Payments FAQs for Directors
To watch an overview video about using Wonderschool billing, click here.
Use the links below to learn the answers to our most frequently asked payment questions and to find helpful resources.
Frequently Asked Payment Questions:
- How are payments generated?
- When is payment collected and when do I get paid?
- How do I get paid?
- What is a payment withholding?
- Are partial months automatically prorated?
- Will the child's tuition be automatically adjusted when they turn 2?
- How do deposits and enrollment fees work?
- Will a deposit automatically be applied to a family's last month of enrollment?
- Can I charge a one-time payment for things like a drop-in day, late pick-up fee, etc.?
- A child's schedule is changing (or has already changed). What do I need to do to update their schedule and tuition?
- Can I partially or fully refund a previous payment?
- A family was charged the wrong amount. Why did it happen and what can we do to fix it?
- I got an email that a family's tuition payment failed. What does that mean and what do I need to do about it?
- What payment processor does Wonderschool use?
How are payments generated?
Payments are automatically generated on the first day of every month based on the child's schedule as recorded in the Wonderschool platform. For this reason, it is very important for you to keep every child's start date, schedule, and tuition accurate and up to date. For detailed instructions, see How to update a child's schedule, start date, or tuition.
When a child enrolls, their first month of tuition will be prorated by start date unless they start on the 1st of the month. Once they have enrolled with you, you can choose the day of the month or day of the week you would like the parents to be charged for tuition (1st of the month, every Monday, etc.).
When is payment collected and when do I get paid?
The funds are typically available for you 2-3 business days after a payment is successful, although this timeframe may vary depending on the parent's payment method. For more information and to find out how you can locate this information in your director dashboard, see Reviewing your payments and deposits.
If a new enrollment occurs, the tuition will be charged 2 days after they are enrolled.
If for some reason we are unable to collect a payment from a family, your funds for only that family may be delayed (all other families' payments will be available to you as normal). We follow up immediately with families whose payments failed – typically they simply need to change their payment method on file.
How do I get paid?
Wonderschool uses a system in which individual invoices are generated on your behalf, sent to the parents, and payment is collected from parents. Tuition is then transferred to your bank account. Funds are transferred automatically, and transfers happen each day that funds are available for you from that parent. When a parent makes a payment, they will receive a receipt via email. To read more about how you get paid, see Understanding invoice details, credits, and refunds and withholdings.
What is a payment withholding?
A withholding is an entry created by a Wonderschool Admin to recoup fees paid to, or on behalf of, a Wonderschool director. For example, if a tuition payment was refunded to a parent per your request, but you had already received the payment, a withholding would be generated to allow you to return those fees. To read more about withholdings, view see Understanding refunds and withholdings.
Are partial months automatically prorated?
Yes. If the child's start date or end date occurs in the middle of the month, that month's tuition will be automatically prorated. Make sure to keep all the child's enrollment up to date so that our system can prorate these payment correctly. For detailed instructions, see How to update a child's schedule, start date, or tuition.
Will the child's tuition be automatically adjusted when they turn 2?
No. If you have different tuition rates for different age brackets, you will need to manually adjust the child's tuition in the Wonderschool platform. For detailed instructions, see How to update a child's schedule, start date, or tuition.
How do deposits and enrollment fees work?
You will charge a one-time enrollment fee OR a one-time deposit (not both) when a family enrolls in your program. We will default your settings to an enrollment fee, as we see that this provides the least barrier of entry for a family deciding to join your program.
Enrollment fees are typically between $100 and $250 and are charged when a family accepts an enrollment invitation. This fee covers the time and effort you've spent getting a family enrolled, and also indicates a family's commitment to enrolling in your program. An enrollment fee should be consistently applied to all enrolling families at your program and is not prorated based on the child's weekly schedule. Enrollment fees are one-time payments and are non-refundable. Wonderschool's default enrollment fee is set to $150, but you can customize your enrollment fee through the School Info section in your program dashboard. For help making this change, see Adjust your enrollment fee.
