What Is a Daycare Receipt?

A daycare receipt is the issued printable payment receipt given to the client who pays for daycare services. It is a short piece of document containing basic transaction details such as the name of the daycare provider, the name of the customer, the amount paid, and more. And issuing receipts proves that the care service provider belongs to a registered daycare or child care center rather than simply working in an independent care center.

According to Statista, the expected daycare services revenue in the US by 2024 is around $54.2 billion.

Why Are Daycare Receipts Essential?

Like any type of receipt, daycare receipts are important. It is even recommended you consider daycare centers that issue receipts for the security of your money, children, and overall transaction. And here are more reasons that prove just how important daycare receipts are:

Entails Precise and Complete Recordkeeping

You can certainly depend on a daycare receipt for housing all crucial information about a daycare service transaction. From the order number, provider’s name, customer’s name, and pricing information, down to the phone and email contact lists, what you should know about the daycare service provided is all in the receipt. This document is extremely helpful so you can’t forget about accurate info such as how much the service costs or when you used to pay for the service.

Builds the Reputation of a Daycare Service Provider

Prove that your daycare center is registered by issuing daycare receipts. That way, more clients would trust your care facility and professional services compared to those who run independent daycare centers that don’t issue receipts. In fact, daycare receipts prompt transparency for both service providers and clients; that’s just the type of promising branding you want for your business.

Offers Detailed Documentation for Tax Audit

Registered daycare centers deduct tax, specifically towards taxable income. Hence, you can depend on the daycare receipt for containing the essential details for tax audit reports. And submitting daycare receipts to parents who need to claim child support tax credit would run smoothly using this important document.

Works as a Proof of Purchase

Daycare receipts serve as proof of purchase for the daycare services rendered. At times when litigation ensues between a service care provider and a client, the daycare receipt will be part of the many business documents used in court. Hence, always have your own copy of a daycare receipt in case it will be needed.

The Standard Daycare Receipt Inclusions

It’s easy to prove that a daycare receipt is useful once it contains the critical details about a daycare service transaction. And in case you need help on the basic inclusions of an average daycare receipt, never forget to insert these elements:

Daycare Receipt Title: Start the receipt with the title “Daycare Receipt” on the top-center part of the document. It is usually written in bold capital letters for easy recognition. Also, you may add your daycare company letterhead for branding purposes such as showcasing the name of the daycare center, the email address, contact number, and even the company logo.Date: The date is important since it confirms the exact day, month, and year of the transaction. Be sure to write the complete date or schedule in the receipt so it will be easy to differentiate future transactions involving the same client.Receipt Number: Speaking of differentiating future transactions, the receipt number aka unique serial number is essential for every daycare receipt. Like in tracking sheets, receipt numbers make it easy to trace one receipt from a thousand other receipts. That is especially true when receipts are logged in an online database system and you simply type the receipt number to track a specific receipt.Client’s Name: Don’t get mixed up between the name of the client and the name of the dependent individual being supervised for daycare. The client’s name refers to the parent or adult who hired a daycare service provider. Write the complete name and you may include the address and contact list for identification purposes.Name(s) of Child(ren): The name(s) of the child(ren) would be needed to identify too. Write the kid’s complete name, age, and other personal details needed for daycare.Price Details: A paramount element of the daycare receipt is the price list details. List down the specific daycare services offered along with the price beside each item. The standard is to input the total amount but you may also be transparent on the breakdown by showing how the amount was generated or how much tax was charged.Daycare Hours/Days: Denote how many hours or days was the child under daycare service. This is a crucial part of any daycare receipt form because certain rates are generated per hour or per session. Just log the child’s starting date or schedule for daycare and the end date or schedule in the receipt.Provider’s Name and Signature: Lastly, write your name as the daycare provider. If your task is simply to issue receipts, then your name and the daycare provider’s name must be separated. Then, sign the receipt to affirm that it is a valid daycare receipt.

Daycare Receipt vs. Basic Receipt vs. Daycare Bill

What makes a daycare receipt different from a simple receipt? Also, are daycare receipts the same as daycare bills? In this segment, you’ll dissect the differences between each term and what each of its purposes is.

Daycare Receipt

A daycare receipt may be similar to standard purchase receipts in terms of purpose such as documenting a transaction. However, daycare receipts are different because they don’t simply write about a product or item description. Daycare receipts entail daycare services, the name(s) of child(ren), and the daycare center’s details that basic receipts don’t usually have.

