Custom childcare benefit hours app
Appfront builds apps with which childcare organisations record the hours per child per month as they were actually taken, compile the childcare benefit (kinderopvangtoeslag) return from them, and let parents see what has been submitted. With contracted hours, extra days, swap days and closure days in one administration, and every correction traceable, so that the annual statement and the monthly data submissions match what was actually provided.
What is an app for the childcare benefit hours return?
An app for childcare benefit hours tracks, per child per month, the hours of care taken: contracted hours, extra days requested and approved, swap days, closure days and cancelled days. The return to the Tax and Customs Administration and the annual statement for the parent both follow from this. In the portal, parents see what was submitted for each month, and any correction afterwards is a new return with the reason stated.
Without such an app, contracted hours sit in the placement system, extra days in emails, swap days with the group, and cancellations in a supplier's app. At the end of the month, administration pulls it together, and in January a parent calls because their annual statement doesn't match what they believed they had used. Any mismatch between the return and reality becomes a problem for the parent with the benefit, and therefore for you.
We build custom solutions because hours policy differs from one organisation to another. Whether a swap day counts, how extra days are charged, whether closure days are passed on, and how a host family agency processes its childminders' hours are all set out in your terms. The app should follow those rules and align with your planning and invoicing, rather than impose a standard arrangement.
Hours per child per month
Contracted hours, extra days, swap days, closure days and cancellations according to your terms, per child and per month, drawn from the planning and the group.
Return and annual statement
The monthly return for the data submission and the annual statement for the parent, drawn from the same hours, with the version and date included.
Parents can see
In the portal, the hours submitted for each month with the breakdown, so the January query no longer arrives.
How we build your app for childcare benefit hours
We start with your hours policy and the sources where the hours currently come from. The monthly calculation rule follows from that.
How contracted hours, extra days, swap days and closure days are counted with you, where they are currently recorded, and how the return and annual statement are produced now. We check this over a few months.
The monthly calculation rule drawn from your terms, using hours from the planning and the group, with extra days and swap days handled as requests requiring approval.
The monthly return and the annual statement generated from the hours, with version and date, plus the portal where parents see the breakdown for each month.
Corrections as new requests with a reason, integration with invoicing and scheduling, and history per child. After that, we take over management of the app.
What an app for childcare benefit hours actually does
The components below appear in almost every childcare organisation. Which ones you need depends on your hours policy and the systems you already use.
Hours rules
Your terms as a calculation rule: what counts and what doesn't, and how extra days, swap days and closure days are handled, by type of care.
Hours registration per child
Per child per month, the hours from contract, extra days, swap days and cancellations, with the source for each line.
Requests and approval
Extra days and swap days requested by the parent, approved by the group or planning, and then included in the hours.
Return and annual statement
The monthly return and the annual statement per child, drawn from the same hours, with version, date and breakdown.
Parent portal
The hours submitted for each month and their breakdown, the annual statement as a download, and a button to ask a question.
Corrections with history
A correction is a new return with a reason; the old one stays visible, so the parent and the Tax and Customs Administration see the same sequence.
Who we build an app for childcare benefit hours for
The app is intended for organisations where hours come from too many sources, and where the return and parents' questions currently take too much of administration's time.
Day-care centres
Contracted hours per day, extra days and swap days per child. The monthly calculation rule replaces piecing it together by hand.
Out-of-school care
School weeks, holiday weeks and training days, each with their own hours. The rules for each period live in the app, not in the planner's head.
Childminder agencies
Childminder hours per child, checked by the parent and processed by the agency. The app makes that chain traceable.
Organisations with multiple locations
One hours policy, multiple locations with their own groups. The return is produced the same way everywhere.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page covers hours per child and the submission. For staffing and the staff-to-child ratio in the group, see our page on childcare staff ratio calculation and staffing, and for time registration in general, our page on time registration software. You can read about our way of working at building software.
For linking contract, invoice and return in the office, there is our software for contracts, invoices and hours returns.
Why Appfront for your childcare benefit hours return app?
An hours return is only accurate if the hours come from a single calculation rule and the parent can see them. That is what we build on.
Your terms as the rule
What counts and what does not is set out in your terms. We translate those into a single calculation rule and reconcile a few months later, so the return matches what you have agreed.
One source for the return and the annual statement
The monthly return and the annual statement come from the same hours. Two returns that differ is exactly the problem that prompts parents to call.
Corrections without confusion
A correction is a new return with a reason, and the parent sees both. That keeps the sequence Toeslagen sees identical to the one the parent has.
Security and privacy in a childcare benefit hours return app
The app holds data on children and parents. Access is governed by role: a parent sees only their own children, the group sees the children in the group, administration sees everything. Data is kept only for as long as the law and the benefit rules require, and no longer.
Returns are stored unchanged with version and date; a correction is a new version with a reason and a reference to the old one. If a parent or Toeslagen asks questions, you can see what was submitted when and why.
Frequently asked questions about a childcare benefit hours return app
Questions childcare organisations ask before getting started.
It records the hours used per child per month according to your terms, compiles the monthly return and the annual statement from them, shows the parent what has been submitted in a portal, and makes every correction traceable. The hours come from your planning and the group; the return goes to the data delivery in the required format.
That depends on your terms and on the rules for the benefit. At the start we establish how you handle them, and the app applies that rule consistently everywhere. Whether a specific rule is correct under the benefit rules is a question for your adviser; that the app applies it consistently is what we guarantee.
Yes, per month in the portal, with the breakdown: contracted hours, extra days, swap days, cancellations. The annual statement is available as a download. That is why the question does not come up in January: the parent has been able to see it all year.
A correction is a new submission with the reason attached; the original remains visible. The parent sees both, and the new submission goes to the Tax Authority data delivery. This keeps the series at Toeslagen identical to that in the portal, and it is possible to trace later what was corrected and when.
Yes. The host parent records the hours per child, the parent checks them, and the agency processes them into the submission. Every step is traceable, and the submission comes from the same record as for a day nursery.
Yes. Contracted hours and attendance come from your planning system, invoicing uses the same hours, and the submission comes from the app. We connect to the packages you use; the app does not become a second placement system.
We then adjust the calculation rule with an effective date. Submissions from before that date remain calculated as they were, so an annual statement for a previous year does not change. Which rule applied when can be checked in the app.
Your hours submission from a single calculation rule?
Send us your terms on hours, swap days and closure days, and tell us which planning system you use. We will calculate a month for you and show you what the submission and the parent portal look like.