The summer session at your child care, daycare or preschool may not include building sand castles, but with dozens of crafts, fun field trips and plenty of outdoor play, families may already be signing up. A great way to handle summer sign ups is by charging a prepaid deposit. Doing so has two benefits. First, you’ll know you’re getting at least some of the money up front; second, people are much more likely to keep their commitment when they pay a deposit.
According to the policies at your center, you may eventually credit the prepaid amount back to the family (toward their summer tuition) or, if the deposit is non-refundable, convert it to a fee, such as a registration or forfeiture fee. This may be appropriate if the child ends up being a no-show.
So let’s get out our sand shovel and dig in to see how Child Care Software from Procare can help you keep track of prepaid deposits. You may also be interested in a previous article on Tracking Summer Enrollment.
Set Up Deposit Categories
Watch Video: Set Up Deposits and Deposit Refunds
You start by creating special descriptions for the types of deposits you accept. Each one, like Deposit Tuition: Summer, needs a corresponding deposit refund, such as Deposit Refund: Summer.
Record a Prepaid Deposit
Watch Video: Record a Prepaid Deposit or Deposit Refund
When a family is ready to sign up for the summer, simply post a summer deposit charge (to show they owe the deposit) and then a payment received, to bring their balance back to zero.
The Deposits button will show how much they currently have available in prepaid deposits.
When summer arrives you’ll charge the family their summer fees, which results in a balance due. Since the amount was already paid, you’ll show a deposit refund on the next line bringing their balance to zero. Of course, if the deposit was for less than the full tuition amount they would need to pay the difference.
Non-Refundable Deposits
Your center may have a policy of non-refundable deposits. In other words, if the child does not enroll the original prepaid deposit is charged off as a registration or forfeiture fee. In that case, post the fee and use the deposit refund to pay it off.
If you’d like to learn more, see our knowledge base article on Deposits & Deposit Refunds.
