For licensed centers and home daycares
Every empty seat is revenue left on the table.
Your rent and staffing costs stay the same whether your classrooms are full or half-empty. DropIn fills those open spots with flexible bookings from local families, generating extra revenue without touching your full-time program.
A typical 80-seat center
today, 9:40 AM
An empty daycare seat today is lost revenue you can never get back.
Daycare capacity is perishable inventory. An empty seat today means unrecoverable lost revenue, even though your staffing and facility costs stay fixed.
60–70%
typical fill
Most childcare centers operate well below their full licensed capacity on any given day. Those empty seats generate zero revenue, even though your rent, payroll, and operating costs remain unchanged.
100%
of costs fixed
Rent, utilities, insurance, and staffing cost the same at 60% capacity as they do at 100%. Unfilled daycare seats simply drain your margins, forcing your filled spots to cover the difference.
$0
earned per empty day
Full-time enrollment remains your core business model. But without flexible care options, you have no way to monetize unused capacity when enrollment falls short of full capacity.
Today's ledger
100-seat center
The building is already paid for. That is exactly why drop-in revenue is mostly margin.
Your neighborhood hasn't run out of kids.
Many nearby families want state-licensed care, but full-time tuition does not fit their budget or schedule. Traditional enrollment gives you no way to say yes to them. DropIn provides that solution.
You have the supply
Licensed seats, qualified teachers, and a building that's open anyway.
in between is the
pricing model
They have the demand
Families who can pay for two, five, or ten days a month, just not for all of them.
Full day
Open to close
Half day
Morning or afternoon
Evening
Date nights, late shifts
Weekend
Errand-length blocks
Your existing enrollment stays 100% yours.
DropIn takes zero share of the families you already enrolled. You choose how many seats to offer, at what price, on which days. Our fees apply only to the families we bring you.
What are your empty seats worth?
Adjust the sliders below based on your licensed capacity, rates, and fill expectations.
Your total licensed capacity minus your average daily attendance.
Most centers start near their weekly rate divided by 4. You can change it anytime.
Open up extra hours optional
Monetize off-peak hours when your building normally sits empty.
We build for reality. No center fills every single seat every day.
Estimated extra revenue
$42,900 / month
That's $514,800 a year, from seats you already pay for.
Estimated projected revenue based on your inputs. Any family that converts to full-time enrollment is yours at zero extra fee.
Questions about your numbers? Book a 15-minute demoSame-day care without the paperwork.
The main obstacle to accepting a drop-in child on short notice is administrative paperwork, including enrollment forms, immunization records, and required signatures. On DropIn, all compliance items are verified before a family can hit book.
The child's file arrives before the child
Parents complete immunization records, allergy profiles, medical info, and emergency contacts upfront. No complete file, no booking. Your staff sees everything before the child ever steps through the door.
Automated care agreements
Every booking automatically generates a signed care agreement that meets state licensing requirements. Your front desk never has to print, scan, or chase missing paperwork.
QR check-in with automated payouts
Families check in with a quick scan at the door. Payment is collected upfront when they book, delivering seamless payouts directly to your bank account without the hassle of billing or invoicing.
Live in under an hour
1Claim your page
Your center is likely already listed. Verify ownership in minutes.2Set rooms and rates
Age groups, capacity, prices, and the days you'll take drop-ins.3Open your seats
Approve each booking yourself, or let auto-accept fill them.You run the classrooms. We fill them.
Listing your center is 100% free with zero upfront costs. DropIn connects your open seats directly with local families who are actively searching for flexible care.
A professional listing in the directory parents search, with your photos, programs, and real-time availability.
Local demand, brought to you. We actively market open drop-in seats to families in your area. You'll see the bookings, not the busywork.
A funnel that ends in enrollment. Flexible families get to know your center. When they convert to full-time, that tuition is yours apart from a small referral fee.
Ready for more? Open the dark hours.
Evening and weekend sessions turn your building into a 7-day business. We provide the playbook, including the state licensing steps.
Licensed centers only
We verify licenses directly against state registries before a center can take bookings.Payments by Stripe
Industry-standard processing with full reporting. Money moves from the parent's card to your bank.Family records, secured
Child and family data is encrypted in transit and at rest, with role-based access.You stay in control
Your rates, your hours, your capacity. Approve or decline any booking, block any date.Already 0+ licensed centers listed across Illinois, Texas, New York, and Wisconsin. Yours is probably one of them.
Questions center owners ask
Yes. No subscription, no listing fee, no setup cost. DropIn only earns when you do.
We keep a 20% service fee on bookings made through DropIn, and you keep 80%, deposited directly to your bank account. Your existing enrollment is untouched, and when a DropIn family converts to full-time enrollment, that tuition is yours apart from a small referral fee.
You decide how many seats to offer and when. Many centers start with 2 or 3 seats in one classroom. DropIn takes zero share of your existing enrollment, and you can pause drop-ins any day you need the space.
Parents pay in full when they book. Payouts are processed by Stripe and typically reach your bank within 1 to 2 business days of the booking day, with full transaction reporting.
DropIn works within your existing license: drop-in children count toward your licensed capacity like any other child. Families complete their child's records, forms, and signatures in the app before they can book, and every booking generates a signed care agreement automatically.
Completely. Set your own rates, hours, age groups, and capacity. Approve each request manually or turn on auto-accept, and block specific dates whenever you need to.
The parent scans a QR code at your door. That records check-in, confirms the signed agreement, and notifies your staff. Check-out works the same way, and parents can receive photo and activity updates during the day.
Your center is probably already on DropIn.
43,000+ licensed centers are listed in our directory. Find yours, claim it free, and decide what your empty seats should earn.
Not listed yet? Create your listing in minutes. Free either way.