At 9:15 every morning, the automation lists children who are neither checked in on the daycare tablet nor reported absent and sends their parents a WhatsApp message with two buttons. Replies update the attendance sheet, and the office calls only the parents who don't answer.
Typical results
9:15 AM
Daily check for children not yet checked in
≈30 min/day
Office phone time saved each morning
2-3 calls
Typical morning call list for the office
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
A daycare has to know where every child is each morning, yet staff are busy with drop-off and the office often notices a missing child late in the morning. Calling each family takes time, many calls go unanswered, and the attendance sheet is updated by hand at the end of the day, if at all.
Before and after
Office minutes per morning on absence calls
−86%Children unaccounted for at 10 AM, per week
−92%The automation
Children are checked in on a tablet at drop-off, and absences parents report in advance are entered the same way. At 9:15 AM, the automation compares the day's enrollment list with check-ins and reported absences. Parents of every child still unaccounted for get a WhatsApp message with two buttons, 'absent today' or 'on our way'. Each reply updates the attendance sheet. At 9:30, the office sees a short list of children whose parents have not answered, to call personally.
How it works
- 01
Check-in on the tablet
Each child is checked in on the tablet at drop-off, and absences parents report in advance are entered the same way.
- 02
9:15 AM check
The automation lists every child who is neither checked in nor reported absent.
- 03
WhatsApp with two buttons
Their parents get a WhatsApp message with two buttons: 'absent today' or 'on our way'.
- 04
Attendance sheet updated
Each reply updates the attendance sheet, marking the child absent or expected.
- 05
Short call list
At 9:30, the office sees the few children whose parents have not answered, to call personally.
Starts from
- Tablet check-in at drop-off
Delivers
- WhatsApp to parents
- Attendance sheet updated
- Short call list for office
The impact
On most mornings every child is accounted for by about 9:30 AM, and about 85% of parents answer the WhatsApp message with one tap. The office makes two or three calls on a typical morning instead of a dozen, and the attendance sheet stays accurate for reporting and inspections.
Questions about this automation
What happens when a parent taps 'on our way'?
The child is marked as expected on the attendance sheet, and the check repeats at 10 AM. If the child still hasn't been checked in by then, the office gets an alert to call the family. Parents who tap 'absent today' are marked absent with the time of their reply.
What does it run on?
The tablet check-in writes to a Google Sheets attendance sheet, and the messages go out from the daycare's WhatsApp number using an approved message template with buttons. Simple automations like this are usually live within days, since they use the enrollment list the daycare already keeps.
Can parents report an absence in advance?
Yes. Parents can reply to any earlier message or use a short form to report a sick day or a family trip. Reported absences are entered before the 9:15 check, so those families are never asked, and the reason is kept on the attendance sheet for the records.