Hello Tax Season!

We love our childcare programs, but oh boy when it comes to taxes, it can be a headache. A lot of times, we push it to the back of our minds until it's time to face it head on. No matter how you feel about the tax season, being a business owner, we have an obligation like all businesses to make sure to file our taxes and you definitely want to make sure they are filed correctly.

In most states, you are responsible to pay both federal and state taxes. (Check with your state to make sure). For this reason, you want to make sure you are keeping careful records while also ensuring that you receive every deduction that you are entitled to!

In an attempt to keep records of parent's payments throughout the year, many providers are taking advantage of parent communications apps such as Brightwheel, ProCare, Daily Connect, KidKare, etc.

You are a small business owner whether you are keeping your grandchild, have one or a few children, or a full program. Here are some valuable tips on other records to keep that we can think of off the top of our heads. (If you are using one of the parent communication apps, you are probably already keeping track.)

• Attendance records showing the days and hours that a child was in your care

• Receipts for expenses

• Housing and utility bills

• Transportation bills and receipts, including mileage records

• Meal subsidy reimbursements

• Records of payments for your services

• Online purchases such as marketplace, Amazon, or craigslist with a description of purchase.

Don't rely on canceled checks or credit card statements to prove that you made a purchase. Keep and file the original receipts to help ensure that your deductions will be accepted.

Space Deduction: For in-home businesses, the IRS typically requires that a home office or workspace be used exclusively for the home business and no other purpose. The rooms and space that you use regularly when caring for the children of your clients may qualify for a deduction. If you know what you can deduct on your taxes, you'll be able to keep better records.

We recommend hiring a Tax Professional: Even if your income from your childcare business is modest, you may benefit from hiring a tax professional to prepare your annual returns. Professionals may be able to identify deductions that you might otherwise miss. Also, he or she will ensure that you are reporting your income correctly, reducing the risk of an audit or having to pay penalties and interest because of an error in your calculations. If you decide to hire a tax professional, ask if he or she is licensed and also ask if he or she has experience in preparing returns for home childcare clients who are on the food program. If you participate in this program, you'll need to keep track of your reimbursements and actual meal expenses to determine whether you'll be able to take further deductions on the food you purchase.

If you have tax questions, are filing for the first time, or just need a tax preparer who knows childcare taxes for your area, Daycare Time Solutions, searched out qualified consultants that can help. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation by clicking on the link below.

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5 Tips & Strategies to Use to Market Your Childcare Business in 2022

We know that a lot of childcare programs are struggling to keep their program full.

Daycare Time Solutions marketing team has come up with 5 of our best tips and strategies to help you market your childcare business for the year 2022.

Before you begin to market for your business you must understand what kind of client you are actually looking for. A lot of childcare providers are running into headache after headache because they are desperate to fill their vacant spots. So, they are willing to accept any client into their program. Remember this, " All clients are not your clients"

1) Define your market

Take out a piece of paper and write these questions down, and the answer them.

a) Who is my ideal client?

b) What do they do for a living? Are they blue-collar or white-collar workers?

c) What kind of places do they attend?

d) Do they have one child or more than one?

e) What hours do they work?

f) Are they new parents?

g) Are they single parents?

h) Are they heading back to work after staying home for years?

*Remember it is ok to make sure a client is a good fit for your program.

2) Identify your strengths and weaknesses as a childcare program.

Be honest with yourself. I know we all like to think that we have it all together, and in many areas we may. However, as a business professional we have to be able to identify where we are so that we can improve, grow, but most of all clearly highlight our business to our potential clients.

This is very important because as a business you have to be able to stand out from the other programs in your area providing a similar service.

3) Branding

Who is your program? Yes, you read that correctly! I said who is your program? Does your program have its own personality? Does it clearly represent your values, beliefs and standards? Does your home or center stand out as a childcare, or does it blend into the neighborhood?

4) Embrace social media

Social media is not going anywhere. Social media is more than just a tool to gain exposure; it has become a necessary part of business operations. You can use social media to promote your services and connect with 1000's of potential clients.

Does your business have an online presence? Be sure that your brand is identical on all platforms. I hear a lot of providers say, "Oh I am just a small in-home childcare, so I really don't think I need a social media presence". WRONG that is exactly why you need an online presence. As consumers before we purchase a product we go online and do our research, and guess what your potential clients are doing the same with your program.

We recommend, at least, you post an engaging post every day, pictures of some of the activities that you are doing each day with intentional content, etc. If a potential client views your page, it should give them an idea of what your program is about.

5) Last, but definitely not least Tell People who you are

-Consistently tell people who you are! You're amazing at what you do, but one of the reasons you may be struggling to get people through your door is because no one is aware of who you are or what you do.

"Marketing doesn't have to to be complicated. It's all about the Strategy!"

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How Daycare Time Solutions Started

Daycare Time Solutions started in October of 2019. We aimed to help daycare providers create lesson plans while earning some extra income on the side.

While helping providers create lesson plans, we recognized a demand for other services providers required assistance with. These included food menus, parent handbooks, and enrollment documents, to name a few examples. We, therefore, began offering these services to ensure our clients' daycare businesses ran as smoothly as possible.

The name Daycare Time Solutions was born as providers were constantly thanking us for the amount of time we were saving them. The name, therefore, seemed entirely appropriate for the work we were doing.

But the story of Daycare Time Solutions actually begins way before that.

Hi, I'm Christa Thornton, co-owner of Daycare Time Solutions, which I run with my husband. Working with children and providers comes easily and very naturally to me. This, combined with my passion for serving and helping others, is what made Daycare Time Solutions and where it all began.

My background is actually in childcare, and I’ve worked in this industry for a very long time. I have a degree in Early Childhood Education and previously worked as a lead teacher at Vanderbilt University with children as young as 2 and 3. This is where I began creating resources such as lesson plans and monthly newsletters. I also worked in elementary, middle, and high school before owning my very own in-home daycare.

My life transformed after getting married, as my newly married husband and I moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. Unfortunately, we were told by our property management company that we could not run a daycare business as it was against the rules. We, therefore, continued working in the school system and had no choice but to tutor children at libraries, at our home, and in their homes.

However, everything changed once the Covid-19 pandemic began. When we were struck by the pandemic, we leaned more into the digital side as we connected with daycare providers online. We created the Daycare Time Solutions Facebook group while simultaneously running the Home Daycare Provider Support group, which now has a tremendous 16,000+ members.

And that brings us to the present day.

Today, we offer a wide range of resources to help new and existing daycare providers build the best daycare businesses in the country. Our resources include essential documents, educational lesson plans, monthly newsletters, social media management services, busy binders, sensory bins and so much more to help you be the best daycare providers you can be.

Our Goal

At Daycare Time Solutions, our ultimate goal is to become the global leader in childcare resources and to build valuable, meaningful relationships throughout the childcare community.

We help daycare providers day in and day out. We know all children deserve only the best, which is why we aim to provide daycare providers with the best resources so that you can focus on your children.

We have already helped 1,000+ daycare providers but our goal is to help many more!

Get in touch to see how we can help your daycare flourish.