Choosing Your Billing Method

Choosing Your Billing Method

Every invoice in KinderStart is built around a billing method — the rule that decides what a parent owes you for a given period. Choosing the right method for each family means your invoices are accurate from day one, disputes are rare, and chasing payment is the exception rather than the rule.

KinderStart supports four billing methods. Most childminders use two or three of them across different families.

The Four Methods at a Glance

Actuals Billing

Charge parents for exactly the sessions their child attended — no more, no less.

Actuals billing is ideal when care hours vary week to week — for example, shift workers, parents with flexible working patterns, or families who book ad hoc.

KinderStart pulls your attendance records for the billing period and builds the invoice automatically. Each session appears as a separate line item so parents can see exactly what they're paying for.

When to use Actuals

• The child's hours change most weeks
• You and the parent agreed to charge based on real attendance rather than a set schedule
• The family books sessions in advance via the app rather than following a fixed contract

How to create an Actuals invoice

1. Tap the Finance tab at the bottom of the screen, then tap the + button and choose New Invoice.
2. Select the child.
3. Choose Actuals as the billing method.
4. KinderStart pulls in every session attended during the billing period automatically.
5. Scroll through the line items to check each session is listed.
6. Tap View session and funding breakdown to see how any government-funded hours have reduced the parent's total.
7. Tap Save Draft to review later, or send it straight to the parent.

Contract Billing

Invoice for the hours in the contract — with a quick attendance review to catch any discrepancies first.

Contract billing suits families on a fixed schedule. The invoice is based on the contracted hours rather than actual attendance, so parents always know what to expect. Before KinderStart generates the invoice, it flags any sessions where the attendance record doesn't match the contract — giving you the chance to add a note before charging.

When to use Contract billing

• The child attends on the same days and times each week
• You want invoices to reflect the contracted commitment rather than fluctuating attendance
• You need to resolve attendance gaps before sending the invoice

How to create a Contract invoice

1. Tap Finance → + → New Invoice.
2. Select the child.
3. Tap Review Attendance. KinderStart highlights any sessions where the record doesn't match the contract — for example, an absence with no note, or a session that was marked incorrectly.
4. Tap Fix issue next to any flagged session. Add a brief reason (for example, "Child was absent — parent notified by phone") and tap Save & Log Change.
5. When all flags are resolved, swipe down to close the attendance panel.
6. Scroll down and tap Generate Invoice. KinderStart calculates the total from the contracted hours.
7. Tap View session and funding breakdown to check how funding has been applied.
8. Tap Save Draft or send to the parent.

Annual Billing

Spread an agreed annual fee into equal monthly payments.

Annual billing is popular with families who prefer predictability — they pay the same amount every month regardless of how many sessions occur in that calendar month. You agree the total annual fee with the parent upfront, and KinderStart divides it by 12.

When to use Annual billing

• You and the parent prefer a consistent monthly payment
• The care arrangement is stable across the full year (including school holidays)
• You want to avoid variable invoices that change with school terms

How to create an Annual invoice

1. Tap Finance → + → New Invoice.
2. Select the child.
3. Choose Annual as the billing method.
4. KinderStart calculates the monthly amount from the contracted annual fee automatically — there's nothing to adjust.
5. Review the summary and tap Save Draft or send it to the parent.

Termly Billing

Invoice for an entire school term in one go.

Termly billing sends one invoice per school term rather than monthly. It's common for term-time only care arrangements where it's cleaner to bill once per term than to send invoices every month.

When to use Termly billing

• The child attends during school term weeks only
• You and the parent agreed to invoice per term rather than monthly
• The child's contract is set up as term-time only

How to create a Termly invoice

1. Tap Finance → + → New Invoice.
2. Select the child.
3. Choose Termly as the billing method.
4. KinderStart uses your term dates to calculate the full term total automatically.
5. Review the summary and tap Save Draft or send it to the parent.

How to Decide Which Method to Use

When you set up a new contract with a family, agree the billing method upfront and note it in the contract. Here's a quick decision guide:

Are the child's hours the same each week?

• Yes, and you want to charge for contracted hours → Contract billing
• Yes, but you want to smooth payments into equal monthly amounts → Annual billing

Does the child attend term-time only?

• Invoice per term → Termly billing
• Invoice monthly for the sessions in that month → Actuals billing

Are the hours different every week? → Actuals billing

You can use different methods for different children — there's no requirement to be consistent across families.

Saving and Sending Invoices

Whichever billing method you use, every invoice follows the same final steps:

1. Save Draft — Saves the invoice for you to review before sending. The parent can't see it yet.
2. Send — Sends the invoice to the parent via the app. They'll receive a notification.
3. Mark as Paid — Once payment is received, mark the invoice as paid to keep your records up to date.

All invoices are stored in the Finance section and appear in your year-end reports.

Next Steps

• Set up your contracts: The billing method is part of the child's contract. If you haven't set one up yet, see Creating & Managing Contracts.
• Understand your funding: See Finance Dashboard: Complete Overview for how funded hours interact with invoicing.
• Set your term dates: Required for Termly billing — go to Settings → Term Dates in the app.