Playground Reviews

The BEST app if you want simple, highly efficient and does it ALL!!

Comments: We were able to move the money we normally spent on people chasing families for payments, on keeping licensing documents and more, and use that to pay our teachers more money. Playground has made everyone happy.

Pros:

So easy to use, the support we get is immediate when we have a question and it has all the features we need to run a preschool.

Cons:

There is nothing missing that we can think of

Best Daycare App Around!

Pros:

I love everything about playground. You can upload photos, videos, reports, changes and even eating. I love how parents can pay on the app app as well as sign in and out. I have everyone do their paperwork electronically as well on the app which saves SO much time.

Cons:

I can’t think of anything at the moment.

Not Easy To Use

Comments: I do not like Playground, there should be training for more than 30 mins and where the teachers and administrators are using Playground during the training.

Pros:

Have found nothing that I like about Playground.

Cons:

Difficult to use for staff and parents. Not clear on how to use Playground and having virtual calls do not help.

Playground is the best choice in Childcare Management Programs/Apps

Comments: Overall Playground has been a great choice for us to have changed over to. Being able to use one program has condensed files and time.

Pros:

I love that I have such a big platform in one program. I was previously using a different program and I have had to also keep track of children's schedules on a separate calendar, filled spots and upcoming open spots on a spread sheet, when parents messaged on the app it would go to all staff members, with Playground.. it goes just to the person that it is meant for. And the parents have to option to message each other on the app as well so staff aren't the go between for messages and personal information doesn't have to be given. For staff, they are able to see just their schedules and not everyone else's. They are also able to keep track of their hours worked whereas the other program only let the administrator see that. We have been really enjoying this program.

Cons:

Well as stated, we were using another program prior, that program would send staff and the parent a notification when child/ren were signed in or out of the program. It helped us to keep track and we wouldn't have to go into the app to check to see who or how many were signed in. Tracking monthly attendance, reports every sign in and out is displayed vs just giving the amount of days attended per child.

Very Happy Provider

Pros:

I love the layout and design and the easy to use features for everything grom creating a beautiful listing of my program and making it super easy for parents to enroll and pay. I also love how i can talk to a real person for customer support in a matter of minutes

Cons:

I have a small program so the price is a bit much for me

Give it a Try you Won't be Disappointed!

Comments: Playground staff are always available to help with questions, when they don't know something, they find out. If the system doesn't do it, they try to figure out how to make it happen! I have never worked with a software company so willing to make changes for the betterment of its customers.

Pros:

Playground is a fantastic product that has streamlined my tasks for our center. I now have more time to devote to our teachers, children and families at our center.

Cons:

The reports are sometimes tedious to create and learn, but once we gain proficiency, they will be very helpful.

I highly recommend Playground!

Comments: Using playground has streamlined my preschool! It makes everything easier.

Pros:

keeping track of payments, automatic payments, digital paperwork, easy enrollment, receipts for parents and so much more!

Cons:

So far it's been a great experience. I don't have any cons to report.

One place for everything

Comments: Overall the experience I have had with the Playground employees have been excellent. [sensitive content hidden] was great helping me get all set up and has been great when I need additional help. [sensitive content hidden] is great on the chat is has been able to help me immediately when I have any issues.

Pros:

Very user friendly, for a early childhood educator that is also a business owner it is so helpful to have all the bookkeeping and tracking in one place.

Cons:

Only con is can find so far is there is not a place for visitors to sign in. I continue to have a paper log.

Playground works with the educator in mind.

Comments: I came from 10 years of using a different app and heard this was the app I should be using from colleagues so I switched. When I was confused I was able to connect with playground staff within 24 hours (usually within 15 minutes on the chat function of the app. They want to make it the best app, and they work hard to make both the app and their customer service top notch. I’m so glad I joined the playground family!

Pros:

The customer service! They are constantly working to make it better and more helpful. I especially think it’s great that you can schedule times where they can help you learn a part of the program. [sensitive content hidden] is fabulous!

Cons:

I wish it connected to food program, but I know that it is something that they are working on. I wish that using the playground pay service was available with the turnaround that was quicker such as PayPal or bank transfer. I don’t use it because I can’t afford to wait for payment.

Great management system!

Comments: I love it. We just built a new building and equipped it with the KISI locks. These have been amazing. We use it for billing, parent communication, newsletters, menus, etc. I am so glad to have found this system.

Pros:

PG has really helped me to organize my center. I love the communication with parents, the ability to do newsletters, and mostly the lock integration.

Cons:

I do wish it was easier to see student/staff scheduling in the app. As is, I do not use PG for staff scheduling for this reason. I need my staff to be able to see everyone's schedule, so it just doesn't make sense for me yet. The lock system is great, the only thing I would change is the fact that if staff uses their pin to enter/exit the building, it clocks them in/out each time. This did not work for us, so I created a "fake" staff member so we could all use the same pin. The only downside is that I have to change that every time a staff member leaves. It would be much easier just to have each staff use their own PIN and disable that when they no longer work here.

Playground!

Comments: We have loved switching to Playground. It has made our entire program work much more efficiently. It makes my whole staff's jobs easier - making the experience for our kids better!

Pros:

I really like that I can see my kids in my program in real time! I love that my families find it so user friendly! As a director, my job is to keep my parents happy and their kids safe - and Playground does both! On an administrative side, I really like how streamlined it is and how easily I can bill and keep track of our money. I also love how quick the Playground team is to support us when we have questions or need something fixed.

