Bookkeeping for Childcare
Bookkeeping for Childcare and Day Care Providers
Subsidy reconciliation. Ratio compliance recordkeeping. Educator payroll.
- AIPB Certified
- QuickBooks ProAdvisor
- Xero Partner
- US-based team
Tell us about the business
Two quick taps and we are off.
Pick a business size and your software to continue.
Quote in your inbox within one business day. No follow-up sequence.
Childcare revenue rarely comes from one place. A single classroom might have families paying full private tuition, families on a sliding scale, and families whose fees are partly covered through your state's CCDF subsidy program, each on its own payment schedule and its own reimbursement lag. Add a licensing visit that wants staff-to-child ratio records lined up against enrollment, and payroll for educators who almost always need to be classified as employees rather than contractors, and the books get complicated fast for something that looks, on paper, like a simple service business.
We work with family child care homes, single-classroom centers, and small multi-site providers. The through-line across all of them is the same: subsidy payments need to reconcile against what was actually billed, parent tuition needs to stay current without chasing every family individually, and enrollment and ratio records need to be ready before, not during, a licensing visit.
What changes once we're running your books: CCDF or state subsidy reimbursements get matched to the child and the month they cover, so a gap between what you billed and what you received shows up immediately instead of quietly eating your margin. Parent tuition aging gets tracked so past-due accounts don't slide for months. Educator payroll runs correctly and on time. What used to be an evening spent reconciling three systems becomes a report you glance at.
Where childcare bookkeeping actually helps
- Our CCDF or state subsidy payments never quite match what we actually billed, and I can't tell where the gap isSubsidy payments reconciled against billed amounts by child and by month, so shortfalls get caught right away instead of discovered at year end.
- I'm not sure whether our assistant teachers should be on payroll or paid as contractorsEducator classification reviewed against how the role actually works. Most classroom staff need to be W-2 employees, and we help you set that up correctly rather than guess.
- Parent tuition billing and subsidy billing run through two different systems that never talk to each otherBoth revenue streams tracked in one place, so your monthly numbers reflect total tuition income without manual cross-checking.
- A licensing visit could happen any time and I would need a day to pull our enrollment and ratio records togetherEnrollment and staffing records kept current as part of the regular bookkeeping cycle, so they are ready whenever licensing asks.
- Enrollment goes up and down every few months and our cash flow is genuinely hard to predictMonthly reporting that separates enrollment trends from one-off costs, so seasonal swings are visible instead of a surprise.
What's different about childcare bookkeeping
- State and CCDF subsidy reconciliation, billed amounts matched to reimbursements
- Ratio compliance recordkeeping support tied to enrollment and staffing
- 1099 versus W-2 classification for educators and assistant teachers
- Family child care home versus center-based accounting, handled to fit your model
- Parent tuition billing and aging
- Multi-funding-source revenue tracking, private pay, subsidy, and grants together
Two revenue streams, one clean picture
Most childcare books we take over track private-pay tuition reasonably well and struggle with everything layered on top of it. State and CCDF subsidy payments arrive on their own timeline, sometimes weeks after the care was provided, and sometimes at a different rate than what was billed if a family's eligibility changed mid-month. Without reconciliation, that gap just sits there, unnoticed, quietly reducing your actual margin below what your billing suggests.
We reconcile subsidy reimbursements against billed amounts by child and by month, so a shortfall gets flagged while it's still small enough to chase down. Parent tuition gets aged the way any service business should age receivables, so a family two months behind doesn't slide to four months before anyone notices. And because ratio compliance ties directly to enrollment and staffing on your books, we keep those records current as part of the regular close rather than as a separate scramble before a licensing visit.
The result is a monthly report that actually reflects how a childcare business runs: enrollment trends, subsidy versus private-pay mix, educator payroll cost against revenue per classroom. Not just a bank balance that goes up and down for reasons nobody can quite explain.
What's included
- Bank and credit card reconciliation across all accounts
- State and CCDF subsidy reconciliation, billed against reimbursed
- Parent tuition billing and aging
- Educator and support staff payroll, W-2
- Ratio compliance recordkeeping support tied to enrollment
- Multi-funding-source revenue tracking
- Monthly P&L by classroom or program, where useful
- Year-end handoff to your CPA or EA
Why childcare and day care providers pick us
Subsidy reconciliation, done monthly
CCDF and state subsidy payments matched to what was billed, by child and by month, so gaps get caught early.
Educator classification handled correctly
W-2 versus 1099 reviewed against the actual role, with payroll set up to match. Most classroom staff need to be employees, and we help you get there.
Ratio and enrollment records kept current
Staffing and enrollment tracked as part of the regular bookkeeping cycle, ready whenever a licensing visit happens.
Family child care or center, either way
Home-based providers and center-based programs need different accounting treatment. We set the books up to match your actual model.
Parent billing kept current
Tuition aging tracked like real receivables, so past-due families get caught early instead of sliding for months.
One clean revenue picture
Private pay, subsidy, and any grant funding combined into a single monthly report, not three separate spreadsheets.
Get subsidy and tuition reconciled in one place
Tell us your program size and funding mix. Quote in writing the same business day.
Three childcare provider shapes
Single provider running a licensed home-based program
One provider, small enrollment, a mix of private-pay families and a few subsidy-eligible children. Books currently tracked by hand or in a basic spreadsheet.
What changes
- Simple monthly bookkeeping scaled to a home-based program
- Subsidy payments reconciled against billed care
- Home office and supply deductions tracked cleanly
- Records ready for a licensing renewal at any time
How childcare provider books usually get handled
Director, after close Common in single-site centers | Generalist bookkeeper Often unfamiliar with subsidy billing | Childcare-focused (us) Subsidy-fluent, ratio-aware | |
|---|---|---|---|
CCDF/state subsidy reconciled monthly | No | Partial | Yes |
Educator classification correct | Partial | Partial | Yes |
Parent tuition aged and tracked | Partial | Partial | Yes |
Ratio records ready for licensing | No | No | Yes |
Multi-funding revenue clear in one report | No | No | Yes |
Books reviewed by an AIPB-certified bookkeeper | No | No | Yes |
How we price childcare bookkeeping
Childcare bookkeeping pricing depends on enrollment size, whether you run a family child care home or a center with multiple classrooms, how much of your revenue comes through subsidy versus private pay, and how many staff you have on payroll. A home-based provider with a handful of families costs less to keep books for than a multi-classroom center.
Fill out the quote form and tell us your program size and funding mix. We come back with a written number, usually within one business day. No flat tier to force your program into.
Childcare bookkeeping FAQ
Two things to remember
Every account is reconciled and kept tax-ready by an AIPB-certified bookkeeper. Every account is run inside the US. Those two anchors shape how we handle compliance for childcare and day care providers specifically.
Books that match the center.
Tell us your program size and funding mix. Quote in writing the same day.