Step 1Sign in
Open the link in your invitation email and choose a password. After that, sign in with your email and that password.
The agency's administrators invite you as the supervisor of your office: in KeepCount a home visitor is an office's supervisor, with its homes, providers, children and records. The link opens "Choose a password"; type it twice and tap "Save and continue". You land on the dashboard, and a short tour of eight screens starts the first time; skip it or take it again from Help. Your office's name sits in the top bar; a visitor with several offices is asked which one at sign-in.
Every home child care agency employs at least one home child care visitor, who provides support at and monitors each premises where the agency oversees home child care, and is responsible to the licensee (O. Reg. 137/15, s. 6(5)). The policies, settings and logins are the administrators'; a page that is theirs says so.
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 2The dashboard
The dashboard for your office: homes active, not inspected this quarter, due or late now, incidents open; Needs you; the score; the providers in progress.
A line above the figures says how many homes are open today and how many head counts are due; it opens Homes. The readiness score is the share of requirements met, computed from the records in KeepCount. It is a measure of your records, not a Ministry verdict: the program adviser decides compliance.
Everything overdue, missing or due soon, by urgency, each line naming the person or record and the date. Fixing the record updates the status; nothing here is ticked by hand.
The demonstration's lines show what reaches a visitor: an outdoor play plan to agree again since a child joined, a change in the register recorded late, menus not planned with a parent and a visitor (s. 43(4)), a hazard found at a home to be put right. "Open home visits" opens your visits; a provider for a new home is added on Providers.
Step 3The homes
The homes: one table with each home's children here, last record, status, agreement, household screening, last visit and what is to follow up.
Above the table, four figures: the homes open, the children signed in (with how many count once the providers' own children under four are added), the sleep checks late and the homes with no record for an hour. Then a tile for each of the agency's rows that concerns homes (provider agreements, household screening, the register of homes, the home visitors and what the home inspections found). The table lists every home, the most urgent first: past its limits, a sleep check late, a head count due ("Head count due since …", past the agency's interval), then no record for an hour, in that order. "Show" narrows it to "Needs a look now", "To follow up", "Open now", "Closed today or not opened" or "Closed homes".
The columns Today and Status are two of its columns, not two screens. Today is the home's state now and the day's count; Status is the home's own status (for example Active). Agreement is the provider agreement (ss. 9(2), 27(1), 75(1)); Household is how many people are cleared; Last visit is the date and who made it; "To follow up" gives what is open, with "Act" when it is overdue and "Soon" when it is within the warning window. A home's name opens the home's page; its Today pill opens its day. The homes' days follow the provider agreement's days.
Step 4A home's record
A home's record: the address and hours, the initial inspection, the under-two approval; then its day, children, agreement, household, findings and visits.
"The home" card holds what the licence and the agreement say about the premises: the address, the days and hours, the provider's phone, the date of the initial inspection, "Under two" with the director's approval where the agreement allows more than the Act's limit, whether sleep monitors are used (s. 33.1(5)), the Ministry's decal and a note. "Edit the home" changes them. "Today" opens the home's day or an earlier day; "Children" lists each child placed with "Open the file", "Address", "Leaves" and "Placed by mistake", and "Place a child" asks the considerations the regulation names before a placement; "Forms to print" gives the illness record, the sleep supervision record and the emergency numbers; "Provider agreement" records a renewal or change; "Plans agreed" holds the outdoor play plan (s. 30) and the menus planned with a parent and a visitor (s. 43(4)); "Animals" records a dog, cat or ferret kept at the home (s. 41); "Visits" logs one or opens them all.
Step 5The household
The household: each person living in or regularly at the home, with Cleared, Not cleared or a renewal due, and Dates and Edit; Add a person.
