In ChildFriendly Pro's April to May 2025 Director Lunch & Learn highlights, child care operator Krystal Churcher explained that Alberta's April 1, 2025 flat parent fee is $15 a day ($326.25 a month for full-time care) with supplementary fees allowed only if optional and documented, and accountant Irfanali Moledina of RMI said that centers receiving under $250,000 in Affordability Grant funding need only an attestation while those receiving $250,000 to $500,000 need a review engagement.
What the session covered
This highlight reel combines three Director Lunch & Learns hosted by the Association of Child Care Entrepreneurs (ACE) and sponsored by ChildFriendly Pro in spring 2025. In the first, Churcher described Alberta's new funding model, effective April 1, 2025: a flat parent fee of $15 a day regardless of income, which she said is not means-tested and works out to $326.25 a month for full-time care, paid by parents directly to operators. According to Churcher, the remainder of core funding comes through the Affordability Grant, and supplementary fees are charges outside that core cost, billed directly to parents and subject to rules on choice and reporting. The second session, with Tim Aylesworth of Park N Play Design, covered inclusive play design and Alberta's Inclusive Spaces Grant. The third, with Moledina of the accounting firm RMI, covered financial reporting: tax and annual return deadlines, GST treatment for child care, the three levels of Affordability Grant reporting, and the errors that lead to clawbacks. Each segment included a short ChildFriendly Pro feature walkthrough by Wayne Chen.
What are the rules for supplementary parent fees in Alberta child care?
Churcher set out the rules as of April 1, 2025. Supplementary fees must be optional: families need a clear choice to opt in or out with no impact on their child's care, the child's routine cannot be broken, and centers cannot discriminate against families who opt out. She said only certain kinds of programs qualify, and prohibited charges include extra operating costs, equipment fees and anything that belongs in the core cost of running the center. According to Churcher, every supplementary fee must be clearly documented by type and by structure, meaning whether it is charged daily, weekly, monthly or annually. Churcher said reporting is where operators have the least understanding, and she advised tracking supplementary fee revenue throughout the year rather than reconstructing it at year end. In the ChildFriendly Pro walkthrough, a family's recurring tuition was split between the $326.25 parent fee and the Alberta Affordability Grant, a meal service supplemental fee was added with an assigned amount and expiration date, and a supplemental parent fees report was run using preset Alberta government reporting periods.
What Affordability Grant financial reporting does an Alberta center need?
Moledina described reporting tiers based on annual Affordability Grant funding. Under $250,000, he said, the government requires only an attestation: the owner signs off that the financial reports are true to their knowledge, at no cost. Between $250,000 and $500,000, a review engagement is required, in which an accountant uses inquiry and analysis, such as checking that enrollment multiplied by each funding rate matches the funding received. Moledina said the most common error is overclaiming children who have left or been away for an extended period, often because operators check enrollment carefully in September and less carefully each month after. According to Moledina, once reported, the government recovers overpayments as clawbacks taken from the next draw, or by stopping funding until repaid, which can create cash flow trouble within two months. He also said the government is starting to push back on operators who signed an attestation when a review engagement was required. Churcher and Moledina said separate bank accounts are not needed for subsidy, parent fees and grant funding, but bookkeeping must track them separately.
What tax and corporate filing deadlines do child care operators miss?
Moledina listed deadlines that operators often confuse. By his account, taxes owed are typically due within 3 months of year end, or 2 months for larger centers with profit above half a million dollars, while tax filings are due within 6 months of year end. He said missing the 6-month filing deadline triggers an automatic penalty that starts at 10% of the amount owed. Separately, he said an annual return must be filed with the Alberta registry every year, which he compared to registering a vehicle; it is not the tax return, and if it is not filed for 2.5 years the business is dissolved, with loss of legal rights and the ability to operate. On GST, he explained that child care centers are not allowed to charge GST, so the Canada Revenue Agency typically refuses GST rebates claimed on a new center's buildout because the center does not provide a taxable service. He added that banks are now asking for financial projections when operators seek financing, and that meeting deadlines is ultimately the owner's responsibility, not the accountant's.
Alberta funding, grant and audit rules from the April to May 2025 sessions
| Time | Key point | What centers should do |
|---|---|---|
| 01:07 | Churcher: from April 1, 2025, Alberta parent fees are a flat $15 a day, not means-tested: $326.25 a month full-time. | Bill parents the flat fee and claim the rest of core funding through the Affordability Grant. |
| 01:53 | Churcher: supplementary fees must be optional, with no impact on care and no discrimination against families who opt out. | Offer a written opt-in for each optional service; never charge for operating costs or equipment. |
| 02:48 | Churcher: every supplementary fee must be documented by type and frequency. | Track supplementary fee revenue monthly, not at year end. |
| 07:01 | A space can be accessible without being inclusive, but not inclusive without being accessible. | Use correct inclusion terminology in Inclusive Spaces Grant applications. |
| 08:32 | The presenter described the Inclusive Spaces Grant as competitive, project-based and funded up to $15 million. | Submit a specific project with quotes tied to at least one priority community. |
| 11:12 | The presenter said GST was not covered by the grant and funds were paid 50% at signing and 50% after final reporting. | Budget GST separately and plan cash flow to finish the project. |
| 14:17 | Moledina: tax filings are due within 6 months of year end; a late filing triggers a penalty starting at 10% of tax owed. | Calendar the filing deadline yourself rather than relying on your accountant. |
| 14:48 | Moledina: the annual return with the Alberta registry is separate from the tax return; after 2.5 years unfiled, the business dissolves. | File the corporate annual return every year. |
| 16:19 | Moledina: under $250,000 in Affordability Grant funding needs an attestation; $250,000 to $500,000 needs a review engagement. | Confirm your funding tier and engage an accountant when a review is required. |
| 18:52 | Moledina: the most common grant error is claiming children who have left, leading to clawbacks from the next draw. | Reconcile enrolled children against claims every month, not only in September. |
How ChildFriendly Pro automates this
The sessions described operators reconstructing supplementary fee revenue and enrollment claims at year end; in the ChildFriendly Pro demo at 03:30, billing split each family's tuition between the $326.25 parent fee and the Affordability Grant, added a meal service supplemental fee to recurring billing, and produced a supplemental parent fees report with Alberta reporting periods preset. At 21:15 Chen noted Excel and CSV exports, staff time tracked by task for wage top-up claims, and QuickBooks sync.
Next steps
- Register for the next Director Lunch & Learn for Alberta child care operators
- Child care billing with subsidy split-billing and online payments
- Alberta child care software for CWELCC split-billing and Affordability Grant reporting
- Book a ChildFriendly Pro demo
