Cut your backup care spend up to 30% with more access, not less.

No expiring credits. No out-of-network default. We don't lock you into a handful of company-owned centers. Just more care delivered for up to 30% less.

A caregiver and a young child playing together at home

Trusted by benefits teams at

Chobani Panasonic Dollywood City of Palo Alto Emory Health Bally's Corporation

More coverage. Less spend.

A handful of emergency days isn’t coverage. When a sitter cancels or school closes, your people need child care that actually shows up, covers the day, and is there even when everyone needs it at once. That’s what Upwards is built for.

Overview
Traditional
Credit Programs
What it covers
A full working day, early mornings included
A set number of emergency days
Network
Open network of local child care providers
Set list of centers or contracted providers
When everyone needs it at once
Flexes with demand
Capacity runs thin
In-network access
In-network by default
91% of care falls out of network
Dollar efficiency
86¢ of every dollar reaches families
57¢ of every dollar reaches families
Unused care
Credits roll over
Credits expire
Care matching
70-90% matched within 48 hrs
Center hours and waitlists
Two children smiling and playing together

Where your backup care budget actually goes

In the traditional credit model, you pay a flat rate per half-day or per credit. Credits expire. Out-of-network markups stack up. And the model pays off most when care never happens at all, because every unused credit is margin. Upwards is built so your spend turns into care, not overhead.

Traditional credit model
57¢ to families
43¢ overhead
Upwards
86¢ to families
14¢ overhead

Based on average cost structure of traditional credit-based backup care programs.

Your current program
Based on your inputs, this program spends about $1,000,000 per year.
What the math shows
Wasted today: expired credits and out-of-network markup
$430,000
Estimated savings with Upwards (up to 30%)
$300,000
86%
of spend would reach families, vs ~57% today
Get a program assessment
We handle the switch

We move everything over, timed to your renewal

Contract lock-in is the number one reason a switch stalls. We time the move to your renewal date and handle the migration, so your people never lose child care coverage.

A teacher helping children with colorful puzzles at a table
A family playing together with toys on the living room floor
What parents say

“Upwards came through in the clutch! When our school has random days off, we are able to find care for Upwards to allow us to keep working while knowing our kids are being taken care of. It's an incredible service that I am grateful Chobani provides. With the days off our school provides for breaks, it's helpful to be able to have an uninterrupted work week. Without the service, we would need to find a way for one of our parents to come in town for a few days, which is unrealistic to do multiple times a year.”

— Parent of two, Chobani employee

Ready to offer backup care your team will actually use? (and for a fraction of the cost)

We'll walk through your current program and show where Upwards delivers more child care for less.

Questions benefits teams ask

Backup child care, answered

What is the best alternative to traditional credit programs for backup care?+
Upwards is a flexible-network alternative built for employers leaving the traditional credit model. Rather than routing families to a fixed set of company-owned centers, or a marketplace where employees search and vet caregivers on their own, Upwards matches families with all types of vetted care nearby that work for each family, including licensed home-based providers, nannies, and babysitters. Coverage doesn’t depend on a center being close, and unused credits roll over instead of expiring, so more of your benefit budget stays available to your people.
How much does employer-sponsored backup child care cost?+
Backup care is usually priced per credit or per use, so total cost depends on how many credits an employer buys and the price per credit. Two programs at the same headline price can deliver very different value, because what matters is how much of each dollar reaches families and whether unused credits expire. Upwards is designed to deliver more usable care per dollar than traditional credit programs, since it carries no owned real estate and rolls unused credits forward rather than letting them lapse.
What’s the difference between a flexible network and a captive backup care network?+
A captive network limits employees to a provider’s own or contracted locations, so getting care depends on a covered center being nearby and having space. A flexible network like Upwards draws on centers, licensed home-based child care providers, nannies, and babysitters that already operate where families live. That makes in-network care the default rather than the exception, which means fewer employees are pushed to find and pay for their own care when their regular arrangement falls through.
Do backup child care credits roll over or expire?+
With Upwards, credits roll over. Many traditional credit programs expire unused credits at the end of the plan term, which means employers pay for care their teams never actually receive. Rollover keeps that budget working for employees instead of lapsing back to the vendor, and it removes the pressure to use care before a deadline rather than when a family genuinely needs it.
How do I switch backup care providers, and can I switch before my contract ends?+
Switching is a managed handoff, and most employers time it to their renewal date to avoid paying for two programs at once. Upwards reviews how your team uses care today, then sets up eligibility, communications, and booking alongside your existing program so nothing is dropped. The new program goes live on your chosen start date, which keeps coverage continuous for employees. If you’re mid-contract, the transition can still be mapped around your current agreement.
How is Upwards different from traditional credit programs?+
Traditional credit programs are typically center-anchored, built around an owned and operated network of locations, or they work as a marketplace where employees find and vet a caregiver themselves. Upwards sits between those models as a flexible network: it places the match for the family across centers, licensed home-based providers, nannies, and babysitters, so coverage doesn’t hinge on a nearby company-owned center or on the employee doing the legwork in the moment care falls through.