Cons:

Sometimes the app can be slow or random numbers will be wrong - we always assume it is a glitch, close the app and it usually fixes it. Some of the accounting groundwork they have laid doesn't always make sense.

Found the right system for our school.

Comments: I've heard from parents that this has been an easier app to use than the previous program we were using. Again, customer service has been exemplary.

Pros:

Being able to keep a complete data base and produce usable reports. Customer service has been the most professional, making the transition from one system to Playground and easy one. Customer service has been available every step of the way. We've also been able to combine three separate programs into one.

Cons:

The learning curve in making custom reports was not so transparent. But once learning how it's second nature.

amazing app for child care

Pros:

When we were looking to switch over to playground, the on-boarding team was so helpful. If I ever have any questions, the playground team is fast at helping me. Without a doubt, playground has help make my administration time with billing, and communication with parents so easy.

Cons:

I havent found anything that I dont like about playground. The billing was a little confusing but there has been changes and it made it alot better.

More time for play!

Comments: Love it!

Pros:

I enjoy how user friendly the program is for employees and and for parents. Costumer service is amazing, it takes them 10 to 15 minutes to reply. If they are unable to figure out your need they put a ticket in to help find the best solution. I like that you can put in suggestions and sometimes they are implemented. It is great that it pretty close to being a all in one program.

Cons:

I would like to see hourly rates not only add up daily but weekly as well. I would like in scheduling for employee's or for students to have two entry spots instead just one for split shifts or for a child's split schedule.

Loving Playground

Pros:

This platform is not only easy to use as an administrator but our families love how easy it is to start using. We love the ease of communicating with parents and staff and that we have options of using Playground for Payroll and Expense tracking.

Cons:

As a cooperative preschool, we would love to be able to have options that work with the way out parents are involved in the running of our school and tracking the hours they work at the school.

Playground is great!

Comments: Playground was a very good choice to change over to. I have really enjoyed using this platform.

Pros:

Everything is so easy to use and if you have any issues the support team is very quick to respond.

Cons:

Sometimes the teachers can not upload videos and they will send them to me and I will have to upload them.

Big Fan! Would love for this app to become more popular in the mid west!

Comments: I am a big fan, I live out in Minnesota and it is a little less popular here, but I do keep telling providers about it. The goal is for us home providers would love to find the simplest and easiest app and this one is by far been my favorite. I hope it becomes more popular here and our food program is added to it. I love that this software does not seem meant for centers but more in home providers also.

Pros:

It is so user friendly and simplified. The support is always on the messages and ready to help with quick solutions.

Cons:

There is a few things I have put in the request and suggestions that I am waiting for. I do with it was a bit more colorful and had color coded options for the calendar for providers to put vacation, holidays, etc in color sections. I would like to see a pop up memo for parents when they sign in and out. I would like to put my receipts in from my phone to make documenting easier and faster. Possibly training or news letters to customers for new features added. Being able to download licensing documents, like fire drills and storm drills and we could put dates in to simplify the paperwork and make it all digital.

Making bookkeeping easier

Comments: It’s been great for my small In home daycare, it could work for small or large daycare businesses

Pros:

I like the billing features of playground, keeping track of books and schedules all in one place

Cons:

When you make a post it doesn’t tell you who has seen it so when I post about closing dates I am nervous some parents haven’t seen it

Best App I've used

Pros:

It's very user-friendly. Any questions that I've had have been answered very fast

Cons:

So far I haven't had anything I didn't really like. The main thing is not being able to see the child birthday without clicking profile

Best program

Pros:

This is the best app I have found do work with my daycare business. It is so easy to keep track of attendance and is parent friendly. Everything is at their finger tips.

Cons:

Payments take a week to post. Once parents made payment it took a week to post into my account. I did not like that as families pay for the week of service on the Mondays of the week.

Join Playground Today! You won't go back to anything else!

Comments: It has been an amazing program for my business. It eliminates a lot of paperwork back and forth, the ease of fillable PDFs and uploading paperwork such as signed contracts.

Pros:

Ease of communication with families and it has become an essential part of my business!

Cons:

Having to wait for all of the amazing new integrations they're working on implementing!

Great childcare management

Comments: Great. I could not be happier. It works for everything I need.

Pros:

The functionality of the app and all the features

Cons:

The system will sometimes glitch and so that a parent is overdue even after they paid

We love Playground for our FFN program

Pros:

We utilize playground as our communication hub for our Family Friend and Neighborcare network. Its like our own facebook- we post, they turn in monthly items, the chat feature is utilized everyday. [sensitive content hidden] has been very helpful and great to work with!

Cons:

I'd love for there to be a comment on posts option.

Overall Satisfied

Comments: Customer service has been excellent—very quick to respond and helpful!

Pros:

Ability to refund families, electronic paperwork, calendar for menu and lesson plans, chat features, staff request off function

Cons:

Payment isn’t next day and takes 1-3 days, you’re only able to cash out payments two days per week, staff cannot view each others documentation

LOVE IT! EVERYHTING ABOUT IT IS AWESOME

Comments: AMAZING!! BEST PROGRAM EVER FOR PRESCHOOLS

Pros:

EVERYTHING !! THE BILLING, THE COMMUNICATION

Cons:

Checking in kids i dont find so easy from a phone.