Step 1Sign in
Open the link in the email from your agency and choose a password. After that, sign in with your email and that password.
Your agency adds you and sends the invitation. The link opens "Choose a password"; type it twice and tap "Save and continue". You land on Today. A short tour of seven screens starts the first time; skip it or take it again from Help. On a phone the bar at the foot has Today, Home, Messages, Medication and Menu; "Install KeepCount" under My details puts KeepCount beside your other apps, but it shows only when your browser offers to install it (on an iPhone, tap Share, then "Add to Home Screen").
Your agency sees each record as you make it, and its home visitor reads the same records at a visit. KeepCount support ([email protected]) answers questions about the system itself; your agency answers everything about your home, the children and your dates.
To sign out of KeepCount, use Sign out at the top right of the screen; on a phone it is at the foot of the menu. If records made without a connection are still waiting to send, KeepCount says so and asks before it signs you out.
Step 2Today
Today: your home's name, the date, how many children are here of the most allowed, what is due, and the children, each with what happens next.
Your day at home, one tap each: who arrived and who left (and with whom), naps and the checks while they sleep, head counts, outdoor time and medication. The agency sees each record as you make it. Without a connection your taps stay on the phone and are sent when it is back.
The line under the heading is the home's state ("Bea Y. home · Oct 18, 2026 · 1 of 6 here"), then the time, whether you are connected, and your office. A message from the office waits at the top until you read it. On a public holiday Today asks "Is the home open today?" first.
Step 3How many children
The count card: children here, at most, and under 2, with whether your own children count today. The ⓘ gives the rule.
The rule as the card states it: up to six children under 13 at once, no more than three of them under two, the provider's own children under four included; never more than the provider agreement allows (Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, s. 6(3); O. Reg. 137/15, s. 9). Your own children count from the line "Your own children under 4 count: Lily"; tick "Lily is away today" under the children when one is not at home. A sign-in that would go past the limit asks first ("7 children would be here; the Act allows six") and tells the agency at once if you go ahead; if another adult can take a child, or a parent is on the way, do that first.
Step 4The children
The Children list: each child with their age, an allergy marker, their state (not here yet, here since, asleep, gone home, absent) and the next buttons.
A child expected today reads "Not here yet" with Absent and Arrived; a child here reads "Here since 8:05 a.m." with Asleep, Running low and Left; a sleeping child reads "Asleep since … · next check …" with Checked and Awake; a child gone home reads the times; a child not expected reads "Not one of their days" with "If they come anyway". The marker beside a name (Anaphylaxis, Allergy, Food restriction) comes from the child's file at the agency. Under the list: "Check each child under 24 months every 30 minutes: stand beside them and look at their breathing, colour and position" (O. Reg. 137/15, s. 33.1(2)(a)); the interval is your agency's.
Step 5A child arrives
When a child arrives, tap Arrived beside their name. The time is recorded, and the home's count changes. A child sent home ill today is asked about first.
A record of the daily attendance of each child showing the time of arrival and the time of departure, or that the child is absent (O. Reg. 137/15, s. 72(3)), kept for three years after the child leaves (s. 72(5)). "Absent" records an absence with the reason the parent gave (parent called, illness, vacation, other); a child expected and not here with no word is what your safe arrival policy says to call about (s. 50(b)). A tap made by mistake is marked as a mistake under Today so far, never deleted.
A child who was sent home ill today, or is recorded as away sick today or on the last day the home was open, brings a question before the arrival is recorded: "Sign Lucas B. in? Lucas B. was sent home ill today at 11:27 a.m. Check your policy on ill children (when a child may come back) first." "Sign Lucas B. in" goes ahead and "Cancel" leaves the child as they were. Nothing is refused: your agency's policy decides when a child may return, and the question is there so that nobody signs the child in without a word. With no connection nothing is asked, and the arrival is kept on the device.
Step 6The head count
"Head count": look at each child and say their name as you count. If the number differs from who is signed in, say what happened. Record the count.
