Meal Menus & Catering Billing
Publish the weekly menu to parents, log what each child ate, and bill catering automatically from the days a child was actually present.
Two questions consume a surprising amount of a kindergarten's administrative time: what is on the menu this week, and how much does each family owe for meals this month. They're usually answered by a printed sheet and a spreadsheet respectively.
KinderConnect connects them. The menu parents read is the same data staff log meals against, and the meals a child was present for are what the month's catering charge is calculated from.
What is included
Weekly meal menus
Publish the menu once and it's visible to every parent in the app — no printing, no photographing a sheet for the group chat.
Meal logging and ratings
Staff record what a child ate and how it went, giving parents a genuine answer to 'did she eat today?'.
Attendance-driven catering charges
End-of-month catering billing counts the days a child was actually present, so a reported absence reduces the bill without anyone recalculating it.
Per-child rate overrides
Set an organisation-wide catering rate with per-child exceptions for dietary arrangements or individual agreements.
Parent preview before billing
Parents see the catering charge building through the month rather than meeting it as a surprise on an invoice.
Why it matters
Absences that actually reduce the bill
The most common billing dispute in childcare is a parent who reported an absence being charged for meals anyway. When the absence a parent reports in the morning is the same record the month-end charge is derived from, that dispute stops occurring — not because it's handled well, but because it can't arise.
Correct VAT on catering, automatically
Catering is taxed differently from care. Because catering billing produces its own document with its own VAT rate, the monthly run is compliant by default rather than needing a manual correction before it goes to the accountant.
Frequently asked questions
Does an absence reduce the meal charge automatically?
Yes. Catering is billed from the days a child was actually present, so an absence a parent reports in the morning flows through to the month-end charge without anyone recalculating it. The most common billing dispute in childcare simply cannot arise.
Can I set a different meal rate for one child?
Yes. There is an organisation-wide catering rate with per-child overrides for dietary arrangements or individual agreements.
Do parents see the charge before the invoice arrives?
Yes. A preview shows the catering charge building through the month, so the invoice is a confirmation rather than a surprise.
Can parents choose meals in advance?
No. We publish the menu and track what was actually eaten rather than collecting parent pre-orders — the operational midpoint we chose is attendance-driven catering billing instead.
Is catering billed on the same invoice as tuition?
No, and that is intentional. Catering is a separate document with its own VAT rate, because care and catering are taxed differently — putting them on one invoice would be incorrect.
Can parents see the weekly menu?
Yes, in the app — so there is no printing and no photographing a sheet for a group chat.
Can we record how much a child ate?
Yes. Staff log the meal and how it went, giving parents a real answer rather than a guess at pickup.
How are allergies handled?
Allergies and dietary requirements live on the child's medical record, available to the staff who need them rather than in institutional memory.
Does it generate an order for our catering supplier?
Not currently. Attendance drives billing rather than producing a supplier order document — that is a planned addition.
Can I reuse a menu from a previous week?
Menus are published per week and can be rebuilt quickly from previous ones. A full template library is a possible improvement.
Do you support food programme reimbursement reporting?
No. Programmes like the US CACFP are a US federal scheme with no European analogue, so we do not implement that machinery.
Related features
Attendance Tracking for Kindergartens & Nurseries
Digital check-in and check-out, parent-reported absences, and one-click attendance exports — replacing paper sign-in sheets without losing the human moment at the door.
Learn more→Offline Mode & Mobile Apps
A progressive web app that keeps working when the connection drops, plus native Android and iOS builds with push notifications.
Learn more→Parent Communication & Messaging
Direct messaging between staff and parents with attachments, reactions, search, and an SMS fallback that only fires when a parent won't see the notification otherwise.
Learn more→Announcements & Notice Board
Broadcast notices to the whole facility or a single group, schedule them in advance, reuse templates, and see exactly which parents have received them.
Learn more→Photo & Video Sharing for Daycares
Share moments from the day with the right parents only — every photo is tagged to specific children, and consent status is tracked per child.
Learn more→Daily Reports for Parents
A per-child summary of the day — meals, naps, activities, and notes — recorded as it happens instead of written up at 5pm.
Learn more→