Daycare Budget Template

This daycare budget template gives you the income and expense categories a childcare center actually needs — tuition by age group, staffing, facility, food program, licensing and insurance — laid out as a fill-in worksheet instead of a blank spreadsheet. It is a general-purpose planning tool, not tax or accounting advice: it does not state a dollar figure, tax rate, ratio requirement, or licensing fee for any jurisdiction anywhere — those are your own numbers to enter.

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How to use this template

• Choose monthly or annual budgeting in Section 1, then keep every line in that same unit throughout. If you want a month-by-month view across a full year, fill out one copy per month and compare them side by side — this worksheet is one period at a time by design, so a single sheet stays readable.
• Base every income line on your own enrollment and rates, not on last year’s total. Tuition revenue and staffing cost both scale with the enrollment assumption in Section 2, so start there.
• Get your own jurisdiction’s numbers before finalizing. Staff-to-child ratios, licensing fees, and insurance minimums are set locally and vary widely — this template tells you what to budget for, never what the number should be. Confirm those figures with your licensing authority, insurer, and accountant.
• Leave a section blank (or skip it) if it doesn’t apply. The food program section is only for centers that provide meals; the contingency reserve is a recommended practice, not a requirement.
• Revisit this budget at least quarterly, and immediately after any change in enrollment, rates, or a major expense category — a budget built once at the start of the year and never checked again catches nothing.
• Have your accountant or bookkeeper review it before using it for financing, licensing renewal, or tax planning. This worksheet organizes your numbers; it does not replace professional financial advice.

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Section 1: Center & Budget Period

Center / organisation name: [CENTER OR ORGANISATION NAME] Budget type: [MONTHLY / ANNUAL (12 MONTHS)] Period covered: [PERIOD COVERED, e.g. "March 2027" or "FY2027 (Jan–Dec 2027)"] Prepared by: [PREPARED BY — NAME AND ROLE] Date prepared: [DATE PREPARED]

Name the exact period this budget covers and pick monthly or annual before filling anything else in — every line below should be in that same unit.

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Section 2: Enrollment Assumptions

Licensed capacity: [LICENSED CAPACITY — TOTAL CHILDREN] Budgeted enrollment by age group: [BUDGETED ENROLLMENT BY AGE GROUP — e.g. one line per group: infants, toddlers, preschool, school-age]

Every income and staffing line below is driven off this number — set it to what you realistically expect to enroll, not to full licensed capacity, unless the center is already full.

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Section 3: Income — Tuition Revenue

Tuition revenue by age group: [TUITION REVENUE BY AGE GROUP — one line per group: number enrolled × rate = subtotal] Total tuition revenue: [TOTAL TUITION REVENUE]

Different age groups usually carry different tuition rates and different mandated staffing ratios — keep them broken out here rather than blending them into one number.

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Section 4: Income — Other Revenue

Registration / application fees: [REGISTRATION OR APPLICATION FEE INCOME] Subsidy or voucher income: [SUBSIDY OR VOUCHER INCOME] Late-pickup fees: [LATE-PICKUP FEE INCOME] Other income (fundraising, grants, other): [OTHER INCOME] Total other income: [TOTAL OTHER INCOME]

Include only income you actually expect to collect — a subsidy program you have not been approved for yet belongs in next year’s budget, not this one.

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Section 5: Total Budgeted Income

Total budgeted income (tuition + other): [TOTAL BUDGETED INCOME]

Add Section 3’s total tuition revenue to Section 4’s total other income — this is the top-line number every expense section below is measured against.

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Section 6: Expenses — Staffing & Payroll

Director / administrative salaries: [DIRECTOR OR ADMINISTRATIVE SALARIES] Lead teacher salaries: [LEAD TEACHER SALARIES] Assistant / aide salaries: [ASSISTANT OR AIDE SALARIES] Payroll taxes & benefits: [PAYROLL TAXES AND BENEFITS] Total staffing cost: [TOTAL STAFFING COST]

Staffing is normally the largest cost category in a childcare budget because it is driven by a mandated ratio, not a discretionary choice — check this total against your required staff-to-child ratio at your budgeted enrollment, not against last year’s headcount.

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Section 7: Expenses — Facility

Rent or mortgage: [RENT OR MORTGAGE] Utilities: [UTILITIES] Maintenance & repairs: [MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS] Total facility cost: [TOTAL FACILITY COST]

Facility cost is usually fixed regardless of enrollment — separating it from staffing here shows the fixed-cost floor the center carries even at low enrollment.

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Section 8: Expenses — Food Program (if your center provides meals)

Food & kitchen supplies: [FOOD AND KITCHEN SUPPLIES] Food program reimbursement (if any): [FOOD PROGRAM REIMBURSEMENT] Net food program cost: [NET FOOD PROGRAM COST]

Leave this section out entirely if families bring their own food — it does not apply to every center.

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Section 9: Expenses — Classroom Supplies & Curriculum

Classroom consumables: [CLASSROOM CONSUMABLES] Curriculum materials: [CURRICULUM MATERIALS] Toys & equipment: [TOYS AND EQUIPMENT] Total supplies & curriculum cost: [TOTAL SUPPLIES AND CURRICULUM COST]

Keep this separate from facility maintenance — consumables and curriculum materials turn over per-child and per-classroom, not per-building.

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Section 10: Expenses — Insurance

General liability insurance: [GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE] Other coverage (property, workers’ comp, if carried): [OTHER INSURANCE COVERAGE] Total insurance cost: [TOTAL INSURANCE COST]

Confirm required coverage and minimums with your insurer and licensing authority — this template does not state a minimum for any jurisdiction.

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Section 11: Expenses — Licensing & Regulatory

License renewal fee: [LICENSE RENEWAL FEE] Required inspections & staff training/certification renewal: [INSPECTION AND TRAINING RENEWAL FEES] Total licensing cost: [TOTAL LICENSING COST]

Licensing and certification renewals are usually annual and easy to forget until the notice arrives — budget for them even in a month when nothing is due.

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Section 12: Expenses — Administrative & Marketing

Office supplies, software & payment processing fees: [OFFICE SUPPLIES, SOFTWARE AND PROCESSING FEES] Professional services (accounting, legal): [PROFESSIONAL SERVICES COST] Marketing & enrollment cost: [MARKETING AND ENROLLMENT COST] Total administrative & marketing cost: [TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND MARKETING COST]

Marketing cost connects directly back to the enrollment assumption in Section 2 — a center that budgets nothing here has no line to check against an enrollment shortfall.

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Section 13: Contingency Reserve (recommended)

Contingency reserve amount: [CONTINGENCY RESERVE AMOUNT] Notes: [CONTINGENCY RESERVE NOTES]

A small buffer for an unplanned repair, a slow enrollment month, or a licensing surprise. Optional, especially for a very small operation, but worth building in once cash flow allows it.

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Section 14: Budget Summary

Total budgeted expenses (sum of Sections 6–13): [TOTAL BUDGETED EXPENSES] Net surplus or deficit (Section 5 minus total expenses): [NET SURPLUS OR DEFICIT] Break-even enrollment note: [BREAK-EVEN ENROLLMENT NOTE — the minimum enrollment needed to cover total fixed costs, if you want to calculate it]

This is the number the rest of the worksheet exists to produce — if it’s negative, go back to Sections 3–4 and 6–13 together rather than cutting one line in isolation.