Choosing how you invoice families
Understand actuals, contract, annual, and termly billing — and pick the right method for each family you care for, then download the invoice as a PDF.
Who this is for
Who this is forChildminders creating invoices. Needs a Solo or Team plan, or a free trial. You'll need the child's contract set up first (see
Creating a childcare contract). It takes about five minutes to learn.
Every invoice is worked out by a billing method. There are four, and you can use a different one for each family.
| Method | Best for | What the invoice charges |
|---|---|---|
| Contract | Fixed days and hours | The hours in the contract, after you've checked attendance |
| Actuals | Hours that change week to week | Only the sessions the child attended |
| Termly | Term-time only care | A flat monthly instalment |
| Annual | Families who want the same payment all year | A flat monthly instalment |
1. Start a new invoice
Open the Finance tab, tap +, choose to create an invoice, and pick the child. Under Billing Period, use the arrows to choose the month you're billing.
2. Choose the billing method
The invoice starts on the method in the child's contract. To use another for this invoice only, tap Change under How it's charged and pick one:
- Booked sessions (Contract): the hours in the contract, whatever the diary says.
- Diary hours (Actuals): only the hours signed in and out in the diary.
- Equal payments, term time (Termly) and Equal payments, all year (Annual): a flat monthly amount from the contract, so there's no per-day rate to set.
3. Check attendance
Tap Next: check attendance. KinderStart works out the invoice from your register and flags any day where attendance doesn't match the contract, such as an absence with no reason. Tap Fix, add a short note and tap Save & Log Change. If a parent ever questions a charge, the note is there.
4. Check what's charged
Tap Next: see the charges. Each line says where it came from, and funded hours always come off before the parent's total. Tap a day to change it, tap Add a charge or discount for anything extra, or change the wording of a line for this invoice only.
5. Save it
Tap Save draft to check the invoice before the parent sees it. When you're happy, tap Next: send. Once the parent pays, mark it as paid.
6. Download the invoice
In your invoice list, open the invoice's menu and tap Download. The PDF shows your logo and details, the items and total, a calendar of the month, the session summary and your payment instructions.
⚠️Using Termly billing?
Set your term dates first in
Business Settings → Term Dates, so term-time contracts follow your calendar.
✅Why KinderStart does it this way
Families work in different ways. Some have the same days every week, some change them, and some want the same payment every month. Letting each child have their own method means every invoice matches what you agreed, and building it from the register means the hours are always right.
What to do next
- Creating a childcare contract: the billing method is set in each child's contract.
- Tracking your income and expenses: your finance dashboard and year-end figures.
Next: step 3, Add your policies
Adding your policies and risk 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.