You're Switching from QuickBooks. Here's Why Home Daycare Providers Choose Nexa.
QuickBooks
$55/mo
$660/year — every year, forever
Nexa
$279
Once. Own it forever.
or 3 payments of $99
Break even in 5.1 months. Then it's free forever.
"Switched from QuickBooks after the last price increase. Nexa does everything I needed for $279. Wish I'd done it sooner."
— Verified daycare provider, former QuickBooks customer
The Bottom Line
Home Daycare Providers on QuickBooks pay $55/month — $660/year. Over three years, that's $2,214. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 5.1 months. The median daycare provider earns $28,000/year, so QuickBooks's annual cost is roughly 2.4% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
Key Numbers
$28,000
Median daycare provider income
2.5%
Typical SaaS spend as % of revenue
5.1 mo
Break-even vs QuickBooks
$1,935
3-year savings switching to Nexa
What QuickBooks Is Costing You
The Damage
QuickBooks monthly$55/mo
Annual drain$660/yr
Year 2 (11.4% SaaS inflation)$735
Year 3$819
3-year total$2,214
That's $2,214 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.
Your QuickBooks subscription has cost you $0.00 since you opened this page.
Why Home Daycare Providers Leave QuickBooks
✗Annual price increases of 10-15%
✗User caps force expensive tier jumps
✗Complex interface overwhelms small operators
✗Desktop version being sunset - forced to Online
✗Payment processing fees add up fast
✗No offline capability
✗QB controls 85% of this market. It's technically a monopoly. The FTC has a long issue with Intuit over pricing.
✗400% increase since 2023. We used to update every 2 years for $250. Now subscription is $689.
✗An almost 70% price increase for your most used product and all you guys are adding is a bunch of AI slop.
Home Daycare Providers are leaving QuickBooks every week.
You're not the only one who's had enough.
Why This Matters for Home Daycare Providers
You watch 6 kids in your home Monday through Friday. Two parents are a week late on tuition. You need to buy more snacks, art supplies, and diapers — all business expenses you're tracking in a shoebox. Little Emma's mom wants to switch from full-time to three days a week. You need to adjust her invoice, update the schedule, and figure out if you can fill those two open days. Brightwheel charges $20+/month and half the features are for centers with multiple classrooms and staff. You're one person in your living room.
Home Daycare Providers face unique challenges: Collecting tuition on time from parents who pay late or forget. Brightwheel costs $20+/month for features designed for larger centers. Tracking meal expenses and supply costs against tuition revenue. Managing attendance records for licensing and tax deduction purposes. On top of all that, QuickBooks charges $55/month ($660/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median daycare provider earns $28,000/year. Software at $660/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Childproofing equipment and safety supplies is yours. You bought it once. Nexa works the same way — $279 once for invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, and full accounting. All connected. All offline-capable. You own it like you own your tools.
Your Full Stack Cost
QuickBooks is just one piece. What else are you losing money on?
Want this breakdown emailed to you?
Your exact QuickBooks cost, full stack total, and what switching saves. 10 seconds.
"I was paying QuickBooks $55/month and didn't question it until I did the math. $2,214 over 3 years for tools I don't even own. Nexa was $279. Once. Done."
— Daycare provider business owner
What You Get Instead
Feature
QuickBooks
Nexa
Invoicing
✓
✓
Scheduling
✗
✓
CRM
✗
✓
Time Tracking
✗
✓
Full Accounting
✗
✓ (SIMPL)
Task Management
✗
✓
Price
$55/mo forever
$279 once or 3 × $99
3-Year Cost
$2,214
$279
Stop paying?
Lose everything
Keep everything forever
Switching Takes 1-2 Days
Most home daycare providers are fully switched before the weekend.
1
Export your data
Go to Reports → export to CSV. Download clients, invoices, expenses.
2
Set up Nexa
15-minute setup. Import your clients and expense categories.
3
Parallel run
Run both for 1-2 weeks. Verify everything transferred.
