vacant-shift bidding. This makes OWNA more relevant to centres coordinating staffing and compliance than to services looking for family communications alone.

Enterprise includes custom API integration. The plan also names Enterprise CRM and analytics as coming soon, so those are not current capabilities to rely on. OWNA offers helpdesk tickets and online chat for urgent assistance. It recommends allowing four to six weeks for onboarding, though onboarding may take as little as five days; it does not require contracts or notice periods.

Pricing

OWNA uses a freemium model, with paid plans from $39/mth.

• FREE — free. Includes curriculum planning, attendance sign-in and sign-out, the parent app and compliance. It suits centres that need core learning and attendance functions, but gives up bookings and enrolments, invoicing and payments, financial reporting, rostering, timesheets and CRM.
• Premium — $39 a month. Adds booking and enrolments, invoicing and payments, financial reporting, rostering and timesheets, and CRM. It is the relevant tier for centres that want those family-facing and staff-management functions together. Payment-processing fees apply in addition to the plan price.
• Enterprise — custom pricing. Includes everything in Premium and custom integration through an API. Enterprise CRM and analytics are marked as coming soon, rather than current inclusions to plan around.

Platforms

OWNA is available on Android, iOS and the web. That mix suits services whose staff and families need access across mobile devices and browsers.

Who it's for

OWNA is aimed at daycare centres and before- and after-school programs. It is a strong fit for services that value family communication and learning documentation alongside attendance, billing and staff administration. A centre that needs only curriculum planning and attendance can start free; one that needs bookings, finance or rostering should budget for Premium and applicable transaction fees.

Pros and cons

• Pros: The free plan includes curriculum planning, attendance, the parent app and compliance, giving centres a way to cover core functions without a subscription.
• Pros: Premium brings family payments and bookings together with financial reporting, rostering and timesheets, reducing the need to split these tasks across separate systems.
• Pros: OWNA says it does not require contracts or notice periods, which gives centres flexibility to leave if the fit is wrong.
• Cons: Bookings, enrolments, invoicing and rostering are paid features, limiting how far the free plan can serve a centre’s broader operations.
• Cons: Card and ACH processing fees add a variable cost on top of Premium.
• Cons: Onboarding is recommended to take four to six weeks, which requires planning even though it may be completed sooner.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see Childcare Management Software.

• AfterSchool HQ is another freemium option with a free plan and transaction fees for activities processed through it. Consider it if a free starting tier and activity transaction model better match your needs.
• Cheqdin offers a free Rise plan for up to 5 students with email support only, no personalised training and no record archiving at the limit; Starter is $68 a month. Choose it if that student cap and plan structure suit your service.
• Kangarootime has a free plan limited to 1 program, 1 school and 5 staff members, while Premium supports up to 10 schools and unlimited staff. It may suit a small operation prioritising a defined free allowance or a multi-school setup.
• Neztio offers a free Starter plan for up to 15 children and a Standard plan at $79 a month with unlimited children. It is an alternative if those enrollment limits and flat monthly center pricing fit better.
• QikKids prices its Playground plans by place bands, including 0–39, 40–69 and 70–99 places. Consider it if a place-based plan structure is preferable.
• Procare has a $25 a month home version for smaller centres and in-home daycare providers; classroom management is unavailable to in-home users. It is an option for readers seeking that lower-priced home version.
• Xplor Education offers OSHC and Xplor One Premium packages. It is another option to consider for an OSHC package.
• Brightwheel uses custom pricing based on program information. Consider it if customized pricing is preferable.

Verdict

OWNA is a good fit for daycare and before- or after-school services that want family communication, learning documentation and staff operations in one platform. Its free tier covers meaningful curriculum and attendance needs, and Premium expands into bookings, payments and rostering. Look elsewhere if you need predictable total payment costs without per-transaction fees, or if the free plan’s limits rule out paying for the operational tools you need.