The problem
Since funded hours were extended, most invoices have a funded part and a paid part, and working them out in a spreadsheet takes time and causes queries. A nursery with 55 funded children can spend 10 hours a month on invoices and another 3.75 hours answering 15 parents' questions about them.
What the AI does
Famly's site says you add a child's funding to their plan and Famly takes the funded hours off their invoice, and parents see what is funded and what they pay. Automated funding on plans is included from Foundation at $105£79€94A$152C$149 a month, along with Tax-Free Childcare integration. Premium ($211£159€189A$305C$299) adds Funding Loop integration and a public funding report, for local authorities that use Funding Loop. The manager still checks each child's funding against the local authority's records and the headcount.
A worked example
An 85-child day nursery in Bristol has 55 children with funded hours. The manager sets each child's funding in Famly and checks the first two months' invoices against the old spreadsheet.
Before
10 hours of invoicing and 15 parent queries at 15 minutes: about 13.75 hours a month
After
3 hours checking invoices and 5 queries at 15 minutes: about 4.25 hours a month
What it's worth
About $226£170€202A$326C$320 a month of manager time saved (9.5 hours at an assumed $24£18€21A$35C$34 an hour). Famly Foundation is $105£79€94A$152C$149 a month excluding VAT; Premium, with Funding Loop integration, is $211£159€189A$305C$299.
How to set it up
- Check each funded child's entitlement and the local authority code before entering it in Famly.
- Add funding to each child's plan, then run invoices for one month alongside your spreadsheet and compare.
- Put the local authority's termly headcount deadlines in the manager's diary, with a reminder a week before; don't rely on the software to remind you.
- Before each headcount, check Famly's funding figures against the local authority portal yourself.
- Show parents one example invoice so they understand the funded and paid lines.
What goes wrong
- The local authority pays from its own headcount, not from Famly. If the two differ, the nursery loses money, so reconcile every term.
- Missing a headcount deadline can delay funding. Reminders in software can fail silently; the dates must be in the manager's own diary, and checked.
- Your funding agreement limits what you can charge alongside funded hours. Famly shows the split; it doesn't check your charges are allowed.
- Funding Loop integration is on Premium, not Foundation.