The next era of brightwheel — Back-to-School 2026 - brightwheel
The next era of brightwheel
Our biggest wave of innovation yet – built from your feedback and rolling out across every part of your early learning program.
brightwheel is the #1 childcare software for ECE programs
4.9 | 150,000+ reviews
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Take a look at what’s new this Back-to-School
Back-to-School 2026 1 min · Product highlights
Financial Management
- Mobile check deposits: Families & Agencies
- Tap to pay: In-person credit card payments
- Brightwheel Capital: Exclusive access to ECE financial lending*
- Bulk raise rates
- Bulk upload bill plans
- Advanced financial reporting
- Revenue projection
- Running balance ledger
Admissions & Enrollment
- Brightwheel CRM: Powerful suite to capture, nurture, and convert leads into enrolled families
- Pipeline & lead management
- Interest forms
- Tour management
- Waitlist management
- Automated communications
- Enrollment forecasting
- Room capacity planning
- Future opening projections
- Waitlist to enrollment conversion
- Form due dates & expirations
Curriculum & Assessments
- Teacher AI Assistant
- Personalized learning activities for students
- Automated insights
- Student progress reports
- Learning activity logging & tracking
- New curriculum themes
- Adaptations to support children with special needs
- Curriculum customizations for bilingual learners
Family Engagement
- Calendar updates
- Month view
- Personal calendar integration
- QR check-in directly from phone camera
- Messaging: automatic language translations
Staff & Site Management
- Admin AI Assistant
- Ask anything
- Smart tasks
- Professional Development: CDA course pathways
- Multi-site management
- Bill plan templates
- Org dashboard with balances & payments
- Student transfers
- Form templates
- Menus & CACFP
- Menu templates
- Auto menu uploads
- Menus on mobile
- CACFP compliance checks
- Web app: universal search
- Web app: Spanish version
*Stripe Capital offers financing types that include loans and merchant cash advances. All financing applications are subject to review prior to approval. Stripe Capital loans are issued by Celtic Bank. Stripe Capital merchant cash advances are provided by YouLend. See your Dashboard for the terms of your offer.
4 highly anticipated features
brightwheel AI
Coming soon
Ask questions about your school, hand off the routine, and get back to what matters.
brightwheel CRM
Coming soon
Track leads, manage inquiries, and fill open spots faster with a purpose-built enrollment CRM.
In-person payments
Now available
Accept card payments from families on the spot (Tap to Pay). No extra hardware required.
Enrollment forecasting
Coming soon
See trends, fill classrooms, and stay ahead of openings.
AI that helps your team do more of what matters.
The AI operating partner for your entire school. Less time searching, documenting, and managing busywork—more time understanding your program, supporting your staff, and staying focused on your children and families.
For directors & administrators
Coming soon
Ask questions, uncover insights, and stay ahead of what’s happening without digging through reports.
For teachers & classroom staff
Coming soon
Personalize learning, automate insights, and save time across your classroom.
Back-to-school 2026 webinar
Hear the CEO share brightwheel's vision for Back-to-School 2026 – and what it means for your program.
Everything new in 2026
A curated look at the biggest improvements this year — beyond Back-to-School.
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JAN – FEB
Built from your feedback
We’ve been a customer for almost three years and there’s been tons of things updated based on customer feedback. Thank you! Alicia Donoghue Director at Riverbend Christian School
I’ve been really pleased with the updates brightwheel has made to the new menu experience. It’s much easier to use. Kelli Matthews Communications Coordinator at Joyful Noice
Brightwheel is BRILLIANT for adding Expense Management to the app! This makes tax season SO much easier for me. Ana Sara Owner & Director Caring Hearts Christian Daycare