Deposits also indicate a family's commitment to enrolling at your program. The deposit is charged upon acceptance of an enrollment invitation and is held by Wonderschool and applied to the child's last month of care. If you decide to charge a deposit instead of an enrollment fee, be sure to log into your Parent Handbook and indicate your deposit rate (1 month of tuition, 1/2 month of tuition, etc.). For further instructions, see Personalizing your parent handbook.
Both enrollment fees and deposits protect you from unexpected unenrollments. Families are required to follow the notice of unenrollment guidelines set in your Parent Handbook. With an enrollment fee, if a family does not give proper notice, they are responsible to pay tuition for the next 30 or 60 days, depending on your policy. For example, if a family gave you notice that they are unenrolling in 7 days and your policy is 30 days, they are responsible for paying for the next 30 days even though they will only be using care for the next 7 days. With a deposit, the family forfeits their deposit if they do not give notice of unenrollment according to your Parent Handbook guidelines. For instructions to verify/update your notice of unenrollment policy, see Personalizing your parent handbook.
Will a deposit automatically be applied to a family's last month of enrollment?
No. Because different directors apply deposits in different ways, we need notice in advance (prior to the parent being charged) that they will need their deposit applied. We also need you to enter the child's last day into the platform prior to the deposit request, so we can make sure to apply the correct amount. Any remaining amount will be refunded back to the parent.
Can I charge a one-time payment for things like a drop-in day, late pick-up fee, etc.?
Yes! You can use one-time payments for late pick-up fees, drop-in charges, diaper service fees, field trip fees, etc. You can create a one-time payment for a family from the family's enrollment details page or through the payments page in your program dashboard. For detailed instructions, see Using one-time payments for billing. Do not use one-time payments for monthly tuition.
A child's schedule is changing (or has already changed). What do I need to do to update their schedule and tuition?
You can update a child's schedule and tuition easily through the Wonderschool platform. For detailed instructions, see How to update a child's schedule, start date, or tuition.
If you make an update to a child's schedule before Wonderschool charges the parent, our payments system will automatically update payments for all following months. If you need to make a retroactive change (after the parent has already been charged for tuition), please email hello@wonderschool.com for assistance.
Can I partially or fully refund a previous payment?
Wonderschool currently processes all refunds. Please contact us at hello@wonderschool.com if you need to issue a refund. Include the parent and child name, the amount to be refunded, and a short explanation of the refund. In the near future, we will be adding the ability for directors to issue credits.
A family was charged the wrong amount. Why did it happen and what can we do to fix it?
The most common reason for an incorrect charge is when a child's schedule is not kept up to date. It is very important for you to keep every child's start date, schedule, and tuition accurate and up to date because our payments system uses these data to generate payments. For detailed instructions, see How to update a child's schedule, start date, or tuition.
Sometimes a family is charged the wrong amount because the parent and the director have a verbal agreement about some sort of discount or deduction. If you have a verbal agreement with a family about an adjustment to next month's tuition, make sure to update their upcoming payment before that parent's payment date. Learn how to adjust an upcoming payment. You can also enter a note regarding details of the arrangement into the child’s enrollment “file” in the Wonderschool platform.
If a family was charge the wrong amount, Wonderschool can issue a credit or refund. Contact us at hello@wonderschool.com; be sure to include the parent and child name, the amount to be charged or refunded, and a short explanation of the charge or refund.
I got an email that a family's tuition payment failed. What does that mean and what do I need to do about it?
This means that we were not able to charge their payment method on file. The most common reason for a failed payment is that their credit card has expired. You don't need to do anything; Wonderschool follows up with these parents ASAP to collect payment.
What payment processor does Wonderschool use?
Most businesses that offer payment processing use a back end service. Very rarely do businesses build their own, although it does happen. We chose to partner with Stripe because of benefits that include: proven success and expertise in payment processing, fraud prevention, and the ability to scale our services. Stripe has been audited by a PCI-certified auditor and is certified to PCI Service Provider Level 1. This is the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry. Other large businesses that use Stripe for backend payment processing include Amazon, Google, Wayfair, and Instacart.
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