A detailed invoice that parents or guardians can use for their childcare tax credit is a great selling feature for your daycare, but it doesn't stop there. Many other childcare providers can use this childcare invoice template to help ensure on time payments, as well as providing clients with a simple way to apply for tax credits. Such as: 

• Caregivers 
• Day nursery schools
• Childcare centres
• Boarding schools
• Overnight sports schools
• Overnight camps 
• Educational institutions (for the part of fees that relate to childcare only)
• Day camps and sports schools where the primary goal of the camp is to care for children

What to Include on Your Daycare Receipt Template

Whether your childcare recipe is for a daycare centre or any other childcare service, there are a few staples that you should include in your free invoice template. Such as: 

• Daycare business name
• Invoice date 
• Payment terms 
• Accepted payment methods
• Client information
• Child care services 
• Cost of services 
• Tax/Totals 

For more detailed information, keep reading the section below. 

Child Care Fees

Most daycare centres charge a flat fee per child for weekly care, which also helps you anticipate cash flow. The charge doesn’t change if the child misses a day due to illness or vacation. You might offer parents a set number of “excused” days per year, where the parent doesn’t pay for the day the child misses. 

When filling out your daycare invoice template and applying the “excused” day, you need to make the first line reflect the flat rate and enter a second line for the “excused” day and the discount applied. Add information such as the date and day of the week the child missed. 

Imagine William is one of the children you care for. This week, he missed Wednesday, 15/2/2019. The first invoice line shows the weekly charge of $400. The next line reads discounted for Wednesday, 15/2/2019 with a negative $80. The next line reads a subtotal of child care fee of $320.

Late Pickup Fee

Sometimes a meeting runs late or a car accident slows traffic to a crawl, leading to late pickups. You probably have a grace period, but you need to charge parents after it expires. Carefully documenting any late pickups and charging a fee helps eliminate questions, so parents pay the invoice faster. Things to include on your late pick up paperwork are: 

• Child’s name - list each sibling separately
• Date
• Time of pickup
• Amount of time late in minutes or hours 

You can charge a flat fee or by-the-hour for late pickups. If you charge by the hour, you may need to prorate partial hours on the invoice. Just make sure to list the hourly charge, the number of full hours, the fraction of the partial hour, and the total charge.

Transportation Fees

Do you pick up and drop off children at the local schools? If so, you will probably be charged a transportation fee. List this fee as a separate line item on your daycare invoice. This helps you track profits from transportation and expenses so you can claim vehicle usage on your tax forms, even if the business owns a van or small bus. On the daycare invoice transportation line, show the distance from your business to the child’s school and the number of trips per week. You can use this information to account for your mileage claims. 

Receipts 

You can use your daycare invoice template as a receipt for parents after they pay the bill in full. Mark the bill “Paid in Full” towards the total, list the payment type, and date of payment. This can help you build a better relationship with parents who appreciate a professional receipt. 

A free downloadable daycare invoice template saves you time and helps you track profits. Join many other small business owners in using online invoicing software to track accounts receivables, create professional invoices, and document expenses. 

Provide the Proper Paperwork for Childcare Expense Deduction for Clients

Providing clients with the proper paperwork will allow them to receive tax deductions. Parents or guardians who want to make a childcare expense deduction on their taxes are required to provide a receipt given to them by the individual or organization that received payment for the childcare service. 

If the services were provided by an individual, then the receipt needs to show the individual’s social insurance number. 

Other documents that child care service providers may need to prepare for their clients’ childcare expense deductions include: 

• A letter from the nursery or school authority showing the contact information on file for the child
• A copy of the child's report card, showing the contact information on file for the child
• A copy of the child's school registration or enrollment document, or information or emergency contact sheet, signed and certified by the school
• If the child is being home-schooled, a letter from the school board or appropriate educational authority confirming that you have a homeschool arrangement
• A registration form or a childcare receipt from an activity or club the child is enrolled in

QuickBooks Invoicing Software makes it easy for businesses to create a customizable free invoice template, track customer payments, and set up scheduled automatic invoices. Enhance your invoicing system by streamlining your process today.

Note: This article doesn't apply in Quebec, please use the services agreements provided by the government of Quebec.