The dialog shows "Signed in now: n" and whether your own children are in the count. A count that differs from the register asks "What happened" before it records, so the record says why. "Due" on Today shows when the next head count falls; your agency sets how often (the demonstration's is every hour). Every child must be supervised by an adult at all times, on or off the premises (s. 11); the counts are how you show it, and from January 1, 2027 the agency's supervision policy says when, how and how often children are counted (s. 11(2)).
Step 7Also today
"Also today": the head count, Going outside and Back inside, medication, an incident, something done earlier, and All done today.
"Going outside" starts the outdoor time and "Back inside" ends it; each child in care for six hours or more spends at least two hours outdoors each day, weather permitting, unless a physician or a parent advises otherwise in writing (O. Reg. 137/15, s. 47(4)). "Medication" opens the day's doses; "Incident" opens Report an incident with the home filled in; "Record something done earlier" and "All done today" are the steps below.
Step 8A child goes to sleep
Tap Asleep beside the child: the row says since when and when the next check is due. A child under 12 months is asked how they were placed first.
A child younger than 12 months is placed for sleep as the Public Health Agency of Canada's safe sleep statement recommends, unless the child's physician recommends otherwise in writing (s. 33.1(1)); for such a child the tap asks "On their back" or "As the doctor wrote" and records which. From then the child reads "Asleep since … · next check …", and the next check appears under "Due" when it falls; a child of 24 months or more reads "no timed checks".
Step 9The sleep check
"Checked": stand beside the child, with enough light to see; note their position; then "All OK", or "Something wasn't right".
A direct visual check means being physically present beside the child while the child is sleeping and looking for indicators of distress or unusual behaviours, with sufficient light to do it; it is required for every sleeping child younger than 24 months at a home child care premises (O. Reg. 137/15, s. 33.1(2)(a) and (b)), at the interval your agency's sleep policy sets (s. 33.1(2)(c)(vi)). "Something wasn't right" asks what (laboured breathing, flushed, hot, restless) and whether the parent or guardian was told; a significant change in a child's sleep is communicated to the parents under the sleep policy (s. 33.1(2)(c)(v)). "Awake" ends the nap. Electronic sleep monitors, where your home has them, never replace the check (s. 33.1(5)(d)).
Step 10A child leaves
"Left": tap who picked the child up from the list, or type the name under Left with; answer the question if they are not on the list; then Sign the child out.
Your agency's safe arrival and dismissal policy for your home provides that a child may only be released to the individuals the parent has specified (O. Reg. 137/15, s. 50(a)(i)), or, for a child who leaves on their own, as the parent has permitted in writing for a set time (s. 50(a)(ii)). The people the parent named are buttons; a name not on the list asks whether a parent approved the person, in writing or by phone, or stops the release and tells you to call the office, with its number. A sleeping child is woken first. A child not picked up as expected follows the steps in the safe arrival and dismissal policy (s. 50(b)(ii)).
Step 11Something done earlier
"Record something done earlier": what happened (arrived, left, asleep, a check, awake, a head count), the child, at what time, and why it is recorded now.
For something that happened earlier today and was not tapped then: the record keeps both times, when it happened and when you recorded it, and the reason. It is also how a day without a connection is entered from your paper notes once connected. A sleep entry has to fit the child's other sleep entries that day: a check or a waking is for a time the child was recorded asleep, asleep for a time they were awake.
Step 12All done today
At the end of the day, "All done today": what is still to do first, the statement that no incident affected a child or you, and Sign the day.
The day's record (s. 37) is signed once every child is signed out or absent and the counts are in. The checkbox reads "No incident today: no illness, injury or anything else affecting a child or me (s. 37)"; if something did happen, record it as an incident first (below). The agency reads the signed day; past days show under "Earlier days" for up to three months, and the agency keeps them for the retention period.
Step 13Today so far, and earlier days
"Today so far" lists each record of the day with its time, and It was a mistake or Correct the time beside each. "Earlier days" shows up to three months back.
