Though all of these tasks are important, in many ways, administrators are juggling competing priorities.

Let’s not overlook interactions with parents – and the need to continually respond to changes that occur, whether due to family matters or larger events.

Handling Finances is Essential – But Time-Consuming

In addition to coordinating all aspects of the OSHC service, administrators are responsible for the billing and accounts receivable (AR).

This is a critical aspect of service administration since effective billing and AR management is essential to reliable cash flow.

Yet it’s easy to see how this heavy administrative process can become rushed or fall down the list of priorities with so much else for administrators to manage.

How can the person responsible for so much also find the time to issue invoices, reconcile invoices and payments, and chase down late payments – especially when dealing with paper-based records?

Clearly it makes good business sense to alleviate your administrator of these onerous manual tasks.

5 Proven Ways to Improve the Accounts Receivable Process

Fortunately, you can call upon a number of ways to improve your accounts receivable process. Here are some of the best practices for accounts receivable:

1. Eliminate obstacles to receiving payments: Look for ways to streamline payments, such as by offering a direct debit payment or Bpay Payments to suit parent’s need. With a choice of payment options, parents may find it easier to pay their invoices on time.
2. Assess accounts receivable regularly: Make a plan to monitor and check your accounts receivable on a regular basis, ideally at least once per week. Regular check-ins allow you to identify defaulters sooner so you can address them before they cause major problems.
3. Automate: Automate as much of your process as possible to make it more reliable and streamlined. Using software like Xap to minimize human involvement not only frees up time but also, it will reduce errors.
4. Establish a proactive collections process: Define a formal process for collecting on overdue payments with your guidelines that clearly spell out the next steps. Once an account becomes past due, anyone referring to the guidelines should know what action to take.
5. Send invoices automatically: If possible, use the software that automatically schedules invoices and generate direct debit payments to reduce errors. Along with automating the process overall, this will greatly reduce errors and free up time.

Look For a Flexible OSHC Management Software Solution

Once you decide to modernise how your OSHC service handles accounts receivable, it’s ideal to choose a comprehensive solution.

Instead of buying software that addresses this one aspect of your business, why not choose an integrated solution that supports online enrolments, provide guardian mobile app to allow them to book online, does billing & invoicing automatically and allows to send daily communication to the families and communications?

With this in mind, look for a solution that:

• Supports Online Enrolment. The before & after school care software should support online registration for parents and allow them to complete the enrolment form online.
• Support Casual and Permanent Bookings. Once the parent register, the software should let them make casual bookings and if you offer, allow them to do permanent bookings.
• Supports Direct Debit Solution. Once parents register, the OSHC management software should let them sign up for direct debit payments. Ideally, the software should support direct debit from bank account/credit card or offer Bpay option to process payments electronically so you can receive payments more quickly.
• Streamlines billing. Choose a software solution that allows your administrator to bill relevant parents with the push of a button, and schedule billing to happen automatically. This relieves the strain of creating invoices, administering them and tracking the status of each one.
• Automates recurring payments and discounts. The ideal after school care software will also allow your administrator to handle recurring payments and discounts similarly. For example, once your administrator applies a discount, the software should continually and automatically reduce the family’s payment by the correct amount until the discount is removed.
• Supports electronic attendance. Your OSHC software provider should support digital attendance or Kiosk so parents can easily check-in via your service’s mobile app or tablet. This streamlines the process for parents and your administrator and simplifies CCSS session report submission.
• Provides support for split families by assigning separate payment account to each payer. This keeps parents happy while eliminating the need to continually reconcile billings.
• Includes a parent portal or guardian apps. A centralised online portal makes it easy for parents to access documents such as the program, authorization and immunisation forms — and for your administrator to keep track of them. It can also house self-service statements that make it easier for parents to access their year-end statements. Plus, parents can make changes – such as to their attendance or schedules – and your administrator will be alerted.
• Enables a seamless process, handling changes without requiring tedious additional work of your administrator.
• Eliminates the need to chase down payments by automating recurring payments and being flexible enough to adjust to how parents pay.
• Supports all forms of communication at no extra cost and without requiring manual work (such as the need to download all parent email addresses and upload them to an email server). In addition to posting announcements and sending ad hoc and automated emails, look for software that also allows your administrator to easily send text messages and even emergency and other notifications. Ideally, the software will create a communications hub for your administrator while alleviating the need to reach out manually. Automations could include sending registration confirmation and approval, and payment confirmations to parents.
• Makes it possible to seamlessly absorb changes, such as if a parent changes their child’s attendance schedule from five days to two. The right software will ensure all related changes (such as payment amounts) flow through the system without human intervention.

Ready to help your out-of-school hour care program administrator regain the time to focus on what matters most? Find out more about the flexible Xap’s OSHC software solution.