Questions and Answers About KidKare

“Where in KidKare can I track the time spent in my home when children are not present?”

“Can we see a list of the best reports from KidKare for our taxes?”

“If I enter my expenses into KidKare, do I have to save the receipts?”

These are some of the many questions I’ve received during my February 10th webinar “How to Save Money on Your 2021 Taxes.”

In this article I answer the many questions asked about KidKare during this webinar.

KidKare is a comprehensive record keeping program that includes an accounting section that allows you to keep track of all your income and expenses. You can use it for free during a 30 day trial period. Afterwards it costs $99.00 a year. If you do sign up, please use the referral code 0659. If you do so, this will help support the work I do helping family child care providers be more successful as a business. Get more information about KidKare.

Nobody likes record keeping. But, keeping good records can save you a lot of time and money. The best record keeping system is KidKare, the nation’s leading family child care record keeping online software program.

The accounting section of KidKare allows you to track income from parents, the subsidy program, grants and Food Program reimbursements. You can send parents invoices and track their payments. You can easily print out end-of-the-year receipts. You can also accept parent payments online.

The major benefit of KidKare is that it makes it easy to track your business expenses. When you enter your expenses into KidKare, you will choose the appropriate expense category. Then you can print out reports at the end of the year that will mirror the major tax forms you must file (Schedule C and Form 8829). This makes it easier for you to either do your own taxes or turn these reports over to your tax professional, who will then know what you can deduct.

KidKare also makes it easy to calculate your Time-Space Percentage. You can enter all the hours you work in your home when children are present and when they are not. Here’s a helpful instructional video “Tracking Hours When Children Are Not Present Using KidKare.” KidKare will multiply your Time-Space Percentage by expenses used for both business and personal purposes, saving you a lot of time trying to do the math.

Questions and Answers

Q: Which book do you suggest if I use KidKare software and use a tax person? I will share the book with my tax person.

A: My 2021 Family Child Care Tax Companion can be used in conjunction with KidKare when you use a tax preparer. Here’s a link to my Tax Companion.

Q: When I retire and am no longer in business, do I have to keep paying KidKare to have access to my data if I get audited?

A: KidKare won’t save your date after you stop paying for it. You’ll need to download and print out a copy of your KidKare reports for your own records.

Q: If I use KidKare with my Food Program, is the accounting section an added cost for the software?

A: Yes.

Q: Where in KidKare can I track the time spent in my home when children are not present?

A: Go to the accounting section. Then click on Expenses. Then Time-Space%. Then Other Hours.

Q: Are there any special steps to close out year 2021 to move on to 2022?

A: No.

Q: Is there a way to add a “test” kid into KidKare that can be used to learn how to use all the KidKare features?

A: Yes, you can add a child and later “withdrawn” the child.

Q: Can we see a list of the best reports from KidKare for our taxes?

A: The key KidKare reports to use in preparing your taxes are: Form 8829 Detailed Expenses, Schedule C Detailed Expenses, Standard Meal Allowance, Time-Space Calculation, and Vehicle Mileage. See my webinar, "How to Get Organized for Your 2021 Taxes."

Q: Once I enter expenses into KidKare where do they go? Are they automatically entered onto Schedule C and Form 8829?

A: Your expenses will automatically appear on the Form 8829 Detailed Expenses and Schedule C Detailed Expenses reports, not your actual tax return. But you can easily transfer your numbers from these reports onto your tax return.

Q: If I keep adequate record keeping myself, are there other benefits for using KidKare that I’m not considering?

A: KidKare allows you to track all payments from parents, the subsidy program, grants, Food Program reimbursements, etc. It allows you to send out invoices to parents and track their payments. It tracks all the meals and snacks you serve. It prints out reports that you can you to easily fill out your tax forms. And much more. See www.kidkare.com for more information about its benefits.

Q: How would I enter a purchase into KidKare if it included multiple categories on the same receipt, such as office supplies and cleaning supplies?

A: Choose one expense category. Don’t split up the receipt into multiply expense categories. It doesn’t matter whether you call this receipt office supplies or cleaning supplies because they will get added together on your tax return.

Q: Is KidKare compatible with a MacIntosh computer?

A: Yes. It can be accessed on any platform with a connection to the Internet.

Q: I am not licensed yet but I have a KidKare account. Should I use KidKare now or wait until I’m licensed? I have two children in my care now.

A: Start using KidKare now. You don’t need to be licensed. The sooner you start using KidKare, the sooner you can take advantage of its benefits.

Q: Is the only want to transfer KidKare data into H&R Block is to input it manually? Is there no program that will transfer or input the data electronically? Sometimes the office deduction is hard to find in H&R Block.

A: Yes, you’ll have to transfer data manually from KidKare to H&R Block. There is no program that will do this electronically.

Q: How do I record my 401k and other retirement savings (Roth IRA) into KidKare?

A: You don’t, because this is not a business expense.

Q: Do you have to enter purchases into KidKare to be able to claim them on our taxes if I keep all my receipts?

A: No. You can enter some, or all of your expenses into KidKare. If you don't enter all of them into KidKare, you will have to add them together before claiming them on your tax return.

Q: Do I recommend KidKare over Quick Books?

A: They are very different. Quick Books will not be able to calculate your Time-Space % and will not identify all the different expense categories for your business. Quick Books will not print out reports (Form 8829 and Schedule C) that mirror your tax forms. KidKare will do this and much more.

Q: If I enter my expenses into KidKare, do I have to save the receipts?

A: You should. Receipts are the best record you can have of your expenses.

Q: Does KidKare have a feature to record the actual expenses for a vehicle, not just mileage?

A: Yes, KidKare has 12 different expense categories when entering actual expenses for the vehicle.

Q: Is there a “course” to become a certified KidKare trainer?

A: Not that I am aware of. Contact KidKare to get an answer.

Q: Does KidKare allow you to enter contract work expenses for a cleaner/janitor and does it create a Form 1099?

A: You can enter expenses for a cleaner, janitor and other independent contractors. KidKare does not create Form 1099 for these expenses.

Q: Is there a fee for KidKare?

A: Yes. It’s $99 a year.

Tom Copeland - www.tomcopelandblog.com

Image credit: KidKare