Each month, a kindergarten network's billing is built from enrollment records: one itemized invoice per family with siblings, discounts, lunch and after-hours care combined. Large changes wait for the bookkeeper's approval, and the rest go out with a card payment link.
Typical results
1 invoice
Per family, with siblings and add-ons combined
15%
Change from last month that holds an invoice
Day 7
Automatic reminder for unpaid invoices
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
Kindergarten billing changes every month: a sibling joins, a family adds a lunch plan, a child stays for after-hours care three times. Across three branches, the bookkeeper spends about two days cross-checking enrollment lists and care logs, building invoices by hand and correcting the ones families dispute. Separate invoices per child confuse parents and slow payment.
Before and after
Bookkeeper hours per monthly billing run
−88%Invoices corrected after sending, per month
−83%Invoices unpaid at month end
−56%The automation
On the 25th of each month, the automation reads every family's record in the school management system: children enrolled, days per week, sibling discount, lunch plan and after-hours care used. It builds one itemized invoice per family in the accounting software and holds any invoice that changed more than 15% from last month for the bookkeeper to approve. The rest go out by email and WhatsApp with a card payment link, and payments mark invoices paid.
How it works
- 01
Billing run on the 25th
On the 25th of each month, the automation reads every family's enrollment record in the school management system.
- 02
Charges calculated
Children enrolled, days per week, sibling discount, lunch plan and the after-hours care used that month are priced per family.
- 03
One invoice per family
An itemized invoice is built in the accounting software, with each child's lines and discounts shown.
- 04
Big changes held for approval
Invoices that changed more than 15% from last month wait for the bookkeeper. The rest go out by email and WhatsApp with a card payment link.
- 05
Payments and reminders
Card payments mark invoices paid, and families with an unpaid invoice get a reminder 7 days after it was sent.
Starts from
- Family enrollment records
- Lunch and after-care usage
Delivers
- Itemized family invoices
- Bookkeeper approval queue
- Payment links and reminders
The impact
The monthly billing run drops from about two days to two hours, mostly spent approving flagged invoices. Corrections after sending fall from about 12 a month to 2, families see one clear invoice, and a reminder 7 days after sending helps cut unpaid invoices at month end from 18% to 8%.
Questions about this automation
Why are some invoices held for approval?
A large jump or drop from last month usually means something changed: a new sibling, a withdrawal or an unusual amount of after-hours care. Holding any invoice that moves more than 15% lets the bookkeeper confirm it before the family sees it. The threshold can be changed at any time.
Which systems are involved?
It reads enrollment and care data from the school management system, creates invoices in the accounting software, sends them by email and WhatsApp, and listens for card payments to mark invoices paid. Make handles the connections. This is a multi-step build, usually rolled out in stages, starting with one branch.
How are after-hours care sessions counted?
Staff log late pickups in the school management system or a simple sign-out form, with the child and the time collected. At the billing run, those entries are counted per child and priced at the branch's rate, so the invoice lists each session date the family is paying for.