Understand actuals, contract, annual, and termly billing — and pick the right method for each family you care for, then download the invoice as a PDF.
Childminders creating invoices. Needs the Standard plan or a free trial. You'll need the child's contract set up first (see
Creating a childcare contract). It takes about five minutes to learn.
Every invoice is worked out by a billing method. There are four, and you can use a different one for each family.
| Method | Best for | What the invoice charges |
|---|---|---|
| Contract | Fixed days and hours | The hours in the contract, after you've checked attendance |
| Actuals | Hours that change week to week | Only the sessions the child attended |
| Termly | Term-time only care | A flat monthly instalment |
| Annual | Families who want the same payment all year | A flat monthly instalment |
Open the Finance tab, tap +, choose to create an invoice, and pick the child.
Tap Contract, Actuals, Termly or Annual. The screen starts on the method in the child's contract.
Tap Generate Line Items. Each session comes from the attendance you recorded in the daily diary, so there's nothing to add up by hand. Check the Invoice Summary and the total.
Tap View session and funding breakdown to see each session and how any funded hours reduced what the parent owes. Funded hours always come off before the parent's total.
Tap Save Draft to check the invoice before the parent sees it. When you're happy, send it from your invoice list. Once the parent pays, mark it as paid.
In your invoice list, open the invoice's menu and tap Download. The PDF shows your logo and details, the items and total, a calendar of the month, the session summary and your payment instructions.
Set your term dates first in
Business Settings → Term Dates, so term-time contracts follow your calendar.
Families work in different ways. Some have the same days every week, some change them, and some want the same payment every month. Letting each child have their own method means every invoice matches what you agreed, and building it from the register means the hours are always right.
Next: step 3, Add your policies
Adding your policies and risk assessment
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KinderStart strives for accuracy. Competitor features and pricing comparisons are based on publicly available information as of May 2026. Details are subject to change by respective providers.