If your program accepts subsidy funding (such as CCAP, CCDF, Illinois IDEC, or other state child care assistance programs), this article explains how subsidy payments flow through Wonderschool and what you need to do on your end.

How subsidy payments work

Subsidy payments are made directly by the government agency to your program — they do not go through Wonderschool's invoicing system. Wonderschool's Finances & Payments tools are used to track the private-pay portion of tuition (what the family owes directly to you).

This means you may have two sources of payment for a single student:

• Government agency payment — sent directly to your bank account by the state or county agency on a set schedule
• Family co-pay — the portion the family owes, which you can collect through Wonderschool invoicing

Setting up invoicing for subsidized families

For families receiving subsidy, only invoice them for their co-pay amount (not the full tuition rate). To do this:

1. Go to Finances & Payments > Recurring Plans.
2. Click Create Plan and select the student.
3. Enter the co-pay amount only — not the full tuition rate.
4. Set the billing frequency to match your agency's schedule.

If a family's co-pay is $0 (the agency covers the full cost), you do not need to create a billing plan for them in Wonderschool.

Tracking subsidy payments

Wonderschool does not automatically track payments received from government agencies. To keep your records complete, you can manually log these using Finances & Payments > Transactions to add a revenue entry for each agency payment you receive.

📄 Creating a Recurring Billing Plan
📄 Understanding Invoice Statuses in Wonderschool

Questions about your specific subsidy program

Requirements and payment schedules vary by state and program. For questions specific to your subsidy contract — amounts, reporting requirements, or eligibility — contact your local child care resource and referral agency or the agency that approved your subsidy contract.

For questions about your Wonderschool account setup, email support@wonderschool.com.