Nothing is deleted: a tap made by mistake is marked as a mistake and stays on the record with the mark; a time corrected keeps the original. The agency and its home visitor see the same list. "Earlier days" is your own copy of the attendance and the day's records, for a parent's question or a visit.
Step 14Without a connection
Without a connection your taps are kept on this phone and sent when it is back. Keep Today open; children's names are never stored on the phone.
The callout reads: "No connection. This is the day as of …, with what you have recorded since. Your taps are kept on this device and sent when the connection is back. Keep this page open until then: children's names are never stored on this phone, so after a reload the day cannot be shown without a connection. If it closes, write down arrivals, departures, checks and doses on paper with the times, and enter each as 'done earlier' once you are connected." The bar at the foot counts the records waiting to send, with "Send now".
Step 15Your home page
Your home page: your home today, your screening documents when one needs you, and Your checklist: confirm each policy, pass each quiz, complete the training.
What the office asks of you, with due dates: policies to read and confirm, quizzes, training. The list gets shorter as you go; the office sees the same list.
"Your home today" opens Today with the count and the last head count. "Your screening documents" appears when a document is expired, expiring, unverified or missing: add or renew documents under My details; the office checks each one before it counts. "Follow-ups given to you" lists what the agency asked of you after an incident, with "Mark done".
Step 16Policies
Open Policies and work through the list: each policy shows To read until you confirm it, and Quiz until you pass its quiz.
Open a policy, read it, press "I have read it: confirm", and take the short quiz if there is one. When a policy changes, it comes back to this list so you can confirm the new version.
The agency's policies that reach a provider include safe arrival and dismissal, supervision of children, anaphylaxis, medication, emergency management, fire safety and evacuation (the home's written evacuation procedure, s. 68(3)), serious occurrences, the duty to report a child in need of protection, prohibited practices, health and illness, outdoor play and home safety (hazards and firearms at the home, s. 31 and, from January 1, 2027, s. 31.1), water safety, vulnerable sector checks and offence declarations, a smoke-free and vape-free home, sleep supervision, training, and, from January 1, 2027, missing child procedures (s. 68.2). Your confirmation, with its version and date, is the record that you reviewed each one.
Step 17The quiz
Take the quiz after confirming. The pass mark is your agency's setting (80% unless it chose otherwise), and you can retake it as often as you need.
"Take the quiz" on the policy page opens it: a few multiple-choice questions, sometimes a written answer the agency reads. "Submit answers" shows "Passed — well done" or "Not passed yet" with "Re-read the policy" and "Retake quiz". The agency sees who passed; completion shows on your record once every policy is confirmed, every quiz passed and required training complete.
Step 18Training
Training lists what the agency assigned to you, each with what to do and a due date.
Training items the office assigned, with what to do and how to mark them complete. Completion shows on your record when everything required is done.
Your first aid is separate: every provider of home child care holds a valid standard first aid certificate including infant and child CPR from a training agency recognized by the WSIB (O. Reg. 137/15, s. 58(2)); its expiry is under My details, and KeepCount reminds you before it lapses.
Step 19Report an incident
Anything that affected a child's health, safety or well-being: "Report an incident". A child missing: search, call 9-1-1 if not found, then phone the agency.
Any incident affecting a child's or a staff member's health, safety or well-being goes here when it happens, for the daily written record (s. 37(1)); the office completes the serious-occurrence steps if it is one. For a child missing, follow your procedures: search, call 9-1-1 if the child is not found, then phone the agency, and record it here once the children are safe.
The regulation requires a daily written record summarizing any such incident, and, for a child's incident, a parent notified unless already told of it under s. 36 (s. 37). A serious occurrence (s. 1: the death of a child; abuse, neglect or an allegation; a life-threatening injury or illness; a child missing or temporarily unsupervised; an unplanned disruption of normal operations that poses a risk) must be reported to an inspector or program adviser within 24 hours of the agency becoming aware of it (s. 38(1)(b)): tell the agency staff now, by phone; they are alerted by the record and submit the Ministry report. An injury also needs an accident report with a copy to a parent (s. 36(4)); the form prints it. "Child (initials and age), if not on the list" covers a child not placed with you.
