Plans starting from CAD 500/month.
Claritel provides specialized CWELCC accounting and financial management support built for licensed daycare operators across Canada. As a one-stop resource for your accounting, audit-readiness, and tax needs, our team of FCA-supervised Chartered Accountants helps you navigate the transition to $10-a-day care with clarity and precision. We deliver efficient, reliable outsourced accounting that reduces your administrative burden, so your centre stays compliant and financially sound under the new cost-based funding model. With senior financial oversight behind every file, you can focus on delivering high-quality care while we keep your books ready for CWELCC's evolving requirements.
The shift to cost-based funding has changed how childcare providers operate. Funding is no longer a simple revenue replacement — it's tied directly to your eligible costs: the actual, documented expenses incurred to deliver care.
At Claritel, our team provides the specialized financial oversight this transition demands, with solutions built to protect your funding and support sustainable growth.
Under the cost-based model, your financial reporting is the direct pathway to securing the funding your centre is owed. We build tracking systems designed to help you meet Ministry requirements, including:
Supporting the formal certification process that verifies the accuracy and eligibility of your reported costs.
Tracking staff qualifications, hours, and roles so your funding reflects appropriate ratios and wage enhancement requirements.
Organizing spend across rent, nutritious meals, supplies, and training so eligible costs are properly documented.
Reconciling government per diem payments against enrolment and licensed capacity so your books tie out to year-end reporting.
Childcare-specific tax planning can meaningfully improve your centre's cash position:
Most licensed childcare is HST-exempt. Registered charities and qualifying non-profit childcare organizations in Ontario may be able to recover a significant share of the provincial portion of HST paid on rent, food, and equipment through the PSB rebate. (This rebate is not available to for-profit daycare operators — we help you determine your organization's eligibility and, where applicable, manage the claim.)
Ensuring assets are depreciated at the correct CRA-prescribed rates, such as playground equipment (Class 8, 20%) and computer hardware and systems software running childcare management platforms (Class 50, 55%).
Managing Class 13 deductions for renovations required to meet CCEYA licensing standards, spread appropriately over your lease term.
Daycare directors need financial support built around their operational reality, not generic back-office service. Our approach is designed to lift the administrative load off your team:
We work in Zoho Books, Xero, and QuickBooks — including as a Zoho-certified team — to automate invoicing and give you real-time reporting from anywhere.
Managing ECE payroll complexity, including WSIB contributions and CRA remittances, to help you avoid late-filing penalties.
We manage the distinct rules that CWELCC operators face province by province, with particular depth in Ontario's evolving CWELCC guidelines and Quebec's mix of subsidies and parental contributions.
Choosing an accounting partner means finding one who understands your mission.
Get dedicated financial support at a fraction of the cost of building an equivalent in-house finance team, with full visibility into your numbers throughout.
For personalized guidance tailored to your centre.
A quick, structured onboarding process that gets you to clear reporting fast.
Economical and dependable support built around your centre's long-term sustainability.
Claritel staff help us keep our books current — from reconciling bank accounts to maintaining student records and financial statements — efficiently and for a fraction of the cost of hiring employees.
Owner & Director, Multi-Site Childcare Group
The Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program is a federal-provincial initiative working to bring parent fees down to an average of $10 a day. For operators, this means a shift from a traditional revenue-replacement funding model to a cost-based one — your funding is tied directly to the actual allowable costs of providing care, such as staff wages, rent, and supplies. This shift calls for precise, detailed financial record-keeping so your funding accurately reflects your centre's true costs.
Eligible costs are the specific expenses the Ministry of Education allows to be reimbursed through CWELCC funding — generally program staffing costs (wages and benefits), supervisor compensation, accommodations expenses (rent, utilities, or mortgage interest), and operational costs like nutritious meals and essential supplies. Missing a category of spend, or failing to document it properly, can mean leaving funding on the table.
As CWELCC accounting specialists, our team builds cloud-based systems to capture and categorize claimable expenses accurately. Our support includes cost-effective outsourced accounting at a fraction of the expense of an in-house finance team, direct access to FCA-supervised Chartered Accountants for personalized guidance, audit-readiness support to help your external auditors work efficiently, and precise reporting on staffing benchmarks and fee offsets to help keep your funding stable.
Inaccurate or incomplete reporting can lead to funding delays and clawbacks, where the Ministry requires operators to repay funds that weren't properly documented as eligible. As the program matures, financial audits and compliance checks are becoming more routine. Organized, well-documented records are the best way to keep those reviews smooth and avoid penalties or funding disruptions.
Don't let complex paperwork distract you from your mission. Book a free consultation with Claritel today and get your daycare's finances ready for the CWELCC transition.
