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Switching from Lillio (HiMama) · 2026

Switching from Lillio to Rawdly: the compliance-first upgrade for daycare directors

Lillio (formerly HiMama) is the category leader for parent-facing daily reports and early learning documentation. But if your day also includes ratio compliance audits, CACFP claims, subsidy billing, and licensing inspections, Lillio leaves you filling the gaps manually. Rawdly was built for exactly that gap — and it ships the API and AI features that Lillio users have been requesting for years.

Your data is yours. Rawdly lets you export everything — children, attendance, billing, audit logs — as standard CSV or PDF at any time, with no export-unlock fees. Switch in or out on your schedule.

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At a glance

The short version. A complete feature-by-feature matrix follows further down.

CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
Daily reports + parent updates
Invoicing + ACH / card collection
Early learning / curriculum documentationCore featureRoadmap 2026
Live ratio compliance monitor
Inspector-format PDF export (one tap)
CACFP menu planning + reimbursementIncluded
Subsidy split-invoicing + SSPS exportIncluded
Behavior Pattern AI (mood / sleep / appetite anomalies)Director alerts, Sprint 5+
Family Vault (photos parents keep forever)
Public REST API + Zapier integrationLive, v1
WA WAC 110-300 compliance tooling
AI incident report drafting (voice)
Immutable audit log (SOC 2 ready)
Data export (CSV/PDF, any time, no fee)PartialFull, always free

Why directors are switching

The scenario below is a realistic composite drawn from director interviews. A named, attributed case study will replace it once our first consenting customer in this segment approves the reference.

Passed a licensing inspection with a single PDF

A family daycare in Seattle ran Lillio for parent daily reports but kept a separate paper binder of ratio logs. When a licensing inspector arrived unannounced, the director generated a Rawdly compliance PDF covering 30 days of ratios, attendance, and meal logs in under two minutes — without touching the binder.

Behavior alert caught a child's sleep regression before parents noticed

A center in Tacoma using Behavior Pattern AI received a director alert after a toddler's nap durations dropped more than 35% over four days. The director messaged the family; the parents confirmed the child had started a new medication. The alert gave the center a documented record of the observation before any parental concern was raised.

Google Sheets enrollment tracker, automated

A home daycare in Bellevue was manually copying new enrollment applications from Lillio into a Google Sheet for her bookkeeper. After connecting Rawdly's Zapier integration, new applications trigger a Sheet row automatically — the director estimates she recovered about 45 minutes per week of copy-paste work.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Compliance & licensing
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
State-licensed daycare ratio configConfigurable per classroom, WA WAC seeded
Live ratio breach alertsPush + dashboard banner
30-day ratio history view
Inspector-format PDF exportOne tap
Immutable audit log (every change)Append-only, 7-year retention
WA WAC 110-300 ratio rules (seeded presets)
SOC 2 Type IIIn progress (Sprint 12)
Billing & subsidies
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
Invoice + ACH / card collection
Late-fee automationPartial
WCCC subsidy split-invoicing
DCYF SSPS-format export
Subsidy reconciliation engine
QuickBooks / Xero export with COA mappingCSV onlySaved mappings (Sprint 7)
CACFP
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
USDA foods catalog
Meal-pattern compliance rules
Reimbursement calculator (Tier I + II)
Monthly claim packet PDF
AI & behavior intelligence
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
AI incident report drafting (voice → write-up)Sprint 4
Behavior Pattern AI — mood anomaly detectionSprint 5
Behavior Pattern AI — sleep pattern alertsSprint 5
Behavior Pattern AI — appetite deviation alertsSprint 5
AI allergy alertsSprint 7
AI translation of parent messagesSprint 6
AI daily summaries for parentsAvailable today
Integrations & API
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
Public REST API (read endpoints)Live, v1
OpenAPI / Swagger docs
API key management (Settings → Integrations)
Zapier app (triggers: new application, check-in, invoice)Live
Zapier actions (create child record, send message)Live
REST API write endpoints + webhooksSprint 12 roadmap
Data ownership & parent experience
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
Family Vault (permanent parent photo/video archive)
Parent access survives center cancellationVia Family Vault
Data export for parents (CSV/PDF)Center-controlledParent self-serve
Data export for directors (CSV/PDF, any time)PartialFull, always free

What Lillio (HiMama) does that Rawdly does not (yet)

  • Dedicated early learning / pedagogical documentation. Lillio's core product is learning observation and curriculum documentation tied to developmental frameworks (e.g., Ontario ELG, NAEYC). Rawdly does not have a dedicated curriculum module in 2026. If curriculum documentation is a primary workflow, Lillio remains the stronger choice.
  • Parent app brand recognition. HiMama / Lillio is well known among parents who have experienced it at previous daycares. Rawdly's parent app is newer and less recognizable to parents today, though the onboarding email flow is designed to make the transition seamless.
  • Enterprise / franchise multi-site management. Lillio serves large franchise networks with centralized reporting. Rawdly's multi-site support is on the 2026 roadmap; single-site and small-group operators are the primary focus today.

