Built because the admin work was breaking centers.
PebbleDesk is built for licensed childcare centers that need ratio tracking, subsidy billing, and audit-ready records — without rebuilding those records by hand every week. The product is designed around the reality of a director who manages compliance, staffing, and billing from one desk, usually without a dedicated admin team.
A note from the founder
Solo-built. Bootstrapped. Here to stay.
PebbleDesk is a solo-operated, bootstrapped business. That might be a reason to look elsewhere — I understand. This is not a private-equity operation or a venture-backed startup with millions to burn. What it is, is a product I care deeply about.
I read every support message personally. I take every call personally. I read every feature request and take it seriously. I monitor for bugs constantly and fix them within 24 hours of being reported. If you run into a problem, I want to know — not so a support queue can log it, but because I genuinely want to fix it before the next person hits it.
My goal is to give you the best software experience you have ever had in this space. If that sounds like a fit, you can start a free trial and see for yourself. And even if you decide not to continue after the trial, I would be grateful for any feedback you can share. It makes PebbleDesk better for everyone who comes after you.
— Angel Campa, Founder
Background
The problem we saw
Provider participation in the CCDF subsidy program fell from 475,394 in 2006 to 225,204 in 20221. The main drag is paperwork: attendance logs in one place, billing notes in another, licensing records somewhere else. More on why providers are leaving →
1. ACF Office of Child Care, FY 2022 CCDF Preliminary Data Table 7 (Number of Child Care Providers Receiving CCDF Funds); the 2006 baseline of 475,394 is drawn from the same series of CCDF provider-counts tables.
Most software optimized for the parent experience. Directors were still reconciling by hand before every claim. PebbleDesk is built the other way — starting from the director's desk, not the parent's phone.
What we focus on
Three things done well
Ratio tracking that catches gaps before the licensor does
Subsidy reconciliation tied to attendance, not rebuilt manually
Audit exports from one record, not three spreadsheets
Who PebbleDesk serves
Built for directors running licensed programs
PebbleDesk serves licensed childcare centers, family childcare homes, and multi-site operators that need clearer attendance, ratio, subsidy, billing, and audit records. It is built for center directors, owner/operators, family childcare providers, administrators, and multi-site operators who are responsible for proving what happened later. Plan fit still matters, but the product starts with the people who own the daily record: Home for up to 15 children, Center Starter for up to 50 active children, and Center Pro for up to 100 active children.
Data & security
Your center's records stay yours
All center data is isolated — no center can access another center's records — and stored in encrypted databases hosted in the United States.
See if PebbleDesk fits your center
30-day free trial. No credit card required. We email you 3 days before the trial ends.