# Daycare Settings

Daycare must be enabled for a branch before plans or usage can be saved.

## Step-by-step guide

1. Go to **Branch Management > Attendance Policies**.
2. Open the daycare settings section.
3. Turn on **Enable Daycare**.
4. Enter hourly rate.
5. Enter grace period minutes.
6. Enter minimum hours.
7. Choose whether to **Create fee assignment automatically**.
8. Select **Save Daycare Settings**.

## What SmartAcademy does in the background

The backend stores daycare settings on the branch. These settings become the default hourly rate, grace period, minimum hours, and auto-fee behavior used by daycare plans and usage.

## Tips

- If the Daycare page says daycare is disabled, enable it from this settings area.
- Grace period controls whether extra minutes round into another chargeable hour.

## Related pages

- [Daycare student plans](/smartacademy-v2-platform/daycare/student-plans)
- [Daycare usage and billing](/smartacademy-v2-platform/daycare/usage-billing)