Owner Quick Start

Get your childcare program — a daycare, a preschool or an after-school program — running on BrightBadge in about 15 minutes.

You'll need:

• An email address for your owner account
• A trial code, if you have one (it gives you a 30-day free trial)
• A tablet or computer for the check-in screen at your front door (the kiosk)

Plans and your free trial

BrightBadge has three plans. Each is one flat monthly price plus applicable sales tax — there are no per-child fees. Limits are for your whole account, added up across all your sites.

• Starter — $99/month: 1 site · 5 staff · 20 children
• Growth — $199/month: 2 sites · 12 staff · 40 children
• Enterprise — $299/month: unlimited sites · unlimited staff · unlimited children

Free trial: a trial code gives you a 30-day free trial. No credit card is needed for the trial, and nothing is charged unless you choose a plan. We email you reminders before the trial ends, and your dashboard counts down the last days. When it ends, choose a plan to keep check-in running. No trial code? Choose a plan to get started.

Step 1: Create your account (3 minutes)

1. Go to bright-badge.com/auth/signup.
2. Under Select Your Plan, pick the plan you expect to use. You can change it later.
3. Fill in your name, your daycare or organization name and address, your email, and a password (at least 8 characters, with an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter and a number).
4. If you have one, enter your Trial code.
5. Agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, then click Create My Account.
6. Check your email for the Log in to BrightBadge button, tap it, and sign in.

Step 2: Create your first site (2 minutes)

A site is one check-in screen with its own list of children and staff. If a floor or a building has its own front door and its own check-in table, give it its own site.

1. On your dashboard, click Create Your First Site.
2. Enter the site name, address and timezone. Every check-in time on your records follows this timezone.
3. Enter your Trial code here if you didn't at signup. A code you entered at signup is used automatically. Your 30-day trial starts when the site is created.
4. Click Create Site.

BrightBadge gives the site its own Site ID. You'll find it, with your own staff code and the kiosk web address, on the Kiosk Access card on your dashboard.

Step 3: Open the kiosk (3 minutes)

The kiosk is the screen families use to check children in and out. Use any tablet or computer with a web browser and an internet connection. A touchscreen makes signing easier.

1. On the kiosk device, open the Kiosk URL from your Kiosk Access card (or go to bright-badge.com/site-kiosk).
2. Enter your Site ID and a six-digit staff code — yours is on the Kiosk Access card.
3. Click Access Site Kiosk.

The kiosk is now open for families. For safety, a kiosk session ends on its own after 4 hours. You don't need a separate password for the kiosk: the Site ID plus a staff code is what opens it.

Step 4: Add your first staff member (3 minutes)

1. On your dashboard, click Manage Team.
2. Click Add New Employee, then enter their first name, last name and email.
3. Click Add Employee.

BrightBadge creates a unique six-digit staff code for them — you never make one up. They get an email to finish setting up their account, and then their code shows on their row in Manage Team and on their own dashboard.

Step 5: Add your first child and invite the parent (4 minutes)

1. Click Manage Children, then Add Child.
2. Enter the child's first name, last name and date of birth. Pick a classroom, or choose + Add new classroom.
3. Add allergies, medical notes and special needs if the child has any (optional, but encouraged — your staff see them). Click Add Child.
4. Open the child (View/Edit child), go to the Guardians tab and click Link a Parent.
5. Choose New Parent, enter the parent's name and email, and pick how they're related. Leave Can pick up this child checked.
6. Click Send Invitation.

The parent gets an email to create their account. When they finish, they get their own six-digit pickup code. That's what they use at your kiosk, together with their email.

Moving over a whole roster? You don't have to type it in: our team can import your roster for you — email support@bright-badge.com. Inside the app, you invite parents one at a time.

Test a check-in

1. On the kiosk, the parent enters their email and six-digit pickup code, then taps See My Children.
2. They tap the green check-in button for their child, sign on the screen, confirm, and tap Complete Check In.
3. Back on your dashboard, click View Site Attendance — the child shows as checked in, with the time and who dropped them off.

Ready-to-launch checklist

• Your site name, address and timezone are right
• At least one staff member has finished setting up their account
• Your children are on the roster, with health information where needed
• Each family's parent has been invited
• The kiosk device opens with your Site ID and a staff code
• A test check-in and check-out worked
• A plan is chosen before your trial ends

Getting help

• Owner's Guide: every feature, step by step
• How-to videos: the How-To button in your dashboard's top bar, or our YouTube playlist
• Support: support@bright-badge.com — we help you set up BrightBadge and show you how to export your records.