Little Newtons: Growth and Expansion Using Kindertales Childcare Software
- Kindertales Collaborative
- Feb 5
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 19
This childcare software success story details how Little Newtons, an early education center, used Kindertales' all-in-one childcare management platform to overcome challenges and drive growth.
About the Company:
Location(s): Minnesota & Illinois
Care and Services: Infant, Toddler, Preschool, Pre-K, Employer-Sponsored Childcare
Mission: Their facilities are designed to support children’s growth, development, and education in a safe, nurturing environment—using innovative curriculum and highly trained and certified teachers.
Challenges
Little Newtons, an early education center that began in Minnesota and was renowned for their innovative curriculum, initially struggled with fragmented manual systems. Their internal systems weren’t sophisticated enough to help scale their growth. Administration sought to double the number of locations but worried about managing operations, consolidating paperwork, and logging staff activity across centers due to their disparate systems. They also needed to improve their close rates with potential customers, as many of their tours and applications weren’t converting.
This led to several key challenges:
Unable to Scale: Expanding locations was hindered without a streamlined operational approach.
Lost Leads: They were losing potential customers before they signed up.
Outdated Process: Too much paper documentation created inefficiencies.
Staff Inefficiencies: Staff were spending hours each day updating records and logging activities manually.
Implementation
When Little Newtons was exploring new software options, the ability to improve manual processes they were currently tracking in spreadsheets and move them to one platform was what won over their executive team. They implemented Kindertales in 2018 to consolidate systems and automate tasks.
With Kindertales, Little Newtons made significant changes:
Consolidated Systems: They moved all necessary functions into one platform, eliminating fragmented manual systems.
Automated Billing: Manual billing processes that took hours now run automatically.
Online Processes: Enrollment reports, lead conversions, tour reports, and the application process were all moved online.
Mobile Staff Activity Logging: Teachers gained the ability to track activities, photos, and reports easily on their phones or tablets, rather than being tied to a desktop computer.
High-Level Reporting: Executives gained comprehensive visibility into revenue, payroll, and overall company performance across all locations.
“The ability to have everything we need all in one platform has made Kindertales invaluable to us [...] The Kindertales platform helped facilitate the transition as we are able to manage the M&A’s [merger and acquisition] and growth. It gives us the ability to do that because we can run different centers as one. As a large enterprise, it is critical to run a team this way and Kindertales gives us this functionality.” -Luke McGregor, Vice President of Customer Interaction at Little Newtons
Results
Since bringing on Kindertales in 2018, Little Newtons has achieved significant growth and operational improvements:
Doubled Locations: Little Newtons went from four locations to nine, more than doubling their size.
Reduced Administrative Paperwork: The time spent on tasks like billing was drastically reduced. "What used to take hours now runs automatically. As a very real example, tuition used to take a few hours and now it takes 15 minutes!" Overall, they reduced the time spent doing paperwork by about 70%.
Increased Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rates: By moving enrollment and tour reports online, they gained crucial insights— making it easier to manage the lead-to-customer pipeline. Another way Kindertales helps is in the application process itself. This used to entail a large packet of paperwork, but it’s now done completely online. This allows admins to track abandoned applications and reach out to potential leads.
Streamlined Staff Activity Logging: Classroom management is only possible when your software goes where you do, via a smartphone or tablet. With Kindertales, staff can now take photos, keep records, log incidents, and create accident reports and illness reports.
Improved High-Level Reporting Visibility: Executives have a clear overview of the business, including a high-level perspective into revenue, payroll, and overall performance of the company. This is critical when making decisions on everything from hiring to making sure the proper supplies are on-site to run operations.
Enhanced Daily Task Management: McGregor notes that Little Newtons uses Kindertales “On it daily, all the time.” The dashboard provides directors with insights into upcoming tours, absences, and future planning.
Little Newtons' commitment to "Brilliance Guaranteed" is supported by Kindertales, enabling them to meet their goals and maintain their reputation as a thought leader in childhood education.
Want to start writing your success story with Kindertales? Schedule a demo with our childcare management software experts today!
