Everything you need to run your nursery
From funding forms to safeguarding, billing to parent communications — the parts of running a nursery in England, in one system.
30-day free trial • No credit card required
Comparing systems? Read what nursery management software should cover, or see nursery accounting and invoicing and childcare funding software.
Core Features
The essential tools that set Pigeonhole apart
Simplified Funding Forms
Parental declarations filled in from each child's record, signed online by parents and approved by you. Then a Chrome extension helps you fill in your council's provider portal.
- Filled in from the child's record
- Signed online by parents
- Portal auto-fill in Chrome
- Funding code reminders
Parent & Staff App
One app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Parents see the journal, diary, news, forms and invoices on their phone; staff run the register, observations and care diary on a shared room tablet.
- Notifications parents choose
- Face ID or fingerprint
- A PIN for each member of staff
- Included in the price
Safeguarding Management
Complete audit trail for safeguarding concerns. Staff raise concerns via mobile app, leads get instant notifications, actions are tracked to completion.
- Mobile concern reporting
- Sign-off rules before closing
- Seen-by tracking
- Per-staff child exclusions
Accounting & Billing
Automated or one-click invoicing with transparent fee breakdowns, synced to Xero and QuickBooks. Income analytics split families from council, and a report catches sessions that were never invoiced.
- Automatic or one-click billing
- Xero & QuickBooks
- Council vs family income
- Unbilled session checks
Occupancy & Staff Rotas
See children booked, staff rostered and places left across the week, room by room — then plan the whole year, and try a pay rise or price change against profit before you commit.
- Week view, room by room
- Your target ratios per room
- Year planner with profit (beta)
- What-if scenarios
AI-Powered Insights
Ask questions about your nursery data in plain English. Get instant answers about attendance, funding, occupancy, and more.
- Questions in plain English
- Answers from your own data
- Quotes your own policies
- Lists you can download
Document Management
Upload documents and images with AI-powered summaries. Staff can ask the AI assistant about policies and get instant answers. Share securely with staff and parents.
- AI document summaries
- Policy Q&A via assistant
- Staff & parent access
- Image recognition
Observations & Learning Journal
Capture moments with photos, tag the children involved and your areas of learning, then share them with families once approved. Staff can dictate the write-up instead of typing it.
- Capture moments with photos
- Tag EYFS areas of learning
- Dictate notes on mobile
- Families share moments from home
Care Diary
Log nappies, bottles, meals, sleeps and medication for a whole room at once, with safer-sleep check reminders. You choose whether families see the day as it happens, the next day, or not at all.
- Whole-room logging in a few taps
- Sleep-check reminders
- Set up per room
- Shared with families if you choose
Termly Reviews & Next Steps
End-of-term reviews linked to each child's next steps. AI reads the term's observations, suggests levels and next steps with the evidence, and drafts the family's term summary for you to approve.
- AI reads the whole term
- Next steps tracked to achieved
- Your wording, your frameworks
- A summary families want to read
AI Writing Assistant
Turn rough notes or a voice note into a first draft, checked against writing rules you set in plain English. Always a draft your team edits and owns.
- Rough notes to first draft
- Voice notes transcribed
- Your house style, enforced
- Photos never sent to AI
Announcements
Share newsletters, reminders and event photos with parents. Staff write them, managers approve, and you send now or schedule for later — or bulk email exactly the families you need.
- Photos and videos attached
- Manager approval before sending
- Send now or schedule
- Bulk email by room, age or allergy
Multi-Site & Groups
Run more than one nursery from a single Pigeonhole account. Switch between sites without logging out, and delegate ownership to the managers who run each one.
- Switch sites without logging out
- Add new sites yourself
- Delegate site ownership
- Each site keeps its own settings
Ready to simplify your nursery admin?
Join hundreds of nurseries already saving time with Pigeonhole
All Features
A complete toolkit for modern nursery management
Child Sessions
Manage recurring and ad-hoc session bookings
Child Charges
Track extras like meals, trips, and late fees
Pricing Management
Set up session prices, extras, and discounts
Term Dates
Auto-calculated term dates for funding
Attendance Tracking
Digital check-in with accurate records
Accident Forms
Manager approval before parents see them, then parent sign-off
Custom Forms
Forms that create and update the child's profile
Public Forms
Enquiry and application forms embedded in your own website
Bulk Email
Email the families you need, filtered by room, age or allergy
Funding Projections
Forecast council funding per term
Finance Reporting
Income split families vs council, with a month-ahead forecast
Unbilled Sessions
Spot sessions that never reached an invoice and bill just those days
Registration Fees
Booking fees, with refundable deposits taken off the first invoice
Room Management
Organise children by room, auto-move dates
Parent Portal
Secure access to forms and invoices
Staff App
Mobile app for daily operations
PIN Sign-in
Staff without an email sign in to the nursery tablet with a PIN
Authorised Devices
Restrict staff sign-in to devices you have approved
Home Moments
Families share photos from home, checked before they reach the journal
API Integration
Connect to other systems via our API
Learning Frameworks
EYFS, Development Matters, or build your own
Journal Exports
A PDF keepsake of a child's journal for families
Custom Agents
Describe a report in plain English and schedule it
Custom Attributes
Define custom fields for children
Discounts
Sibling, staff, and custom discounts automatically applied to invoices
Start your free trial today
A guided setup walks you through rooms, staff and sessions. Free for 30 days, no credit card required — and a 30-day money-back guarantee when you subscribe.