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If you run a preschool or childcare center, we bet that paperwork gives you more headaches than crying toddlers.
From tracking sign-ins and sign-outs, to logging meals and potty trips, and communicating with families, your to-do list is endless. We often hear that billing can cause the most headaches—especially if you don't have a streamlined system in place yet. Between generating invoices, tracking late fees, and sending payment reminders, it’s enough to make anyone throw a temper tantrum.
This article covers three simple tips to manage your preschool billing to save you valuable time and ensure your business gets paid on time.
Have clear policies and enforce them
It's important to have a clear billing policy for your program that includes things like payment due dates, consequences for late payments, and what payment methods you accept. Include this policy in your enrollment process and your family handbook, and consider having families sign an agreement or acknowledgement that they understand your policy. In addition, it is important to stick to your policies and enforce them in a fair and consistent manner in order for them to be successful. If you are lenient on accepting late payments for some families but not others, there may be conflict among your families and you could undermine future relationships.
Make it automatic
Give your families the choice to use automatic monthly billing to eliminate late payments. Most families will jump at this chance, as we often hear from parents that one of the only times they ever have to dig out their actual checkbook anymore is when preschool tuition is due. Working parents lead very busy lives and anything you can do to simplify your processes will be applauded.
Use technology
With brightwheel's billing feature, all of these billing headaches are erased instantly. Our easy-to-use app allows for digital check-in and check-out, tracking and recording a child’s time at your preschool. It also allows for automated, paperless billing for families, drafted directly from their bank accounts. This will not only lighten your heavy administrative load, but it will also go far in your marketing efforts as you seek new customers for your preschool. You can set up recurring invoices for your families as well as one-time billing for special services or fees.