Before an agreement with a provider, the agency obtains a vulnerable sector check from the provider, from every person ordinarily resident at the premises and from every person regularly there; after that, from anyone who moves in or begins to be regularly there, before they interact with the children (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 (s. 62(1) and (2)); a statement at 18 from a resident who turns 18 (s. 61(3)); and a health assessment and immunization as the local medical officer of health directs (s. 57(2)). The provider's own children are counted toward the home's limits and listed here with their ages. The provider does not see the household's checks; the agency keeps them.
Step 6Record a date
"Dates" on a household member: the vulnerable sector check received or applied for, the offence declaration, the statement at 18, the health assessment.
A date you type is "Typed, not verified" until another administrator or visitor verifies it ("Verify it"), so no one clears a household alone; "It was a mistake" marks a wrong date. "Vulnerable sector check applied for" records the application while the check is outstanding, and the home reads "Not cleared: check applied for" until the check is received; your screening policy says what protects the children meanwhile (s. 65(e)).
Step 7What inspections found
What inspections found at the home: each thing found at a visit, by when it is to be put right, and Put right.
Each finding names its topic (hazards, firearms, the fire evacuation procedure, first aid supplies, the number of children, menus and the outdoor play plan among them), the date and the visit it came from, and the date agreed to put it right. "Put right" closes it with the date; one past its date shows "Past October 3, 2026" and under Needs you. "Add something found" records a finding between visits; "Recorded by mistake" removes one. The findings are the record of the agency's monitoring of its policies at each home (s. 6.1(7)) and print in the binder with the visit.
Step 8A home's day
A home's day as the visitor sees it: children here of the most allowed, what is due, each child's state, and Today so far, as the provider keeps it.
The provider records the day on their phone; you read the same screen and can record on it when you are at the home ("Are you at Bea Y. home now?" names you on the record). The screen says to record there only what you do at the home yourself, "Call the provider" rings the provider, and "It was a mistake" is offered on your own entries only. The count card shows the Act's limits (up to six children under 13 at once, no more than three under two, the provider's own children under four included, never more than the agreement allows: the Act's s. 6(3) and O. Reg. 137/15, s. 9), "Due" the next sleep check or head count, and each child's state. The provider signs the day with "All done today"; "Earlier days" shows the signed days for three months, and the agency keeps them for the retention period.
Step 9Providers
Providers: each with what needs attention, their home, status, whether they are cleared, and their progress with the policies and quizzes; Add provider.
Each person's policies, quizzes, training and screening dates. Enter a vulnerable sector check or first aid date once; KeepCount works out the renewal and reminds the person, and you, before it lapses.
A provider's record holds their screening dates and documents (verified by you or another administrator), their policies and quizzes, the date they completed everything required, and the compliance notes. Every provider of home child care holds a valid standard first aid certificate with infant and child CPR (s. 58(2)); a provider whose first aid lapses shows "Needs attention" and under Needs you. "Add provider" adds a provider for a new home and sends the invitation; the home's record is made from it.
Step 10Children
Children: the children placed at your office's homes, each with their home, enrolment, the state of their file (s. 72(1)) and the pick-up list; Place a child.
A child's file holds what s. 72(1) requires (the enrolment, the contacts, the health and immunization information, medication instructions, the people who may pick the child up); "Open the file" shows it, and "Needs attention only" filters to the files with an item missing or late. "Place a child at a home" records the placement with the considerations the regulation names, and the register follows. A withdrawn child stays on the file for the retention period.
Step 11The register of homes
The register of homes: each home with its address and provider, the children placed there with their addresses and since when, and the last 90 days' changes.
Every home child care agency keeps a register of the homes where it oversees care and of the children placed at each, with their addresses, kept up to date (O. Reg. 137/15, s. 74). KeepCount keeps it from the placements and prints it as of any date ("As of", "Print", "Export CSV"). "Changes in the last 90 days" lists each placement, departure and address change with when it happened and when it was recorded; a change recorded more than one business day after it happened asks "Explain the delay", and the explanation stays on the register.
