Finance Reporting: Manual Income, Year Summary & Tax Estimate

Log Local Authority funding payments, review your annual income and expense breakdown, and understand your projected tax liability.

Written byDaniel Broadhurst (Founder)|Published: 18 June 2026|
Ofsted Aligned

Finance Reporting: Manual Income, Year Summary & Tax Estimate

The Finance dashboard gives you three tools that sit alongside invoicing: a way to log income that doesn't come from parent invoices, a year-at-a-glance summary you can slice by tax or calendar year, and a live tax estimate so you're never caught off guard at self-assessment time.


Logging Manual Income

Use this to record payments that arrive outside the invoicing flow — Local Authority funding instalments, grants, and similar.

  1. Tap the Finance tab at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Tap the + button (the main action button on the Finance dashboard).
  3. Tap Log Income.
  4. Tap the amount field and enter the payment amount.
  5. Tap Date Received to set the date the payment arrived.
  6. Tap the category that applies — for example, Local Authority Funding.
  7. Scroll down and tap the Reference / Description field. Add a brief note, such as 15-hour funded place — November.
  8. Tap Save. You'll return to the Finance dashboard.

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Manual income entries appear in your year-end summary and alongside invoice income in your Making Tax Digital submissions — so your totals always reflect your full earnings, not just what parents have paid.


Year Overview

The Year Overview gives you a 12-month breakdown of income and expenses in one view.

  1. Tap the Finance tab.
  2. Tap the Year Overview card on the Finance dashboard.
  3. Use the selector at the top of the screen to toggle between Tax Year and Calendar Year.
  4. Tap the back button in the header to return to the Finance dashboard.

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The tax year runs April to March and is the period HMRC uses for self-assessment. The calendar year runs January to December. Most childminders use the tax year view for self-assessment preparation, and the calendar year view for a quick sense of how the current year is going.


Tax Estimate

The tax estimate is not a separate screen — your projected tax figure appears directly on the Finance dashboard alongside your net income. You don't need to navigate anywhere to see it.

  1. Tap the Finance tab. Your current net income and projected tax figure are displayed on the dashboard.
  2. Tap the (info) button next to the tax figure to open the Tax Estimate panel.
  3. The panel shows the breakdown of how the estimate is calculated. Scroll to read the full breakdown.
  4. Tap Got it to close the panel and return to the dashboard.

This figure is an estimate based on your income recorded in KinderStart and standard tax-free allowances. It does not account for all reliefs, deductions, or changes in your personal circumstances. Always confirm your final tax liability with an accountant or directly with HMRC before submitting your self-assessment.


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KinderStart strives for accuracy. Competitor features and pricing comparisons are based on publicly available information as of May 2026. Details are subject to change by respective providers.

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