Step 20Medication
Medication today: the scheduled doses, the medication given on symptoms, sunscreen and other products, from the parent's written authorization. Record the dose.
A drug or medication is given to a child only where a parent gives written authorization with a schedule of the times and amounts, is stored as its label instructs, and, under the written procedure the regulation asks for, a record is kept of each dose given (O. Reg. 137/15, s. 40(1)). The agency adds each authorization from the parent's written request to the child's file; the doses then show here with "Record the dose" (given, refused or missed, with the time and an observation). A missed dose opens an incident to record.
Step 21The evacuation list
The evacuation list: every child signed in now, their allergy and emergency contact, and a tick for each at the place of shelter. Print it for the drill.
Your own children under four who count toward the home's limits are on it too, under "Also in the home" (not on a day you mark them away), so its total is the count on Today. The list is the register of the moment and refreshes every minute; it keeps working without a connection from what it last read. Your home's written evacuation procedure (s. 68(3)) is the agency's plan for leaving the home in a fire; the list is what you take with you. The emergency numbers for your home are the agency's; ask your home visitor where they are posted.
Step 22My details
My details: your contact details, your screening dates and your documents. Upload a newer document when the agency asks; the office checks it before it counts.
Your contact details and password, your screening dates (the vulnerable sector check, the offence declaration, first aid and your health assessment, needed before any child is cared for in your home, s. 57(2)) and the documents on file, so you can see when something is due. Upload a newer document here when you are asked to.
A vulnerable sector check from you before the agreement with the agency, and from every person ordinarily resident at your home or regularly there (O. Reg. 137/15, s. 60(2)); a new one on or before every fifth anniversary and an offence declaration in every calendar year in between, no later than 15 days after the anniversary (s. 62(1) and (2)); and you must tell the agency as soon as reasonably possible if you are convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code (s. 62(4)). Your household's checks are kept by the agency on your home's record; your own are here. Also here: "Email reminders", safety alerts to this phone, "Install KeepCount" (when your browser offers it), your sign-in email, a passkey and "Change password".
Step 23Messages
Messages from the agency show on your home screen until you read them. A reply goes to the office only.
The office writes to every provider, an office's providers or named people; the thread shows when it was sent and by whom. No child's health details go in a message. With Families on, a Families tab carries messages with a child's family the same way.
Step 24Help and the tour
Help has the guides to the regulation, the glossary, who to ask, "Report a problem", and "Restart the tour", which walks your seven screens again.
"Where do I…?" at the top of Help, and "Go to…" at the top of every screen (in Menu on a phone; Ctrl K, or ⌘K on a Mac), find the step of this guide for a few words such as "sign out" or "fire drill", with "Take me there" and its whole explanation, then the pages and the glossary. When nothing matches, "Tell support what you were looking for" opens Report a problem with your words filled in. Where your organization's owner has turned on "Ask the assistant" (it is off until then), a button under the box answers what you typed from your own guide, with the steps it used and "Take me there". Pressing it sends what you typed to Anthropic, outside Canada, and KeepCount does not keep it: leave out names and anything about a child or a family.
Guides to the regulation, the glossary, who to contact, and this tour again whenever you want it.
"Who to ask" names your agency's address for anything about your account, policies or dates, and KeepCount support ([email protected]) for the system itself. "Report a problem" sends what you saw and the screen to KeepCount support only, never to your agency: say what you did and what you saw, without a child's name or health details.
Seven steps: Today, your home page, Policies, Report an incident, Training, My details and Help. Each step moves to its screen and marks the item in the bar. "Skip for now" brings it back next time; "Don't show again" keeps it off until you restart it from Help.