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THE ULTIMATE HOW-TO GUIDE

A Better Way to Bill: 5 Steps to Streamline Before & After Care Billing


In this guide, we’ll share tips to help you set up a streamlined billing system where parents can easily register their children and pay their fees online.

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Benefits of a well-structured billing strategy

In the age of the subscription generation, it’s hard to believe that anyone pays by check anymore.

But according to research, nearly 42% and 47% of childcare leaders still accept checks and cash payments, respectively. Only 42% said ACH/electronic checking is supported at their org.

In 2024, it’s time for providers to do better. Here are just some of the benefits of a streamlined billing system for OST and enrichment providers.

Fewer invoicing mistakes

Even business goliaths like AT&T aren’t immune to costly invoicing mistakes. One review revealed errors in a shocking 40% of their invoicing data.

With multiple on-site teams and multiple opportunities for things to get lost in translation, an airtight billing strategy can help you reduce the amount of human error that can creep into your billing information and cost you big.

In addition to being prone to errors, manual billing processes can be extremely time-consuming. Imagine what your team could accomplish if they could win back one full day per week?

With the right tools and systems, OST and enrichment providers can automate invoicing, payment reminders, and tracking to keep the process easy for everyone. The right setup can help you streamline your entire billing and payments workflow, saving staff members valuable time that can be redirected towards more important tasks, like providing a quality experience.

 

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According to our latest Benchmark Report, 40% of childcare business leaders say they want more help from technology when making strategic decisions. 

But nearly a third say reporting is one of the tasks that take their teams the most time.

 

A structured billing strategy helps childcare centers gain better control over their finances. With automated systems, providers can easily track and manage revenue, expenses, outstanding payments, and subsidies. This data can be used to generate comprehensive financial reports that meet state requirements, provide insights into your programs’ financial health, and enable better strategic planning.

 

Greater parent satisfaction

Automated payment options, such as mobile pay and autopay, allow parents to make payments anytime and anywhere. Automated reminders also help parents stay on top of their payment obligations, while reducing the chances (and embarrassment) of late or missed payments. The result isn’t just better cash flow, it’s a stronger relationship with families.

 

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5 steps to a better billing process for after school and enrichment providers

The good news is: it IS possible to manage billing for hundreds or even thousands of students, without creating a timesuck for team members or subjecting the health of your balance sheet to error-prone manual processes.

  1. Schedule automated invoicing and payment reminders. 

    With automated billing and invoicing, you can put payment collection on autopilot and help your staff save precious hours, or even days, from their week.

  2. Empower parents to register on their own

    With self-select tools like Parent-Led Registration and Punch Cards, you can make it easy for them to enroll when they want, how they want.

  3. Automate your subsidy tracking.

    To secure funding without spending hours upon hours wrangling manual spreadsheets, use your management system to easily track attendance, log student data, and monitor subsidy funds.

    With the right platform, you’ll be able to monitor subsidies and grant funds to families, without having to go back and forth to find the data you’re looking for.

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Some states are notorious for the amount of reporting required. 

 (We’re looking at you, California 😉)

 

4. Offer mobile pay and autopay

Today, a whopping 83% of consumers say they would rather pay via mobile. 

With a mobile app, your families can pay from anywhere, anytime — and you keep the experience in their hands.

And with autopay, you can make it even more seamless, while ensuring parents never miss a payment.

 

5. Streamline discounts and coupons 

Military families. School district employees. Siblings. Everyone loves a discount. 

But managing discount codes and coupons? Not so much.

For fully streamlined out-of-school time billing, use a configurable platform that lets you distribute registration links based on how you manage your discounts and subsidies at each location, no matter how many you have.

For example, you can send registration links with no fields for payment information or set specific discount codes for subsidies, for example ‘FIRST50’ so you can promote your program as free for the first 50 families.

Make parent-led registration a reality

As technology continues to play a pivotal role in the evolution of after school care organizations, it's crucial to adopt a streamlined system that can help you automate payment collection, save time on reporting, and make parent-led registration a reality.

When you're ready to elevate your before and after school program billing, LineLeader is here to make it easy. Take the first step towards a more efficient billing process. Schedule your free demo of LineLeader today.

 

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Download the guide to stay up to date on the latest industry news, trends and best practices for growing and managing your childcare business.

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