Step 12Home visits
Home visits: no visit on record, quarters to explain, not yet this quarter, inspected this quarter; each home with its status, the last visit and Log a visit.
The initial inspection and the unannounced quarterly visits for every provider, with the checklist uploaded. A quarter that passes without a visit shows as overdue for that home.
Each provider's home is inspected before it is used, then without prior notice at least once in every quarter of each calendar year (O. Reg. 137/15, s. 26(1)); only an inspection without prior notice counts toward the quarter, and the initial inspection never does. The tiles count the homes with no visit on record, the quarters still to explain, the homes not yet inspected this quarter with the quarter's last day, and the homes inspected this quarter. The chips narrow the list; "By visitor" assigns a visitor to each home; "By quarter" is the grid below. A home with no child in care reads so and is not counted against you.
Step 13Log a home visit
"Log a visit": the provider, the date, the type (initial, quarterly, follow-up, other), the visitor, the children present, and whether it was without notice.
The premises, including the outdoor play space, must be inspected before it is used for home child care (s. 26(1)); KeepCount treats that initial inspection as separate from the quarterly ones. A quarterly inspection counts only when made without prior notice to the provider ("Yes", or "No, it was announced"). Below the facts of the visit: the Ministry's checklist, what was found with the date to put each right, concerns found, and the action taken or agreed with dates. A draft is kept on this device for seven days ("Restore the draft") and counts toward the quarter only once signed off, by the quarter's last day; the completed checklist can also be attached as a PDF or a photo.
Step 14The checklist
The Ministry's standard home visitor checklist, in the visit: each item Yes, No or N/A, its risk level, and Put right by for a No. Signed off, it counts.
The checklist is the Ministry's standard home visitor checklist (current as of July 2021), in its sections: the number of children (items 1 to 6: six children and three under two, supervision), the building, equipment and playground (7 to 18, hazards and firearms among them, s. 31), health and medical supervision (19 to 39), nutrition (40 to 46), the program (47 to 54), emergency preparedness (55 to 60, the written fire evacuation procedure for the premises, s. 68(3)), administrative matters (61 to 68), and the agency's additional items for the changes to O. Reg. 137/15 since 2021 (from January 1, 2027: hazards and parents told, s. 31.1, and the septic access point, s. 31; O. Reg. 197/26, s. 22(2)). Each item has its risk level (Critical, High, Moderate, Low); "Verbally confirmed" and "By the agency's policy" are answers too. The form's pages 3 to 8 (the times, the children, the provider's own children, the residents and regulars with "VSC on file?") read the home's record. "Sign off the checklist: it is final, and kept as signed from now on"; "Print the checklist" prints it.
Step 15A home's history
"History" on a home: each visit with its type, whether it was without notice, the checklist signed off or a draft, and what was found; Edit, then Correct.
A visit can be edited for 24 hours after it is recorded. After that it is kept as made: "Correct" records a new version that says why, and the original stays, struck through. A visit recorded on a later day is marked "Recorded late". The checklist opens from the row ("View the checklist"), and the attached file with it. Every record the regulation requires is kept for at least three years from the date it was made and is available to an inspector or program adviser (s. 82(1)).
Step 16By quarter
By quarter: each home and each quarter, inspected, missed and explained, or to explain. A missed quarter is recorded with why and the make-up visit.
A quarter with no unannounced inspection at a home is a miss; "Record why" records the reason and the make-up visit, and "Sign off" keeps it as explained. The grid prints in the binder's Part 4 with each visit, so a program adviser sees the whole year at once, the explained misses included.
Step 17Home visitors
Home visitors: each visitor with the director's approval on file, their homes, this quarter's visits and the last visit.
A home child care visitor is a person described in s. 56 (a member in good standing of the College of Early Childhood Educators with at least two years of experience working with children under 13 and a director's approval, or a person who in the director's opinion is capable of providing support and supervision at a home child care premises); "Record the approval" keeps the letter with its date. Your row counts your homes, how many have children, how many are still to inspect this quarter and your last visit.
