For preschools, Pre-K programs and small private schools
Tuition on auto-pay, enrollment signed online, every family on one statement.
Monthly tuition for each family, charged to the card or bank account on file on the 1st. Enrollment agreements the parents sign from their phone, with the seat deposit paid in the same step. Before and after care, late pickups, sibling discounts and summer camp on the same family account, and a statement every month.
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No signup, no password: walk around Wrenfield Preschool’s workspace. Or start your free trial.
Sound familiar?
The paperwork side of the job.
- The 1st of the month means sending sixty tuition invoices by hand, then chasing the ten families who missed them.
- Enrollment agreements go out as PDFs, come back signed (eventually), and the seat deposit is a separate conversation.
- Before care, after care and late pickups get added up from a sign-in sheet and forgotten on the next bill.
- The sibling discount, the employer that pays half, the family on a 10-payment plan: every exception lives in someone's head.
- A parent asks what they still owe for the year and the answer takes an afternoon in a spreadsheet.
A real example
What an invoice looks like.
Line by line, the way you’d actually bill it: quantity times rate, tax worked out for you.
- Your client opens one link and pays by card.
- Reminders go out on their own until it’s paid.
- Your logo, your terms, and your line items saved for next time.
Prepared for The Nakamura-Ellis Family
| Item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-K (4s), 5 days/week, 8:30–3:00 — Ava N. 1 mo × $1,180.00 | 1 mo | $1,180.00 | $1,180.00 |
| Toddlers (2s), 3 mornings/week — Leo N. 1 mo × $545.00 | 1 mo | $545.00 | $545.00 |
| After care, 3:00–5:30 pm — Ava N. 1 mo × $310.00 | 1 mo | $310.00 | $310.00 |
| Late pickup, October 14 (12 minutes after 5:30) — Ava N. 12 min × $1.00 | 12 min | $1.00 | $12.00 |
| Sibling discount, 10% of Leo's tuition 1 ea × −$54.50 | 1 ea | −$54.50 | −$54.50 |
Charged to the bank account on file on November 1. Tuition is for the month and is not reduced for absences or school-calendar closures. Questions about tuition assistance? Reply to this email.
Sent with Fee-Lion · example document, fictional client
How Fee-Lion fits
The parts that do the heavy lifting.
Tuition on a schedule
One recurring invoice per family, billed on the 1st for that month, September to June. Pause a family over the summer and resume it in the fall.
More on invoicingAuto-pay by card or bank
Parents save a card or US bank account once and every tuition invoice charges itself. Bank (ACH) payments keep card fees off tuition-sized bills.
More on online paymentsEnrollment agreements, signed
The agreement is an estimate: program, schedule, fees and your policies. Parents sign it online and pay the seat deposit in the same step.
More on e-signaturesPay in full or in 10 payments
Turn the year's tuition into a payment schedule. Each payment has its own due date and reminder, and auto-pay can charge each one.
More on payment schedulesStatements and credits
Monthly statements show each family their running balance. Tuition assistance, snow-day credits and withdrawal proration go on as credit notes.
More on credit notes & statementsTour requests
A "Schedule a tour" form on your website lands as a request you can turn into an enrollment agreement.
More on request formsA day with Fee-Lion
How it actually plays out.
- A family fills in the "Schedule a tour" form on your website. It lands as a request with the child's age and the program they want.
- After the tour, send the enrollment agreement: program, schedule, registration and supply fees, your policies. The parents sign it on their phone and pay the seat deposit.
- Set up the family's tuition once: Pre-K five days, after care, the sibling discount. It bills on the 1st for that month and charges the saved bank account.
- A late pickup on Tuesday goes on as a line for that day. Snow day? A credit note on next month's bill.
- A family that pays for the year gets one tuition invoice on a 10-payment schedule instead, each payment charged on its own date.
- On the 1st, every family with a balance gets a statement. The cash-flow forecast shows what tuition will bring in over the next 30 days.
Live demo
Click around Wrenfield Preschool.
A small preschool and Pre-K in Madison, Wisconsin: about 60 families on monthly tuition and auto-pay, enrollment agreements with seat deposits and 10-payment plans, after care and late pickups, summer camp, an employer that pays half of tuition, and monthly statements.
A real Fee-Lion workspace set up as Wrenfield Preschool, with sample clients, jobs, estimates and invoices. No signup, no password. Changes are switched off, so click anything.
- The dashboardMoney owed, jobs in flight and this month’s numbers.
- Estimates & invoicesLine items, deposits and payments, the way your jobs actually run.
- The client portalThe one link your customer opens to approve and pay.
Questions
What people ask before they switch.
How do preschools usually bill tuition?
Most bill monthly, with the school year split into 10 or 12 equal payments due on the 1st, and some offer a small discount for paying the year in full. In Fee-Lion, monthly tuition is a recurring invoice per family, and a pay-in-full or 10-payment family gets one invoice with a payment schedule.
Can parents pay tuition automatically?
Yes. Parents save a card or a US bank account in the client portal and each recurring tuition invoice is charged on its date. Bank (ACH) payments avoid card fees on larger bills, and you can still record checks by hand.
How do I handle enrollment deposits and registration fees?
Send the enrollment agreement as an estimate with the registration fee, supply fee and tuition on it, and set the deposit that holds the seat. You can require a signature: the parent signs and pays the deposit in one step, and the deposit is credited when the tuition invoice is created.
Can I charge late pickup fees and drop-in care?
Yes, as line items: a late pickup is minutes times your per-minute rate, and drop-in after care is a day rate. Add them to the next tuition invoice or send them on their own. A percentage late charge on overdue balances can also be set on invoices.
Does Fee-Lion track attendance, classrooms or student records?
No. Fee-Lion handles the money side: tuition, fees, payments, credits and statements. Children appear by name on the invoice lines, but there are no class rosters, attendance or immunization records. Keep using your check-in or school-management app for those.
Your next invoice could go out tonight.
Start a 14-day free trial, no card needed, or look around Wrenfield Preschool first.