Admin support designed for early childhood centres

Running an early childhood centre isn’t like running any other business. Between rosters, payroll, WINZ, whānau needs, MOE requirements, and team management – there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. Add to that bookkeeping, payroll, and office admin, and it’s no wonder your brain’s full by lunchtime.

At Zesty, we get it. With decades of experience in both ECE and business, we offer smart, sensitive, and sector-specific admin support – so you can spend less time buried in paperwork and more time focused on tamariki and whānau.

Let’s Work Together
Zesty Virtual Assistants: Early Childhood Education Services | Young children enjoy painting with a teacher in a vibrant classroom setting.

ECE Centre leaders spend up to

10 hours per week

on admin tasks. That’s over 40 hours a month not spent with tamariki or leading your team.

Focused woman working in a modern office filled with files and equipment.

Why ECE leaders choose Zesty

Because you need a partner who:

  • Notices when a child’s WINZ payments no longer match their hours
  • Understands where to code resources for budget tracking
  • Spots a missing team meeting in the roster before payday
  • Gets the big picture of ECE: confidentiality, philosophy, tikanga, and whānau support

With a strong background in teaching, management, and business strategy, Heidi leads a team who understands the Early Childhood Education sector from the inside out. We know the unique challenges of running a centre – and how to support you behind the scenes so it all runs smoothly.

Ready to partner with us?

Let’s Talk Partnership

Meet Heidi

ECE-trained, business-savvy, and here to support your centre

With a strong background in Early Childhood Education and over a decade of hands-on business experience, Heidi brings a unique mix of heart and know-how to your centre.

Heidi is Pikler/RIE trained through Childspace Early Learning Centres and holds her Pikler Level 1 Certificate from the Lóczy Institute under Anna Tardos. Her approach to business and administration is grounded in the same thoughtful, respectful principles that guide quality early learning environments.

During her time in London, Heidi mentored four childcare services through the introduction of the UK’s ECE curriculum. One of those services, the Jagonari Muslim Women’s Centre, went from a “Requires Improvement” to an “Outstanding” rating in their Education Review – a direct result of Heidi’s support and her ability to uplift a team while honouring their unique culture and approach.

Heidi Wruck

Owner, Zesty Business Essentials

Qualified Early Childhood Teacher
BA Education & BTeach (Early Childhood Education)

Heidi Wruck
Heidi Wruck

Heidi’s passion for business started early in her ECE career. As a visiting teacher for an in-home service in Aotearoa, she supported educators, nannies and caregivers — while also managing community marketing and networking. That role led her to create her own in-home care service, Butterfly ECE, in between raising her two boys.

Later, when her husband realised his dream of purchasing a butchery, Heidi stepped into the behind-the-scenes role – taking care of the books, HR, social media, website creation, and all things admin. It was a full-circle experience that brought her ECE knowledge and business acumen together in new ways.

Founding Zesty Virtual Assistants was the natural next step. Heidi’s mission is simple: to walk alongside other business owners – especially ECE leaders – offering support, systems, and smart strategy so they can focus on what they love. Because while running a business can be tough, it’s also incredibly rewarding when you have the right support in place.

Ready to work together?
Get Started with Zesty

Admin tasks we can help with

We customise your ECE support package to match your centre’s needs, but here’s a taste of what we can take off your plate:

Bookkeeping & Financials

  • Daily reconciliation
  • WINZ tracking
  • Expense management
  • Budget & cashflow support
  • GST prep and reporting

Payroll & People

  • Weekly/fortnightly payroll
  • Relief and leave updates
  • Timesheet & non-contact time tracking
  • Contracts & HR documentation
  • IRD compliance

Office Admin

  • Staff expense tracking
  • Document formatting and parent-facing comms
  • Website updates
  • Strategic support & planning
  • Admin SOPs & systems streamlining

Ready to hand over the admin and get back to leading your team?

Book a discovery call today and let’s chat about how Zesty can lighten the load, so you can focus on what matters most – your children, your team, and your centre.

Book a discovery call

Our Process

Here’s how we get started and work alongside you long-term:

Step 1

Book a discovery call

Let’s talk about what’s happening in your centre right now and where you need help. We’ll map out what support could look like for you.

Book a call
Step 2

Onboarding package

Over 2–3 months, we dive into your systems and processes, tidy everything up, spot the gaps, and start streamlining your admin.

Step 3

Maintenance package

Once things are running smoothly, we move you to an ongoing support package customised to your centre’s specific needs.

Let’s work together

Supporting your centre, saving you time

When you outsource to a team who understands the ECE sector, you can finally free up your time, lower your stress, and get back to what you love.

Book a discovery call with Heidi right here on our booking calendar., and let’s talk about how we can support you and your centre.


Questions? We’ve got answers for busy centre leaders

Absolutely. From managing my own in-home service and mentoring centres in NZ and the UK, to working with full-time centres like Backyard Kids and Daisies Childcare – we know the ECE space inside and out. We’ve helped centres streamline systems, reduce payroll hours, and make real-time savings.

From WINZ tracking and payroll to budgeting, website updates and formatting policy docs – we customise our support around what your centre needs most. We’re the extra pair of hands you’ve been needing.

Yes! We can help ensure your financials, rosters, and documentation are well organised, accurate, and ready for review, taking one more pressure off your plate.

Yes! Cloud-based tools like Xero, Discover, and payroll software make remote work easy and secure. We’ll guide you through setting up the best workflow – and if you prefer hard copy files, we can make that work too.

Absolutely! We support ECE services across New Zealand. With today’s cloud-based tools, location is no barrier to great support.

We start with an onboarding package that allows us to tidy everything up and create your tailored systems. From there, we move you onto a custom ongoing package depending on the services you need.

We regularly work with Xero, Smartly Payroll, Discover, and more. If your centre uses a different platform, we’re happy to learn and adapt to what works best for you.

Our sector knowledge. Heidi is a qualified ECE teacher who has also managed centres and supported teams. We get your world, and we care deeply about making your admin feel easier and more aligned with your centre’s values.

At Zesty, your day-to-day tasks are handled by our VA team – but you’ll also have access to Heidi, a Virtual Business Manager. She supports your centre’s bigger picture strategy, planning, and systems. Think of it as a hands-on support system and a strategic sounding board.

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