Head Start Runs on Documentation. So Does CenterPilot.
Head Start programs answer to more oversight than almost anyone in child care. CenterPilot keeps your food program documentation — menus, counts, production records, receipts — permanently stored, time-stamped, and pullable in seconds when a reviewer asks.
Why it matters for your program
Audit-ready by default
Every count, menu, and upload carries a time and date stamp. When a federal review lands, you pull the records instead of reconstructing them.
Categorical eligibility, simplified
Head Start participants are categorically eligible, which should make your forms easier — and in CenterPilot, it actually does.
Perpetual document storage
Receipts, monitor documents, enrollments, and claims stay stored for as long as you’re a customer. No filing cabinet, no missing folder, no panic.
What’s Included
- All application features — nothing is paywalled except optional add-ons
- Participant importing, menus, meal counts, and production records
- Meal production records built on the USDA Food Buying Guide
- Perpetual storage of claims, receipts, expenses, and documents
- Claim payment, ACH, and QuickBooks record keeping
- Free, unlimited support — call, and a real person answers
Simple Pricing
| Monthly fee (independent center) | $40 |
| One-time setup fee | $40 |
| Annual maintenance | $40 |
| Unlimited customer support | Free |
| Attendance App (optional add-on) | $20/month |
Part of a sponsoring organization? See CenterPilot for Sponsors — $30 per site per month.
Also worth a look
Running more than one program? Plenty of sponsors do, and the same login covers all of them. We also cover child care centers, adult day care, at-risk afterschool, outside school hours and emergency shelters.
Still deciding? How to choose CACFP software sets out what to compare and the questions worth asking any vendor before you switch. If you have already decided, switching from another system covers the practical side, including what Texas wants in a Specific Prior Written Approval and why you never pay two vendors for the same site.
And the enrollment and meal benefit forms are free to download in English and Spanish, customer or not.
Head Start questions, answered
Is CenterPilot a good fit for Head Start programs?
Head Start answers to more oversight than almost anyone in child care. Every count, menu and upload carries a time and date stamp, so when a federal review lands you pull the records rather than reconstruct them.
How does categorical eligibility work in CenterPilot?
Head Start participants are categorically eligible, and the forms reflect that rather than making you work around it.
How long are our documents kept?
Receipts, monitor documents, enrollments and claims stay stored for as long as you are a customer, and we help you export if you ever leave.
Do our staff need training to get started?
Free training videos with transcripts come with every plan, alongside unlimited human support. Most programs are comfortable within the first week.
Ready to fly through your paperwork?
See CenterPilot with your own menus, your own sites, your own claim. A demo takes 30 minutes, and you’ll talk to a real person — not a sales robot.