Finance Dashboard: Complete Overview

Finance Dashboard: Your Complete Financial Command Centre

The Finance Dashboard is your single source of truth for all money flowing in and out of your childminding business. From invoice tracking to HMRC-compliant expense logging, everything you need to stay on top of your finances lives here.

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Finance Dashboard Overview

Understanding Your Net Income Card

The prominent Net Income card at the top of your dashboard shows your monthly profit at a glance:

• Total Income: All invoices paid + manual income logged (funding, grants, retainers)
• Total Expenses: All business spending tracked this month
• Net Income: Your actual profit (Income minus Expenses)

HMRC Compliance Indicator

The percentage shown represents your business use of household bills. KinderStart calculates this from your Weekly Home Hours in Business Settings and follows HMRC's official apportionment tables.

The Four Core Cards

1. Invoices Card

Shows your parent billing status for the current month:

• Paid: Green indicator - invoice marked as paid
• Sent: Yellow indicator - invoice sent but awaiting payment
• Draft: Grey indicator - invoice created but not yet sent
• Overdue: Red indicator - payment is late

Quick Actions:

• Tap the card to see all invoices
• Use the FAB menu to create a new invoice
• Filter by parent or payment status

2. Expenses Card

Displays your business spending for the month:

• Total expenses logged
• Count of transactions
• HMRC category breakdown

Quick Actions:

• Tap to view all expenses with receipts
• Add new expense via FAB menu
• Categories automatically mapped for tax returns

3. Manual Income Card

Tracks non-invoice income like:

• Local Authority funding payments
• Government grants
• Retainer fees from parents
• Tax-Free Childcare top-ups
• Other business income

Quick Actions:

• Tap to see funding history
• Log new income with proof attachments
• Export for accountant or HMRC

4. Recurring Expenses Card

The Recurring Expenses card shows your projected monthly overhead — the sum of all business expenses marked as recurring (weekly, monthly, or yearly costs converted to a monthly equivalent).

This card gives you an at-a-glance view of your fixed business costs so you can see exactly how much of your income is committed before you account for variable spending. It only appears when you have at least one recurring expense logged.

What counts as a recurring expense:

• Business phone or broadband contract (monthly)
• Professional indemnity insurance (yearly ÷ 12)
• NDNA or PACEY membership (yearly ÷ 12)
• First aid renewal (every 3 years ÷ 36)
• Continuous streaming music licence (monthly)
• Any other regular business outgoing

How monthly equivalents are calculated (all in whole pence, no rounding errors):

• Weekly cost × 52 ÷ 12
• Yearly cost ÷ 12
• Daily cost × 260 ÷ 12

Tap the card to see each recurring expense itemised with its frequency and monthly equivalent.

The FAB Menu (Floating Action Button)

Tap the + button in the bottom-right corner to access four quick-add actions:

1. New Invoice: Bill parents for childcare
2. Log Income: Record funding, grants, or retainers
3. Log Mileage: Record business travel (petrol reimbursement)
4. Log Expense: Track business spending with receipts

Creating Your First Invoice

When you tap "New Invoice" from the FAB menu, here's the complete workflow:

Step 1: Select Child

• Tap a child avatar from the horizontal scroll
• Only children with enrolled status appear
• Child name auto-populates the invoice header
• Parent details are pulled from the child profile

Step 2: Billing Period

• Auto-set to current month by default
• Tap to change if billing for a different month
• Format: "January 2026" (shows clearly on PDF invoice)
• Critical for Tax-Free Childcare claims

Step 3: Add Line Items

Each line item captures:

• Description: What you're charging for (e.g., "Full-time Care", "Extra Hours", "Meals")
• Quantity: How many units (e.g., 1 month, 20 days, 40 hours)
• Rate (£): Price per unit (e.g., 850.00 for monthly fee, 6.50 per hour)
• Amount: Auto-calculated (Quantity × Rate)

Example Line Items:

Description          | Qty  | Rate    | Amount
---------------------|------|---------|--------
Full-time Care       | 1    | 850.00  | £850.00
After-School Club    | 5    | 15.00   | £75.00
Hot Meals            | 20   | 3.50    | £70.00
                                Total: £995.00

Step 4: Review & Save

• Save Draft: Keeps invoice editable, not sent to parent
• Finalise & Send: Locks invoice, emails PDF to parent
• Mark as Paid: Updates payment status (only after sending)

Logging Business Expenses

When you tap "Log Expense" from the FAB menu, capture these details:

Required Fields

1. Date: When the expense occurred (defaults to today)

2. Category: Choose from 20+ HMRC-approved categories:

   • Food & Consumables (meals, snacks, nappies)
   • Toys & Books
   • Office, Phone & Stationery
   • Travel & Playgroup Fees
   • Household Running Costs (gas, electric, water)
   • Household Fixed Costs (rent, council tax)
   • Furniture & Household Items
   • Repairs & Maintenance
   • Advertising & Marketing
   • Professional & Legal Fees
   • Wages & Assistant Costs
   • Other Business Expenses

3. Description: What you bought (e.g., "Weekly groceries for meals", "New toy storage unit", "Printer ink")

4. Amount (£): Total cost including VAT (e.g., 45.50)

5. Receipt Photo: Snap a pic or upload PDF receipt — HMRC requires proof for all business expenses

Optional Fields

• Venue: Home or External (for location tracking)
• Business Use %: For MTD compliance (defaults to 100%)

Special: Household Expenses

When you select "Household Running Costs" or "Household Fixed Costs":

• KinderStart automatically applies HMRC apportionment percentages
• Based on your Weekly Home Hours from Business Settings
• The allowed percentage appears as a badge
• Example: 30 hours/week = 30% of gas bill is claimable

Recording Manual Income

When you tap "Log Income" from the FAB menu, capture these details:

Required Fields

1. Date: When income was received (defaults to today)

2. Category: Choose the income type:

   • Local Authority Funding: 2, 3, or 4-year-old funded hours payments
   • Government Grant: Business support grants, startup funding
   • Retainer Fee: Monthly retainer from parents during holidays
   • Tax-Free Childcare Top-up: TFC government contribution (20%)
   • Other Income: Any other business income not from invoices

3. Amount (£): Total received (e.g., 1200.00)

4. Description: What this income is for (e.g., "2 and 3 year old funding - Spring term", "Childminder Grant Q1 2026")

Optional Fields (Recommended)

• Attachment: Upload proof document (bank statement, payment notification letter)
• This creates an audit trail for HMRC compliance

Why Manual Income Tracking Matters

• Funding doesn't go through invoices: Local Authority pays you directly
• Grants aren't taxed the same way: Different treatment on Self-Assessment
• Retainers need separate tracking: For contract compliance and holiday pay records
• TFC top-ups must be recorded: Proves income sources for mortgage applications

Recent Transactions Feed

Below the cards, you'll see your chronological activity:

• Each transaction shows date, description, amount, and category
• Green = money in (income/invoices)
• Red = money out (expenses)
• Tap any transaction to view full details or edit

Transaction Filters

Use the filter icon to show:

• All: Every financial transaction
• Income Only: Invoices + manual income
• Expenses Only: Business spending
• This Month: Current billing period
• Custom Range: Select specific dates

Month Selector

The dropdown at the top lets you switch between months:

• Current Month: Default view
• Previous Months: Historical data for any past month
• Tax Year View: See April-to-April totals for Self-Assessment

HMRC Deduction Percentages

Based on your Weekly Home Hours, KinderStart automatically applies the correct HMRC percentage for household expenses:

These percentages appear automatically when you log household expenses like gas, electricity, water, rent, or council tax.

Understanding Your Financial Health

Green Zone (Healthy)

• Invoices paid on time
• Regular expense tracking
• Steady net income growth

Yellow Zone (Monitor)

• Some overdue invoices
• Irregular expense logging
• Fluctuating monthly income

Red Zone (Action Needed)

• Multiple overdue invoices
• Missing expense receipts
• Negative net income

Export & Reports

From the Finance Dashboard, access:

• Monthly Summary: PDF report for your accountant
• HMRC Export: CSV file formatted for Self-Assessment
• Profit & Loss: Annual P&L statement
• VAT Report: For VAT-registered childminders

Revenue Streams: Private vs. Government Grant

Every invoice line item in KinderStart is tagged with a revenue stream:

• Private Parent Fees (SALES_SERVICES): Your private hourly rate, extras, consumables — income taxable as self-employment earnings
• Government Grant (GOVT_GRANT): LA-funded hours — income received directly from your Local Authority, reported separately

This split matters for Making Tax Digital (MTD). From 2026, HMRC requires digital records that separately identify your income sources. The monthly CSV export from the invoice list pre-separates these streams, so your accountant (or your MTD software) receives correctly classified data without any manual sorting.

The Finance Dashboard net income figure includes both streams in the total, but the export lets you see and report on each independently.

Connected Features

The Finance Dashboard pulls data from:

• Contracts: Hourly rates, funding types, billing modes, and recurring extras
• Attendance Diary: Actual hours worked for ACTUALS-mode billing
• Business Settings: Tax apportionment rules, funded hours window, LA rate cards
• Children: Parent contact for invoice delivery and portal access

Everything connects. When you log an attendance session, update a contract rate, or add a recurring expense, the Finance Dashboard reflects it immediately — no double-entry, no spreadsheets.