OWNA

Overview

OWNA is childcare management software for daycare centres and before- and after-school programs. It suits services looking to bring family communication, learning documentation and centre operations together. Its free plan handles curriculum and attendance; booking, billing and rostering require Premium.

Key features

The family app gives parents access to daily routines, programs, forms, bookings and re-enrolments. Families can also receive photos and videos, message educators, comment on centre posts and provide feedback. That range supports regular two-way communication, although centres need Premium to use the app for bookings and enrolments.

Educators can build programs, document learning and connect posts to a child’s learning journey. Curriculum planning, attendance sign-in and sign-out, and compliance tools are included in the free plan, making OWNA a plausible starting point for centres whose immediate needs are learning records and attendance rather than finance or staffing.

Premium brings invoicing, payments, financial reporting, rostering, timesheets and CRM. Families can view invoices and account details, update ACH information or make one-off payments in the app. Payment processing adds a cost beyond the subscription: Visa and Mastercard transactions are charged at 2.75%, while ACH costs 50 cents per transaction.

Staff management includes rostering, timesheets, payroll, staff communication and team performance management. Rostering tools cover weekly forecasting, cost analysis, AI predictions, ratio and compliance checks, and vacant-shift bidding. This breadth will matter to centres coordinating staffing and compliance, but the rostering and timesheet features are part of Premium rather than the free plan.

OWNA says traffic between users and its servers is encrypted and restricts child-related posts to the associated family and centre. Its privacy policy says children’s personal information is hosted in Australia, while limited personal information may be processed by US-based SaaS providers. Centres can raise a helpdesk ticket or use online chat for urgent assistance.

Pricing

OWNA has a free plan, a free trial and paid plans from $39/mo. The FREE plan costs nothing and includes curriculum planning, attendance sign-in and sign-out, the parent app and compliance. It is the clearest fit for a centre that needs those core tools but can do without booking, payments and workforce management.

Premium costs $39 a month, billed from $39/mth. It adds booking and enrolments, invoicing and payments, financial reporting, rostering and timesheets, and CRM. Centres that need these operational modules may find the single step up from FREE straightforward, but should budget for card or ACH processing fees as well as the subscription.

Enterprise has custom pricing and includes everything from Premium plus custom integration through an API. Enterprise CRM and analytics are marked as coming soon. This plan is aimed at services needing a custom integration; the forthcoming features are not a reason to choose it on their own.

OWNA says it does not require contracts or notice periods. It recommends four to six weeks for onboarding, though onboarding may be completed in as little as five days, so centres should allow for setup time when planning a transition.

Platforms

OWNA is available on Android, iOS and the web. The parent app is offered across web and mobile, giving families more than one way to access centre updates and account information.

Who it's for

OWNA is best suited to daycare centres and before- and after-school programs that want family communication, curriculum records, attendance and staff management in one product. The free plan can suit a service focused on curriculum and attendance; centres seeking bookings, finance or rostering need Premium. Services needing Enterprise’s API integration should weigh its custom pricing against that specific need.

Pros and cons

• Broad coverage across families and staff: The product combines family messaging and learning documentation with attendance, payments and workforce tools.
• Useful free starting point: Curriculum planning, attendance, the parent app and compliance are included without a subscription.
• Meaningful paid-plan costs: Premium starts at $39 a month, and payment processing adds 2.75% for Visa/Mastercard or 50 cents per ACH transaction.
• Plan boundaries matter: Bookings, enrolments, invoicing, payments, rostering and timesheets are not part of FREE.
• Setup needs planning: OWNA recommends four to six weeks for onboarding, even though it may be done in five days.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, start with the Childcare Management Software category. AfterSchool HQ is another freemium option with a free plan and transaction fees on activities processed through it. Cheqdin may suit a very small service: its free Rise plan covers up to 5 students, with email support only and no personalised training or record archiving at the limit; Starter costs $68 a month. QikKids is another freemium option, with Playground plans divided by place-count bands. Kangarootime may fit a small operation seeking a free plan limited to 1 program, 1 school and 5 staff members. Neztio offers a free Starter plan for up to 15 children and a Standard plan at $79 a month with unlimited children. 6crickets is web-based and offers free marketplace listings for any number of seats, with commissions or referral fees applying to registrations. Procare is a paid option at $25 a month for smaller centres and in-home daycare providers, though classroom management is unavailable for in-home users. Xplor Education is another freemium childcare option with an OSHC package that includes Office, Playground and Home App.

Verdict

Choose OWNA if your centre wants family communication and learning records alongside attendance, billing and staff operations, with a free entry point and a clear $39 a month Premium tier. Its main drawback is that the free plan leaves out bookings, finance and rostering, while paid payment processing and onboarding time deserve planning. Look elsewhere if those costs or the four-to-six-week recommended setup do not suit your centre.