Parent guide to NannyTime
Your home, in perfect rhythm. The private family app for parents and the nannies they trust.
New here? Get a 60-second visual tour.
Walk through the parent experience in under a minute — with real screenshots of every screen.
Have a specific question?
Use the Ask NannyTime chat at the bottom of this page — it's trained on everything here and can give you a personal answer in plain language.
Getting started in 5 minutes
You'll be guided through this the first time you sign in. The onboarding wizard covers family, kids, pay, safety contacts, and invites.
- 1
Sign in with Google
Your invite link sends you to Google sign-in. We don't store a separate password — Google handles it. - 2
Name your family
Pick something simple like 'The Smiths' or 'Our House'. This is just a label — you can change it later in Settings. - 3
Add your kids
Add each child's name, nickname, and birthday. You can upload a photo too. Ages update automatically on journal entries. - 4
Set pay basics
Choose hourly rate or volunteer mode, then pick your pay period (weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly). You can change all of this anytime. - 5
Invite your nanny — and optionally another parent or guardian
Copy the nanny invite link or share it by text. A separate parent invite link gives another adult full parent access.
Inviting your nanny
- 1
Open the Team tab
From your admin dashboard, tap the Team tab to see anyone already in your family. - 2
Copy or text the invite link
Use the 'Invite Link' button. The link is unique to your family and never expires — but you can always regenerate it if needed. - 3
Your nanny signs in with Google
They click the link, sign in with Google, and join your family automatically as a nanny. - 4
Set their hourly rate (optional)
On each nanny's card you can override the default hourly rate. Leave it blank to use the family default.
Managing kids
Each child has a rich profile your nanny relies on day-to-day. The form is grouped into collapsible sections — start with the basics and add more whenever you're ready.
- 1
Basics
Go to the Kids tab → Add child. Add their name, nickname, birthday, and a photo to make journal entries feel personal. - 2
Nicknames help AI auto-tagging
Add nicknames your nanny actually uses (e.g. 'Beeb' for Beatrice). When the nanny writes a journal note mentioning that name, we auto-tag the right kid. - 3
Health & safety
Open the collapsible to record allergies (with severity), known medical conditions, and dietary restrictions. The most important items also surface as quick-glance badges on the child's card so your nanny can't miss them. - 4
Personality & comfort
Capture each child's likes, dislikes, fears, and comfort items (favorite blanket, stuffy, etc.). This makes hard moments easier — your nanny knows exactly what soothes each child. - 5
Routine & notes
Add hobbies & interests, the typical sleep / nap routine, and any free-form notes for the nanny. Your nanny sees this section when they tap into the child's profile. - 6
Archive, don't delete
If a child no longer needs tracking (e.g. they've aged out), archive them. Their history stays searchable but they disappear from new entries.
Medications
Track any medication your nanny may need to give — prescription or over-the-counter. Two safety gates keep this airtight: a one-time family consent, and a per-medication 'Authorize for dispensation' toggle.
- 1
Add a medication
Open the Medications tab → Add medication. Pick the child, name the medication (e.g. 'Children's Tylenol'), enter the dosage, and add any special instructions ('with food', 'only if fever > 100°F'). - 2
Scheduled vs. as-needed (PRN)
Scheduled medications run on a clock — set the times of day (e.g. 8am & 8pm). As-needed (PRN) medications are only given when symptoms appear — set a minimum number of hours between doses for safety. - 3
Course duration
Pick Ongoing (no end date), Until a specific date, or a fixed number of doses. We auto-mark the course complete when reached, and show a warning on the card when only one dose remains. - 4
Authorize for dispensation
Each medication has its own toggle. Until you flip it on, your nanny sees the medication on the child's profile but cannot record doses. The first time you authorize any medication, you'll be asked to accept a one-time family consent — it covers this and any future medications. - 5
Audit log of every dose
Every dose your nanny records (timestamp, who, optional note) is preserved permanently. Even after a course ends, you can review the full dispensation history right on the medication card.
Reviewing hours & approving pay
- 1
Open the Pay & Hours tab
Pick the month and the nanny. You'll see a daily breakdown plus weekly, monthly, and pay-period totals. - 2
Edit an entry if needed
Tap any time entry to adjust clock-in/clock-out or add a correction note (e.g. 'nanny forgot to clock out — left at 5:30'). - 3
See pay automatically calculated
We multiply logged hours by the applicable rate. If overtime is on, hours over the weekly threshold use the overtime multiplier. - 4
Download a Pay Period Summary PDF
On the green pay-period card, tap PDF to download a clean one-page summary of hours, rate, and gross pay for that period — perfect for handing to your CPA or uploading to your payroll service. - 5
Download an Annual Summary PDF
Below the filters, tap Download Annual PDF to get a year-in-review broken out by month — for one nanny or all of them.