Step 18Licensing readiness
Licensing readiness for the office: the score, what is overdue, missing and due soon, and the agency's requirements with their status and their section.
The whole regulation as a list, each line with a status from your records, the section behind it and "Why this matters". Record evidence for approvals and inspections here; mark a line not applicable only when it truly is.
The agency's rows: every home inspected before it is used and again at least once in every quarter of each calendar year (s. 26(1)); a written agreement with each provider setting the home's capacity; everyone living in or regularly at a home screened before care; the register of homes current within one business day; the home visitors qualified or approved; what home inspections find put right; the outdoor play plan and the menus agreed; the Ministry decal; animals' rabies; from January 1, 2027, hazards at each home, septic access points and parents told; and the records of attendance and the daily written record. The statuses are based on your records in KeepCount; the Ministry decides compliance.
Step 19Report an incident
An incident at a home: the home, the child, the kind, what happened, the action taken, who told the parent, whether it is serious. The provider records too.
The daily written record and the serious-occurrence trail: the time you became aware, the Ministry report with its reference, and the posting dates. Readiness shows a report that went past 24 hours.
A provider records an incident from their phone and the agency staff are alerted; you review it, give corrective actions and close it, as at a centre. A serious occurrence at a home (s. 1) is reported to an inspector or program adviser within 24 hours of the agency becoming aware of it (s. 38(1)(b)); the "Ministry reporting" card keeps the time you became aware, the CCLS report and reference, and the posting dates.
Step 20The inspection binder
The binder for the office: the home child care licensing manual's parts in its order, the homes, the readiness score, and Print the binder.
"Print this part", on each part's line, prints that part alone with the cover's lines (the period, when and by whom it was printed), when the program advisor asks for one part.
One click prints the binder for the visit: cover, contents, readiness, people and screening, policies and sign-offs, drills, daily logs, incidents, and a sign-off block. On screen each part is one line, with what is to act on and Open; "Open every part" opens them all. The printout, the signed copy and the visit pack keep every part whole, with the contents.
The parts follow the Home Child Care Agency Licensing Manual: the licensee responsible, CWELCC, group size and supervision, the building, equipment and playground (where the home inspections print, with the quarters), health and medical supervision, nutrition, the program, qualifications, screening measures and police record checks (the people and the households), emergency preparedness, administrative matters; then the homes and the licensee review. Printing is logged with who printed it.
Step 21Inspection day
Inspection day for an agency: the records by Manual part, since the last visit, the inspections by quarter, the questions an adviser asks, and in a home.
"By Manual part" follows the Manual; "Since the last visit" lists what changed; "Inspections by quarter" is the visits grid; "During the visit", where the page opens, has Find a file (a person, a home or a child by name) and the questions program advisers ask with where the answer is ("Find a question" above them takes words or a section, such as 68); "In a home" is what to have ready when the adviser visits a home with you. "Log this visit" records the visit and its findings, so the next starts from them.
Step 22Help and the tour
Help has this guide, the guides to the regulation, the glossary, who to ask, and "Restart the tour" for your eight screens.
Help also has your first day and first week (this guide, with its printable copy), the guides to the regulation and the glossary. "Who to ask" names your office's address for anything about your account and the agency, and KeepCount support ([email protected]) for the system itself; a person answers within two business days. "Report a problem" sends what you saw and the screen to KeepCount support only, with this version: say what you did and what you saw, without a child's name or health details. What's new appears there when a release has notes for you; reading them takes the item off your To do.
"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; for a person, a home or a child, "Find a file on Inspection day" above it finds their file. 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.
Eight steps: the readiness score, Needs you, Providers, Licensing readiness, Home visits, Incidents, the inspection binder and Help. Each step moves to its screen and marks the menu item. "Skip for now" brings it back next time; "Don't show again" keeps it off until you restart it from Help.