Bushkids Childcare and RosterElf
How a growing childcare provider found accuracy, simplicity and support they could rely on
Challenges Before RosterElf
Before upgrading their system, Oliver had growing concerns about whether rosters were being completed correctly, whether staff were being paid the right amounts, and whether the business was exposed to errors or even potential fraud.
As new centres were added, these risks increased. Their existing software offered only basic rostering, lacked Xero integration, and required heavy manual work to process pays safely.
All this made accuracy, compliance and efficiency increasingly difficult to maintain across multiple locations.
A closer look at Inspire Care SA's feedback
1. Simple for Childcare Staff to Use — Even Without Technical Skills
“A lot of the childcare staff we work with aren’t the most computer literate… the amount of support they’ve needed is how I judge how easy it is. And they haven’t needed much at all.”
Childcare teams aren’t IT professionals — and they shouldn’t need to be.
Oliver’s biggest surprise was how little training centre directors and educators required. A quick demo was all they needed. When extra help was required, RosterElf’s support team jumped in instantly with screen-shares, walkthroughs and step-by-step guidance.
For a multi-centre childcare provider, this ease of adoption was a massive operational win.
2. Intuitive Design That Just Makes Sense
“The interface is logical… it’s very well thought out. You can tell it’s been designed with user testing and feedback.”
Oliver emphasised how much the user experience mattered.
He wanted a system that centre directors could navigate naturally, without frustration, confusion or mistakes. RosterElf’s layout, interface and workflow design gave his team confidence from day one — and the result was fewer errors and smoother operations across all centres.
3. Xero Integration That Works in Minutes
“Integrating with Xero took minutes. Processing pays is quick and almost always spot-on.”
Payroll went from a stressful, multi-day ordeal to a fast, accurate process that rarely takes more than a few minutes.
Timesheets flow directly into Xero, ready for approval. For a business processing multiple centre payrolls every fortnight, this has been transformative.
4. A 90–95% Reduction in Payroll Time
“Payroll used to take 2–3 days — pretty much a day per centre. Now it’s 90–95% faster.”
Before upgrading their system, payroll consumed an enormous amount of time — often 6–7 hours per day across three centres and handled by a CFO billing $100 per hour.
The team was constantly chasing missing information, correcting altered timesheets, and dealing with attempts to bypass processes, all of which created multi-day bottlenecks.
What was once a slow, stressful and highly manual task has now been reduced to a fraction of the time, transforming payroll from a multi-day burden into a far more efficient process.
5. Local Support That Actually Understands Childcare Needs
“Local support matters. Bigger tech companies offshore everything, and it can be frustrating. RosterElf gives real help — fast.”
Oliver values Australian-based support — especially for businesses caring for children and dealing with compliance.
He highlights that local, fast and patient support is worth paying a premium for. Every time Bushkids has needed help, issues have been resolved quickly and thoroughly.
For a multi-centre operation, that reliability is essential.
7. The Results Speak for Themselves
“If you’re considering it, put it at the top of your list. We’ve committed to 36 months — it’s been a great product and a great experience.”
Oliver’s final verdict is simple:
RosterElf has become a core part of how Bushkids operates — and it’s a decision he’s extremely glad they made.
For Bushkids Childcare, RosterElf wasn’t just an upgrade — it was a game-changer for scaling their business.