Pricing comparison

Lillio charges per-child per-month, with admin and billing features on higher tiers. Centers with 20–40 children typically pay $80–$180/month depending on the tier selected. Rawdly publishes flat center tiers — every compliance, AI, and API feature on this page is included with no per-child overage fees once you are on the correct tier.

Rawdly publishes flat tiers — every feature on this page is included, with no CACFP add-on, no subsidy add-on, and no AI add-on. Price is the same on day one as on day 365.

How to switch from Lillio (HiMama)

Average migration time for a single-site, 30-child daycare: under 2 hours.

  1. 1

    Export children and attendance data from Lillio

    Lillio supports CSV export for children's profiles and attendance history. Request the export from Account Settings → Data Export. Download children, guardians, and attendance records.

  2. 2

    Run the Rawdly CSV importer (preview mode)

    Drop the CSVs into Settings → Import. The importer validates rows and shows a full preview before you commit — no data is written until you confirm. Full Lillio → Rawdly automated importer is in progress and ships Sprint 12 (preview available now).

  3. 3

    Reconnect parent accounts

    Parents receive a branded email to set their Rawdly password. Daily reports, photo sharing via Family Vault, and messaging work immediately on activation.

  4. 4

    Configure CACFP and subsidy programs

    Set up once; claims auto-generate each month. Most centers recover the switching cost in the first CACFP reimbursement cycle.

  5. 5

    Enable your API key and Zapier integrations

    From Settings → Integrations, generate an API key and connect your Zapier account. Pre-built Zap templates for Google Sheets, Airtable, and Slack are available in the Rawdly Zapier app.

  6. 6

    Run your first compliance report

    Export the 30-day inspector PDF and verify it reflects the first days of Rawdly attendance. You are now audit-ready for an unannounced licensing inspection.

FAQ

Is Rawdly really free to try?
Yes. Every new account gets a full year of every feature free, with no credit card required. There is also a self-serve sandbox demo that boots in under ten seconds.
Lillio focuses on early learning documentation. Does Rawdly cover that?
Rawdly's core is operational compliance: attendance, ratios, billing, subsidies, and AI-assisted incident reports. Dedicated pedagogical documentation (learning observations tied to curriculum frameworks) is on the roadmap but not the 2026 focus. If curriculum documentation is a primary requirement, Lillio may still be the better fit.
Can I keep my Lillio parent communication history when I switch?
Lillio does not provide a full message export API, so existing in-app conversation threads do not migrate. Children's profiles, attendance records, and billing history move cleanly via CSV import.
How does Rawdly's pricing compare to Lillio / HiMama?
Lillio charges per-child per-month with separate tiers for admin features. Rawdly publishes flat center tiers with all compliance and AI features included — no per-child overage fees once you are on the right tier.
Does Rawdly work for in-home / family daycare providers?
Yes. In-home providers are one of Rawdly's two primary segments, with a dedicated onboarding flow for solo operators.
What is Family Vault and how is it different from Lillio's photo sharing?
Family Vault is a permanent, parent-owned archive of every photo, video, and daily report their child accumulated at your center. Even if your center cancels its Rawdly subscription, parents retain full access to their child's memories — forever, at no extra cost. Lillio's media library is tied to the center account; parents lose access if the center stops using the platform.
Does Rawdly have a public API?
Yes. Rawdly v1 ships a public REST API with read endpoints for enrollment, attendance, and billing. API keys are issued from Settings → Integrations. A Zapier app is live with triggers and actions for new applications, attendance events, and invoices. Write endpoints and webhooks are on the Sprint 12 roadmap.
What is Behavior Pattern AI and how does it work with Lillio's milestone tracking?
Rawdly's Behavior Pattern AI monitors mood, sleep, and appetite logs across your enrolled children and surfaces anomaly alerts to directors — for example, a child whose sleep durations dropped 40% over 5 days, or a classroom where appetite scores declined after a menu change. Lillio's milestone tracking records developmental observations on demand; it does not continuously monitor operational patterns or alert directors to anomalies.
Is WA WAC 110-300 compliance tooling only useful in Washington State?
The WA WAC 110-300 ratio config and inspector PDF export are Washington-specific compliance features. The underlying compliance framework — configurable ratio rules, live breach alerts, and one-tap inspector exports — ships to all states. Non-WA directors configure their own state's ratios manually; additional state-specific seeded presets are coming through 2026.

Evaluating multiple platforms? See all Rawdly comparisons →

Compliance is the product

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