September 2022 Product Spotlight

Tips to get the most value out of brightwheel this school year.

Claire Lee Lyall avatar
Written by Claire Lee Lyall
Updated over a week ago

Kick off the fall season 🍁 with these expert ways to get more value out of your brightwheel subscription.

Read on to learn about features that support an efficiently-run program, easy on-time billing, and deeper connections with families and staff.


Menu planning is live! Leverage this to maximize CACFP reimbursements.

Exciting news: there’s now an easy way to add custom weekly menus on brightwheel. Meal items in your account are pre-populated, and you’ll be able to assign both USDA categories and serving size. Create a menu on the web today under My School > Menu on the web. To learn more, read this overview and watch this on-demand Meal Planning webinar.


Autopay will provide peace of mind and save you hours each week.

When families are enrolled in autopay, they don’t need to keep track of payments and are more likely to pay on time. It also means you won’t need to remind them to pay, as the funds will already be en route to your bank account! Make sure autopay is mandatory under Billing Settings for the easiest experience for both you and your families.

Pam, an Executive Director with 22 years of early education experience, shares “the why” behind moving all families to autopay below:


Use Staff Messaging to support teachers before they even ask for it.

In our survey to 2300+ early education professionals, teachers said the top two workplace factors they value outside of pay are team relationships and work environment. Use Staff Messaging on brightwheel to foster a standout culture at your program. You can recognize a team member, offer a quick break, or send important reminders, all in one place.


  • Early education resources: this new library contains hundreds of templates, webinars, and ideas for early learning leaders and educators. You can use the filters on the page to find exactly what you need. For example, try searching “admissions” to find all our on-demand trainings on this topic!

  • Payment reminders: if families have past due balances, you can initiate reminders quickly from your billing dashboard. This also helps separate past due notices from less urgent pings.

Have a happy start to fall,

Claire & the brightwheel team

P.S. We’d love to hear from you: are these newsletters valuable? Share your feedback and ideas for what you'd like to see in the future using this form.


Additional Resources

  • Billing version upgrade: If you are using one of our older billing platform versions, upgrade today at zero additional cost to get even more value out of our tool. This period before the school year takes off is a perfect time to make the switch.

  • Account Setup: If you are still setting up your brightwheel account, complete our two onboarding trainings today to build quality connections, efficiently run your program, and simplify billing with brightwheel.

Still need support? Reach our team via Live Chat during business hours or via email at support@mybrightwheel.com any time. 💬

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