Billable days, holidays and closures
A billable day is a day your program charges for under its agreement with the family. Working it out takes both the child’s schedule and the program’s holiday and closure rules.
Start with the child’s agreed days
Section titled “Start with the child’s agreed days”Open the enrollment and look at Attendance Schedule. It shows when each schedule starts, when it ends if an end date is set, and the agreed weekdays.
For example, Theo attends Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A Tuesday normally falls outside his agreed schedule, even if the program is open that day.
When a child’s schedule changes, use the correct effective date. A move from three days to five days should start on the day the new arrangement begins. Keep the earlier period accurate so it still explains the care agreed before the change.
An absence does not automatically remove a charge
Section titled “An absence does not automatically remove a charge”The enrollment schedule describes the place the family has agreed to use. It is different from the record of whether the child arrived that morning.
A child being away sick, on holiday or collected early does not by itself make the day unpaid. Follow your program’s agreed policy when deciding whether a billing change is needed.
Check the program’s service-day policy
Section titled “Check the program’s service-day policy”The program’s Service Day Policy sets the billing treatment for holidays and different kinds of closure. Depending on the policy, it can cover:
- Whether public holidays are paid.
- Whether a planned closure is paid and how much notice is required.
- Whether emergency or operational closures are paid.
- Limits on the number of paid closure days, including consecutive days.
Two programs can use different policies. Check the policy attached to the program you are billing rather than assuming that all sites follow the same rule.
Keep the site calendar accurate
Section titled “Keep the site calendar accurate”Record the closure on the site calendar with the right date and reason. Where notice affects payment, the date parents were notified matters too.
A closed day can still be chargeable under the policy. A planned closure with enough notice may be treated differently from an emergency closure, even when both mean children stay home.
During a billing preview, the Service Calendar lets you review dates and their fee treatment. Look closely at closed days and any notice or closure-limit warnings.
Example: a Wednesday closure
Section titled “Example: a Wednesday closure”Suppose Cedar Lane closes on Wednesday, August 19, and its policy makes that emergency closure unpaid.
Maya and Amira are scheduled Monday to Friday. Theo is scheduled Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The closure affects all three because Wednesday is part of each child’s schedule.
A closure on Tuesday would not remove a scheduled day from Theo’s bill. He was not scheduled to attend then.
If the first bill has already been created
Section titled “If the first bill has already been created”Keep the calendar correct and review the difference during actuals billing. A later correction should explain what changed from the original bill.
Before creating the first bill, use prepare and run a billing cycle to check the dates, closures and amounts together.