4
Cancel QuickBooks
Cancel subscription. Download final backup. You're done.
✓ Run both in parallel. Cancel QuickBooks when you're confident. Zero risk.
What home daycare providers actually deal with
Collecting tuition on time from parents who pay late or forget
Brightwheel costs $20+/month for features designed for larger centers
Tracking meal expenses and supply costs against tuition revenue
Managing attendance records for licensing and tax deduction purposes
A day in the life of a daycare provider
You watch 6 kids in your home Monday through Friday. Two parents are a week late on tuition. You need to buy more snacks, art supplies, and diapers — all business expenses you're tracking in a shoebox. Little Emma's mom wants to switch from full-time to three days a week. You need to adjust her invoice, update the schedule, and figure out if you can fill those two open days. Brightwheel charges $20+/month and half the features are for centers with multiple classrooms and staff. You're one person in your living room.
The tools a working daycare provider actually owns
Childproofing equipment and safety supplies
Educational toys, books, and art supplies
Cribs, mats, and nap supplies
First aid kit and health documentation
Why home daycare providers leave the big platforms
brightwheel: $20+/month designed for daycare centers with classrooms and staff. Home daycare is simpler — why pay center pricing?
procare: Enterprise childcare management software. The complexity and cost don't match a 6-kid home daycare.
quickbooks: $55/month for accounting when you need tuition billing, attendance tracking, and parent communication.
Where home daycare providers actually talk shop
r/ECEProfessionals (Reddit)
r/Daycare (Reddit)
r/childcare (Reddit)
DaycareForum.com (Forum)
Tom Copeland - Family Child Care (YouTube)
Home Daycare Boss (YouTube)
Local home daycare providers on Nexa
Real home daycare providers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee.
Are you a daycare provider? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time.
Or browse every daycare provider on Nexa →
FAQ
Is Nexa really a QuickBooks replacement for home daycare providers?
For solo operators and small teams (1-5), yes. Nexa includes invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting. QuickBooks may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.
$279 seems like a lot.
It's $7.75/month over 3 years. QuickBooks is $55/month — that's $2,214 over 3 years. Which is more? And if you'd rather split it, Nexa is also available as 3 payments of $99.
Can I pay in installments?
Yes. Nexa is $279 as a one-time payment, or 3 payments of $99 ($297 total). Either way it's a one-time purchase — no subscription, no recurring fees ever.
What if I don't like it?
30-day money-back guarantee. Full refund. If Nexa doesn't save you $500 in year one, you get every penny back.
Can I import my QuickBooks data?
Export your data from QuickBooks as CSV, import into Nexa in about 5 minutes.
Home Daycare Providers in Lakewood
The average solo operator there spends about $2,592/year on software — and daycare provider face their own version of that math. CO state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Lakewood metro. Your situation will vary.
If You Need These — Nexa Has Them
Specific gaps Home Daycare Providers run into with QuickBooks, and what Nexa does instead.
✗
QuickBooks gapNo scheduling/booking
✓
NexaBuilt-in scheduling and booking — no separate tier.
✗
QuickBooks gapNo CRM functionality
✓
NexaFull CRM module included in $279.
✗
QuickBooks gapNo project management for services
✓
NexaJob and project management in the same $279 — no upgrade needed.
What QuickBooks Users Are Saying Lately
Recent threads from Reddit and Hacker News mentioning QuickBooks. Sentiment scored automatically — click through to read the full thread.
If you want to compare notes or see how other home daycare providers are running their tools, here's where the conversation happens.
Reddit
r/ECEProfessionals, r/Daycare, r/childcare
Forums
DaycareForum.com
YouTube
Tom Copeland - Family Child Care, Home Daycare Boss
Podcasts
Home Daycare Business Podcast
"QuickBooks raised prices again and I was done. Found Nexa — $279 once. I own it. No more 'we're updating our pricing' emails. Best business decision this year."
— Daycare provider, switched from QuickBooks
Stop Losing $660/Year to QuickBooks
$2,214 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.