The back office for a one-person babysitting business: answer the right inquiries first, quote and schedule sits without double-booking, know who still owes you, set aside the right amount for taxes, collect references, and publish your own website. Free, and it runs in your browser. How it works · Babysitting taxes, explained
Your data is saved in this browser. Download a backup in Settings now and then.
Today
New inquiries and follow-ups, unpaid sits, references to chase, families to invite back, tax deadlines and tomorrow's sits, most urgent first. Copy the drafted message, send it the way you normally do, then mark it done.
Leads
Each inquiry is scored against your own limits in Settings (distance, number and age of children, availability, rate). A family's beliefs are never scored; asking for faith-based activities only counts as a match when you offer them.
Families who picked a time on your server's /book page. Nothing is booked until you approve it here.
Week view
Green is open time. "Skip" takes one week off a weekly repeat.
My openings
Upcoming and recent sits
Money & taxes
Federal estimate and safe-harbor payments
Record a payment
Expenses
Year-end statement for a family (Form 2441 / dependent-care FSA)
Invoices & getting paid
Packages, gift certificates and group nights
References & testimonials
Keep who you asked, what they said and whether they agreed to be named. Only quotes marked "yes, publish" ever reach your website.
Private links, follow-ups and the reference packet
With your own server set up (Settings, Sync), "Make a private link" gives each person a page where they write their own words and tick two separate boxes: whether new families may contact them, and whether their words may go on your website as first name and last initial. The time and the exact wording they agreed to are saved. Links expire after 30 days; sync to bring answers in. Follow up after 5 and 12 days, then let it go.
Only people who agreed to be contacted, with your certifications. Open it and print.
Agreements with families
Your website
A small site built only from what you write: home (your story, rates, the towns you serve, an optional faith section, the testimonials families agreed to share, an inquiry form), about (what a sit looks like, safety, certifications with dates), rates and policies, and questions families ask. A section with nothing filled in is left out. Your name, rates and story come from Settings; the rest is here. Download the files and drop them on Netlify, Cloudflare Pages or GitHub Pages (all have free plans), or run the optional server, which serves the site at /site/ and turns each inquiry into a scored lead.
Get found locally
Plain steps people commonly take; none of them is promised to bring families. Tick them off as you go.
Content calendar
Twelve weeks of post ideas, rotated across Facebook, Nextdoor, Instagram, a church or school bulletin and your website, tied to the season. Each draft leaves a space for a real moment in your own words. Never post a child's name or photo without the parents' yes.
Messages for your families
Print: flyers, cards and referral cards
For church and library bulletin boards, school newsletters, coffee shops and neighbors' doors. Each piece is built from your profile in Settings, with a QR code to your website. Faith wording appears only if you turned on your faith section, and then in your own words. Ask before you post: many boards and bulletins have rules.
Where your leads come from
A referral card carries a code. When an inquiry's "How did you hear about me?" includes it (the card's QR code fills it in on your website), the lead is credited to that family and gets the referral bonus in its score.
Activities: a plan for each sit
Posts & blog
Sitter network
Your safety
Settings: you, your rates, your limits
Credentials and business setup
Automations (sent by your own server)
Backup
Sync with your own server (optional)
If you run the server from the README on your own account, enter its address and admin key to keep this desk and the leads your website collects in one place. The key is kept in this browser only.
How it works, and what it is not
Do babysitters have to pay taxes?
Yes, in the US babysitting income is taxable, cash included. A babysitter who runs their own business reports it on Schedule C, and once net profit reaches $400 for the year also owes self-employment tax (15.3% on 92.35% of profit, for Social Security and Medicare) on Schedule SE. This app adds up what you were paid, subtracts expenses and mileage, and suggests how much to set aside and when the quarterly estimated payments are due.
Am I self-employed or a household employee?
It depends on who controls the work. A sitter who sets their own rates and schedule and works for many families is usually self-employed. If one family controls how and when you work in their home, the IRS can treat you as that family's household employee (Publication 926), and once they pay you $3,000 or more in 2026 they owe household employment taxes and give you a W-2. The app flags any family that crosses that line so you can talk it through.
What do families need from me for the child care tax credit?
To claim the child and dependent care credit on Form 2441, or to be reimbursed from a dependent-care FSA, parents need your name, address and taxpayer ID, and the amount they paid. The app prints a year-end statement per family with every payment. For a sole proprietor that is your Social Security number: the IRS instructions for Form W-10 say that for individuals and sole proprietors the taxpayer ID is an SSN, and Form 2441's instructions ask families for an individual provider's SSN. Form W-10 is the IRS form for giving it to them.
How do I decide which babysitting inquiries to take?
Set your own limits once (how far you travel, how many children, the youngest age you take, your availability and rate) and the app scores each inquiry against them, says why, and drafts a reply: a warm yes with your rates for a good fit, or a kind no for one that does not fit. Recurring work and referrals score higher because they book more often.
How do I ask families for references and testimonials?
The References tab drafts the request, reminds you to follow up after five days, and keeps a separate yes or no for whether a quote may appear on your website. Only quotes marked yes are ever put on the site the app builds, shown with first name and last initial.
Is my families' information uploaded anywhere?
Not by this page. Families, kids, allergies and payments stay in this browser's storage and in the backup file you download. If you choose to run the optional server on your own hosting account, the app syncs to it with your own admin key, and your website's inquiry form posts to it.
When to use something else
Marketplaces such as Care.com and Sittercity bring you families you have not met; this app is for running the business once they find you, and for the families who come by word of mouth. If you take on a family as their regular nanny, use a payroll service for household employees. The tax figures are a set-aside, not a return: your bracket, deductions and credits are for you or a tax preparer to finish.