Basic Receipt

Among sellers, a basic receipt contains the price of an item, the product description, and other identification details. So expect to use basic receipts for general transactions such as when a customer purchases an item from you. With that said, daycare receipts are more specific in terms of intent rather than the basic receipt’s general use.

Daycare Bill

On the other hand, the difference between a daycare bill and a daycare receipt refers to the timing. Daycare bill receipts are given to a client before a payment is made. Meanwhile, daycare receipts are given to a client when payment is already done. Hence, daycare bills come first while daycare receipts come last.

How to Create an Effective Daycare Receipt

Now that the concept of a daycare receipt is crystal clear for you, are you ready to make your own daycare receipt? Making daycare receipts isn’t that hard, and you are guaranteed to succeed in the process once you observe these steps on how to create a daycare receipt

Step 1: Download a Daycare Receipt Sample

Check out this article’s collection of free downloadable and editable daycare receipt templates. There are even lots of other types such as a child care expenses receipt template, yearly daycare receipt template, blank child care receipt template, and even daycare invoice templates. Choose your preferred template and you may download it shortly.

Step 2: Personalize the Template

Do not forget to customize the sample daycare receipt template of your choice. You basically have to make the daycare receipt template your own such as inserting your business logo and other branding details. That way, the daycare receipt won’t be mistaken for any other company’s daycare receipt. Make it original that it belongs to you or your daycare center. At least samples save you the hassle of creating receipts from scratch; simply edit the details inside.

Step 3: Complete the Standard Daycare Receipt Inclusions

The daycare receipt title, date, receipt number, and the rest of the basic daycare receipt inclusions discussed before should be added to your daycare receipt. You can always change the labels anyway as long as there is still enough space for blanks, which will be used for writing names, the price, and other needed info. Or, you might like to add more inclusions such as space for notes.

Step 4: Mind the Text Spacing and Size of the Receipt

Since most receipts have a small size, you have to be considerate about the font size and spacing of the elements inside the daycare receipt. By adding too many elements to a receipt, it may not fit onto your paper. Also, you can’t use texts with minuscule font sizes that are already hard to read. And you have to add extra space for the blanks or where you write answers. Find the right balance and you’re good to go.

Step 5: Generate Uniform Copies of the Receipt

Once you have finalized the look, format, and layout of your daycare receipt, print as many copies as you can. You’ll be needing more receipts especially when your daycare center gets fully booked with clients. Also, save the template in PDF so that you may simply email the receipt and go paperless. And expect to have two copies of the same receipt, one for the client and one for your business.

Step 6: Save Copies on an Online Database

Last but not least, save extra copies of the written receipts on an online database system. Storing copies of receipts in an automated system is absolutely helpful so that the next time you need to keep track of a specific receipt, you never need to manually hunt the receipt from thousands of other paper receipts. Simply use the database and track the certain daycare receipt through its receipt number. The database system will save time and effort in searching and storing daycare receipts.

FAQs

How many years should I keep my daycare receipt?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) suggests that you keep your receipts for at least three years before getting rid of them; the same rule applies to daycare receipts.

Can I claim babysitting on my taxes?

Indeed, claiming childcare expenses in paying a babysitter via cash, bank transfer, and other payment methods is possible; however, make sure you have evidence of the childcare expenses such as an expense sheet.

Can you use FSA for daycare?

Daycare expenses won’t be reimbursed with flexible spending accounts (FSA); furthermore, other examples illegible for reimbursement include the health savings accounts or HSA, the health reimbursement arrangements or HRA, and the limited-purpose flexible spending accounts or LPFSA.

What is the daycare tax form called?

The daycare tax form is referred to as form 2441 which is also known as the Child and Dependent Care Expenses IRS form.

How do I process a cash receipt?

To process cash receipts accordingly, simply apply cash to the invoice or accounting software, record the other cash, deposit the cash, and match the details according to the bank receipt.

Daycare services certainly aren’t extinct. In fact, it is a growing industry, and the estimated daycare service revenue in America by 2024 is $54.2 billion. And to make sure more clients trust your daycare center, opt to operate as a registered care center and issue daycare receipts per transaction. We’ll help you get started once you download a free sample daycare receipt template here at Sample.net. Optimize a template now!