Pay periods, overtime, and mileage
- 1
Change frequency or start date
In Settings → Pay Period Settings, pick weekly / bi-weekly / semi-monthly / monthly and set the most recent start date. - 2
Enable overtime (optional)
Flip on Overtime pay, set a weekly threshold (e.g. 40h), and a multiplier (e.g. 1.5×). You can hide or show this from your nanny. - 3
Track mileage (optional)
If your nanny drives your kids, enable mileage. Set a per-mile rate. Your nanny logs trips from their Profile tab; totals roll into pay. - 4
Turn on PTO / sick days (optional)
Set annual PTO and sick-day allowances. Your nanny sees remaining balances if you choose to share them.
Calendar & tasks
- 1
Create tasks for your nanny
On the Calendar tab, tap + to add a task. Set a date, a reminder, or mark it all-day. Your nanny sees it on their Calendar tab. - 2
Use recurring tasks
Pick a frequency (daily / weekly / monthly) and an end date. We'll create up to 52 occurrences automatically. - 3
Mark tasks done together
Either side can mark a task complete. Parents can also delete; nannies can only delete tasks they created themselves.
Chores
Assign household chores to your nanny and kids. Track who does what, verify completion, and set recurring schedules so nothing falls through the cracks.
- 1
Browse the chore library
Open the Chores tab and tap Library to see 36+ pre-built chores across 9 categories — Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom, Living Room, Outdoor, Laundry, Pets, General, and Custom. Pick one and it pre-fills the form. - 2
Assign to nanny or kids
Each chore can be assigned to your nanny (by name) or to a child. Your nanny sees chores assigned to them plus any kids' chores on their Calendar tab. - 3
Set recurrence
Choose once, daily, weekdays, or weekly. Recurring chores regenerate automatically so you set it once and forget it. - 4
Track and verify
Chores move through statuses: To Do → Done → Verified (you confirm). You can also mark one as Skipped. Filter by status to see what's pending.
Shared shopping list
A shared grocery and household list that anyone in the family can add to. Smart autocomplete helps you find items fast, and the unit picker makes quantities easy.
- 1
Add items with smart autocomplete
Start typing in the Shopping tab and suggestions appear instantly — over 500 common grocery and household items across 14 categories. Select one and it files into the right category automatically. - 2
Use the unit picker
Below the quantity field you'll see quick-tap pills: lbs, oz, ct, gal, qt, pt, dozen, bag, box, can, pkg, bunch, head. Tap one and it fills in the quantity for you (e.g. '2 lbs'). - 3
Check items off at the store
Tap the circle next to any item to mark it purchased. Toggle 'Show Purchased' to review what's been bought, or 'Clear Purchased' to start fresh. - 4
Both sides can add and check off
Your nanny sees the same list on their Calendar tab. They can add items, check them off at the store, and you see the changes in real time.
Your Family's Time Travel Journal
- 1
Read daily moments
Your nanny posts journal entries from their phone. Photos, captions, and auto-tagged kids all show up in the Journal tab. - 2
Star your favorites
Tap the star to keep a moment featured. Great for the 'my baby's first steps' entry you'll want to find again. - 3
Back-date if needed
Forgot to post a moment yesterday? You (and your nanny) can back-date entries to the right day. - 4
Keep private moments private
Mark an entry as private and it's hidden from nannies — useful for parent-only reflections.
Safety contacts
- 1
Add pediatrician, emergency, family, friends, neighbors
Pick a type when you add each contact — pediatrician, emergency backup, family member, friend, neighbor, or other. They live in Settings → Safety and your nanny sees them as a one-tap call list on their dashboard. - 2
Cover poison control, grandparents, next-door neighbors
Add anyone your nanny might need fast. Each contact can include notes (e.g. 'has a spare key').
Terms of Service & consent
NannyTime is in pilot — every parent and nanny accepts a short Terms of Service once. If we publish a meaningful update we'll prompt you to accept the new version at next sign-in.
- 1
First-time acceptance
On your first sign-in (and your nanny's), the Terms appear in plain English. Read, scroll to the bottom, then tap Accept. Once per account. - 2
Read or print Terms anytime
Open /terms in any tab, or use the link in your dashboard footer. The current version is always available for reference. - 3
One-time medication consent
The first time you authorize ANY medication for dispensation, an additional short consent appears explaining you (the parent) take responsibility for the medication being safe and properly labeled. Accept once and it covers your whole family for any current or future medication. - 4
Pilot disclosure
While we're in pilot, you'll see a small banner letting you know Terms are still in attorney review. Your acceptance is recorded against the version you saw.
Settings overview
- 1
Location tracking
Optional. When on, the nanny's location is logged during their shift. Useful for peace of mind; off by default. - 2
Geofencing
Prevents clock-in outside a set radius of your home. Can be set family-wide or overridden per nanny. - 3
Pay visibility
Decide whether your nanny sees their own hours/pay totals. Off by default for privacy.
Frequently asked questions
How does my nanny actually clock in?+
Can my nanny edit their own hours?+
What if I have more than one nanny?+
Can I invite another parent?+
What about taxes?+
Can my nanny dispense any medication I add?+
What happens at the end of a medication course?+
Why am I being asked to accept Terms again?+
Is my data private?+
Does this work on an iPhone/Android?+
What happens when I end a nanny's employment?+
Ask NannyTime
A helper bot trained on this page. Ask anything.
Still stuck? Ask the other parent or your nanny — or email [email protected].