iCare Knowledge Base

ID #1284

Overview of the Product

This chapter gives information on the features and functions of iCare. It includes three sections: a product line overview, a functional overview, and a technical overview.

Installation Plan

This chapter provides a form to help you plan the training and installation of the software. It shows the various steps that are required and what help you can get from Customer Support at Orgamation.

Hardware and Software Installation

These are two chapters that include instructions for installation of the hardware and software and for setting up iCare, which include:

• Installation of iCare software
• Installation and setup of on-line support software like LogMeIn that lets Customer Support at Orgamation connect to your computer to help you or provide your training
• Installation of the various hardware options available with iCare – data terminals, electric door opener, touch screen monitors, swipe card reader and receipt printers, etc
• Setting up iCare to work on a LAN – setting up the server and the various workstations
• Instructions for setting up the software to fit your center’s policies
• Overview of the initial data entry. This helps you organize your basic records of children and staff for entry or transfer into iCare.

Getting Started

This chapter shows how to start iCare once your computer has been turned on and MS Windows has started.

It also provides an introduction to the iCare interface including:

• Organization of departments in iCare – departments, department tabs, department forms and department reports
• Toolbar and menus
• Customizing the toolbar and department buttons
• Moving from one task or function to another
  

Another feature discussed here is your iCare Home Page. The Home Page includes calendar based searchable alerts and memos for use at the center level. A similar feature for alerts and memos is included in the Child Enrollment form for use for each child.

Hints and Tips

Hints and Tips include general information about iCare:

• Common rules on how data is entered in the forms.
• Finding children by using the Find Child form.
• The Quick System Navigator lets you find forms and reports, if you don’t remember their location in the iCare interface.
• A list of iCare and Windows shortcuts.
• Methods available for you for help and support from Customer Support at Orgamation.
  

Administration and Maintenance

This chapter concentrates on information regarding administrative and maintenance tasks that are required periodically for the upkeep of your iCare installation. It includes the following:

• Managing the Day Ending Process, an important function that is set to run every night for performing many automatic tasks such as attendance, billing and accounting postings, file backup and database maintenance routines.
• Backing up database files and archiving or retrieving old data.
• iCare screen security – setting up user groups and the security rules for the groups.
• Moving iCare from an old computer to a new one.
• Upgrading to a new version of iCare.
• Managing backup files in iCare.
  

Ch 1: Enrollment, Scheduling and Record-keeping

This chapter covers children’s record-keeping including the enrollment and scheduling of children.

In the enrollment sections you will find information on current and future enrollments and unenrollments, adding and maintaining children’s contacts, and managing slots and IDs. The scheduling section gives information on current, future and temporary schedules.

Other topics described in this chapter are medical and immunization records, alerts and memos for children, and waiting list management. Also presented here is information on managing after school programs, camps, field trips and special events.

Ch 2: Staffing

This chapter has information on staffing records. It shows how to enroll staff, maintain their schedules and keep a waiting list of standby staff.

Also described in this chapter is a graphical method in iCare for finding the best fitting staff schedule to match the enrollment, children’s schedules and their attendance trends.

Ch 3: Accounts Receivable and Billing

This chapter focuses on the billing to parents and subsidies and management of their accounts.

Ch 4: Attendance Management – Children and Staff

This chapter covers the areas of attendance collection, attendance sheets, attendance based billing setup and attendance graphs.

Ch 5: Drop-in Services and Cash Register

This chapter gives the instructions for running a drop-in service. It includes instructions for using a cash drawer and managing point-of-sale transactions.

Ch 6: Prepaid Hours

This chapter describes the special terminology and billing for prepaid hours plans. It covers enrolling children, setting up plans, billing, attendance, and accounting.

Ch 7: FDC Agencies and State-Funded Programs

This chapter describes special features for FDC agencies and state-funded programs.

Ch 8: Making Report, Browsing Data and Exporting Data

This chapter discusses the many aspects of report making, such as:

• Filtering, sorting, printing and formatting reports
• Report scheduling – to set up automated running of reports at specified times through the printer or email
• The data browser – a method for creating custom reports on the fly
• Creating ad hoc queries – through its full exposure of its database, iCare lets you create your own queries, which can be memorized for future use and can be formatted into reports
• Memorizing and recalling reports
• Transferring data from any report to MS Excel
• Exporting data to many standard data formats, such as, PDF, HTML, XML and MS Word, etc
  

Ch 9: Messaging, RSVP, Alerts and Memos

This chapter provides an overview of how to send and receive messages for parents and staff:

• Sending messages to parents and staff via the data terminal or the lobby interface
• Setting up automated messaging
• RSVP messaging
• Alerts and Memos - Center Level
• Alerts and Memos - Child Level
  

Ch 10: Mail-Merge, Email and Mass Printing

This chapter provides an overview of sending mass paper or electronic mailings:

• Printing mail merge letters using mailing list or filtering in reports
• Emailing letters using mailing list or filtering in reports
• Sending emails from iCare
• Printing of forms for maintaining hard copies
• Printing mailing labels in iCare or exporting data and printing them in MS Excel or Word
  

Ch 11: User-Defined Fields and Custom Forms

iCare allows you to create your own database tables, fields, and forms for data entry and to create custom reports to view and manage the data you have entered.

This chapter shows you how you can build these custom features to track anything you like.

Ch 12: Food Program

The chapter on food program covers both production and billing aspects of the food program. It shows how to:

• Setup meal timings and produce meal plans and meal counts for billing
• USDA payment rates, eligibility categories, and parent food bill
• Setup meal production – monthly menus, food components, age groups, food chart and purchasing units
  

Ch 13: General Ledger and Financials

This chapter gives you instructions on how to set up a chart of accounts and the automated posting of general ledger accounts and how to create financial reports.

Ch 14: Accounts Payable and Assets

This chapter includes instruction on using the iCare Accounts Payable package to create vendors, post bills, and write checks and how to enter and amortize fixed assets.

List of Standard Reports

This section provides a list of standard reports available in iCare. It provides a description of the reports and tells where to the find reports in the iCare interface.

Technical Support, Training and Customization Service

This section gives information on how you can contact us, including our web site address, and describes the services we provide.

Index

An index of iCare keywords.