Childcare centre chart of accounts
A childcare centre charges families for sessions of care and spends day by day on meals, nappies and play materials for the children it looks after. This chart adds accounts for those costs, for enrolment deposits and for the centre's service approval fees to the general chart.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
What this industry adds
- This chart has no Child Care Subsidy account. Services Australia generally pays the subsidy to approved providers to pass on to families as a fee reduction, so the books record each family's fee with the subsidy set against it.
- A centre that asks for part of its fees upfront when a family accepts a place can track that deposit in Enrolment deposits received until it is set against the family's final fees.
- Caring for children each day brings costs the general chart doesn't name: Food for children's meals for the kitchen's groceries, Nappies and changing supplies for the change room, and Excursion and incursion costs for outings and visiting presenters.
- Learning and play resources holds the craft materials, books and small toys the rooms get through, and Centre cleaning contractors holds what contract cleaners charge to clean the centre after the children go home.
- An approved provider pays an annual fee for each service approval it holds under the Education and Care Services National Law. Service approval annual fees keeps that cost on a line of its own.
Download the chart
The general accounts and this industry's accounts in one CSV file, in code order, which opens in any spreadsheet program.
Download the CSV fileThe accounts this chart adds
| Code | Account name | Type | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-1300 | Enrolment deposits received | Liability | Part-payments of fees families have made on taking up a place, to be set against that family's final fees |
| 5-1100 | Food for children's meals | Expense | Groceries, fresh produce and milk bought to prepare the meals and snacks served to children in care |
| 5-1200 | Nappies and changing supplies | Expense | Nappies, wipes, disposable gloves and change mat liners used in the change room |
| 5-1300 | Excursion and incursion costs | Expense | Bus hire and entry fees for children's outings, and fees for visiting performers, animal shows and other incursions |
| 6-2100 | Learning and play resources | Expense | Art and craft materials, books, puzzles and small toys bought for the rooms as they run out or wear out |
| 6-2110 | Service approval annual fees | Expense | The annual fee paid for each service approval the provider holds under the Education and Care Services National Law |
| 6-2120 | Centre cleaning contractors | Expense | Contract cleaners who clean the rooms, bathrooms, kitchen and play areas once the children have gone home |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
What goes in each column
- Code: A number that sorts the account into its group: 1 for assets, 2 for liabilities, 3 for equity, 4 for income, and 5 and 6 for expenses.
- Account name: The name that appears in your books and reports.
- Type: Asset, Liability, Equity, Income or Expense, which decides whether the account appears on the balance sheet or the profit and loss statement.
- What goes in it: The transactions to record against the account.
How to use it
- Remove the accounts the centre won't use, such as Nappies and changing supplies if families bring their own.
- Record each enrolment deposit under the family's name in Enrolment deposits received, and check the balance against the centre's list of families who have paid one.
- Give each room a tracking category if you want to compare food, nappy and resource costs between age groups.
- The chart sticks to the centre's own money and running costs. Ask your accountant which other accounts suit the way the centre is owned, and how enrolment deposits should be handled when a child leaves.
The chart is a CSV file, which opens in a spreadsheet program. It is not set up for importing directly into any particular accounting software, so check the format your software expects before you load the accounts into it.
Related pages
Related terms
Sources
- Key financial terms
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 9 July 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- How to manage payments and fees
Department of Education. Current at 31 July 2025, released 31 July 2025. Checked 16 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Education and Care Services National Law (Queensland), section 53
Queensland Legislation, Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel. Reprint current as at 27 February 2026, released 27 February 2026. Checked 16 October 2026.
© State of Queensland 2026. Based on content from the Queensland Legislation website at 16 October 2026. For the latest information on Queensland Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
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