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Accept HMRC Tax-Free Childcare or legacy childcare scheme payments

This article explains everything you need to know about how you can easily accept and track childcare payments on Eequ.

Written by Sarah Haddad

This article is divided into 4 sections:

  1. How to to set up childcare payments

  2. Reconciling your childcare payments

  3. Childcare analytics

  4. Emails

1. How to set up HMRC Tax-Free Childcare or legacy childcare payments

Navigation

Go to Menu → Advanced features → Childcare Payments

Here is a 📝 Step-by-step guide

2. Make sure to enter your setting details exactly as they appear in your Childcare Scheme records.

3. Select in the dropdown the Childcare Scheme that your setting accepts.

You can add as many childcare schemes as your setting accepts, just select the button 'Add another Childcare Scheme'.

💡Info: By selecting the button 'Preview what your booker will see', a drawer will open displaying a dynamic mobile preview. This shows all the necessary information a booker needs to make a payment.

If you need to include any additional details, such as an account number/ID or other instructions, please select the 'Add optional account number/ID' button.

4. Add listings which accept Childcare payments at your setting.

💡Info: You can add as many settings as your organisation has. To switch between them, use the settings dropdown located in the top-right corner.

Your childcare payment setup is now complete on Eequ! 🎉

2. Reconciling your childcare payments

How your childcare payment is reconciled depends on the childcare scheme you’ve added:

  1. HMRC Tax-Free Childcare: Payments are reconciled automatically on Eequ once the payment is received from HMRC.

  2. Legacy childcare payments: Payments need to be reconciled manually.

How to manually reconcile your legacy childcare scheme payments 💰

Navigation

Go to Menu → Financial → Childcare transactions → Manual reconciliation tab

You can reconcile legacy childcare scheme payments directly from the Childcare Analytics page.

1. Find the payment you want to reconcile and check the payment status. The booking may be confirmed or unconfirmed as paid by the booker.

2. Check your bank statement to confirm that the payment amount has been received.

3. Tick the checkbox next to the payment once you have confirmed the payment has been received. The payment will then move to the Reconciled tab.

Need to undo a reconciliation?

If you have reconciled a payment by mistake, go to the Reconciled tab and untick the payment. It will be moved back to Unreconciled tab, so you can reconcile it again when you are ready.

Video guide 🎥

3. Childcare analytics

Navigation

Go to Menu → Financial → Childcare transactions

The Childcare Analytics page is split into three tabs:

  • Childcare Overview

  • Automatic Reconciliation

  • Manual Reconciliation

Childcare Overview tab

Use this tab to get an overview of your childcare payments and their reconciliation status. You can see:

HMRC Tax-Free Childcare payments

  • In transit – the payment has been processed through HMRC but has not yet reached your bank account.

  • Auto reconciled – the payment has been received and automatically reconciled on Eequ.

Legacy childcare scheme payments

  • Awaiting reconciliation – the payment needs to be checked against your bank statement and reconciled on Eequ.

  • Manually reconciled – you have confirmed that the payment has been received and manually reconciled it on Eequ.

Automatic Reconciliation tab

This tab shows a list of all payments made through HMRC Tax-Free Childcare.

You can:

  • Search for a specific booker name or Booking ID

  • Filter payments by listing.

  • Filter by payment status:

    • In transit

    • Auto reconciled

Manual Reconciliation tab

This tab shows all legacy childcare scheme payments that are awaiting reconciliation or have already been manually reconciled. You can:

  • Filter by listing or payment status:

    • Confirmed as paid by booker

    • Unconfirmed as paid by booker

4. Emails

When you receive a booking that has been made with Legacy Childcare Payments, you will receive a special email reminding you of the reconciliation process.

Childcare Weekly Summary email

Every Friday, we will send you a summary so that you can check your bank statement and know which payments to expect.

Discover more

Read our blog: How to accept tax-free childcare and childcare vouchers as a provider, for important information on accepting childcare payments, registering with payment schemes, and managing payments from parents.

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Need more help? 💬

Log in to Eequ and go to Menu > Help > Message technical support. If you can't log in, email support@eequ.org

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