Scaling with confidence: How one owner opened new locations with brightwheel’s support

Syieda, the owner and director of SMG Clubhouse, launched her program during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, to support virtual learning and provide essential resources to families. At SMG Clubhouse, the mission extends beyond childcare; it’s about nurturing the entire family, acting as an early interventionist to help both children and parents thrive through early learning and effective communication.

Syieda’s commitment to providing quality care for every child has fueled SMG Clubhouse’s growth almost entirely through word-of-mouth referrals. Her strong community support combined with multi-site management tools with brightwheel enabled her to open a second location. Since implementing brightwheel, Syieda has experienced a profound shift in how SMG Clubhouse operates, gaining back invaluable time and enhancing every aspect of her program.

See how brightwheel supports large and multi-site centers at https://mybrightwheel.com/multisite-centers/

Brightwheel’s impact: More efficiency to expand into a second location

Multi-site management that is reliable and secure 

Before brightwheel, Syieda wasn’t actively looking for new software as she was comfortable with her established routines. But as her center grew, reality hit: Syieda knew that growing her center meant she couldn’t be in two places at once. She needed a way to feel connected to what was happening day-to-day at both her Horsham and Quakertown centers, even when she wasn’t physically there. Giving brightwheel a try revealed how much she needed a better solution and the new opportunities it opened for her business. With brightwheel, she found that keeping an eye on things and switching between her locations was simple: “So a few clicks I can look through all the classes. I can look at the photos they’ve posted. I can see what they’re learning over there.”

It’s a very, very, very easy process to switch between schools. That’s really how your program works, like everything is just quick. It doesn’t take a long time. It doesn’t require much, and you’re getting a lot done.

Syieda L.

Owner of SMG Clubhouse in Horsham & Quakertown, PA

Beyond location oversight, she’s no longer fielding technical issues. Brightwheel just works. Syieda shared, “I have not been called to troubleshoot since we switched to brightwheel, and I was called a lot to do that before.” This reliability brought a sense of confidence to her daily operations, knowing her centers were running smoothly behind the scenes.

Stronger, more secure connections with families 

Before brightwheel, Syieda used to manage family communications with two separate apps to achieve what her sites needed. This setup often caused confusion and made it harder to keep everyone on the same page. Now, she’s consolidated everything into one seamless space with brightwheel. Families receive updates, precious photos of their children, and messages right on their phones. They can take care of their bills and reach out to Syieda and her team whenever they need to. “I tell families that there’s nothing they have to do. I’ll send everything through brightwheel. It’s a one stop shop.”

Syieda can now share important resources directly with families across both locations, ensuring sensitive information reaches the right people without being broadcast widely. “I can communicate all day long and it’s private communication between the family and myself and other members on the administrative team.” Even creating engaging newsletters, which used to take hours of manual design work, is now a straightforward task. She shared, “I used to make them from scratch. Now I just plug things in. If I need more sections, I click to add them.”

More on-time payments with autopay 

Syieda understood that families wanted to pay on time, but life often gets in the way. Before, she spent too much time manually creating invoices and following up with families when payments were missed. Brightwheel’s automated invoice sending “billing plans” and autopay helped take that stress off both sides. “There were a lot of times before with the other app, I’d have to send a reminder email because I did not receive the payment on the due date, and a few families would say, Oh my gosh, I totally forgot.” It’s also helped shift how families prioritize childcare payments. “We’re watching your child and we’re providing a service, and we need to be paid on time on that scheduled due date. So it helps them prioritize and you know we prioritize them so it’s only right that it works both ways.”

Switching to brightwheel was faster and easier than expected

At first, Syieda was nervous about switching systems. But the transition proved to be much smoother than she anticipated. The intuitive setup and the dedicated support she received during the onboarding process made all the difference.  “I learned the program quickly. I had my training, and by that next week, we were switching, and I was adding billing plans and adding students. So I feel like the time to learn. It didn’t take as long as I thought.”

She felt genuinely supported throughout the entire onboarding process. “It felt like they cared about me. They want to spend as much time with me as possible. Sometimes we went over the time that was scheduled, and I never felt rushed. Any question that I ask. They were patient, and didn’t make it feel like a dumb question.”

 I thought it would take me a month, and it probably took a week for me to feel confident.

Syieda L.

Owner of SMG Clubhouse in Horsham & Quakertown, PA

Time back to focus on your center’s growth 

The time saved by brightwheel has allowed Syieda to focus on strategic initiatives, like advancing SMG Clubhouse’s Keystone Stars rating. “I was able to get that done in the two weeks that I switched to brightwheel… I just received an email that I’ve submitted enough to be considered for star 4, so that means I’m skipping a star and going on to Star 4. I know I wouldn’t have time to do that and not in this short amount of time period if it weren’t for me switching to brightwheel.”

From automated billing to multi-site management, the efficiency she gained compounded, freeing up significant hours each week.  “Brightwheel saves me three and a half to four hours per week on billing, and on top of that there’s check in and checking out. There’s the adding lunches. There’s everything that I was doing before. That I can now do in a short amount of time.”  The value has become even clearer over time. “It’s the same price I was paying for the other program I used. But I’m doing less work. I mean, I don’t like to say, people, you guys, should charge more money because I don’t want you to charge more, but if you did, it would be worth it.” 

When I say it’s just a game changer and a lifesaver all in one, I really mean it. It’s brightwheel, and it’s really changed things for me.

Syieda L.

Owner of SMG Clubhouse in Horsham & Quakertown, PA

Syieda’s journey with SMG Clubhouse is a testament to how finding the right tools and support can empower growth and bring peace of mind to childcare and preschool programs looking to expand.

Ready to scale your success? Learn more about how brightwheel supports large and multi-site programs at https://mybrightwheel.com/multisite-centers/