Business and Finance

Business and financial planning is crucial for the long term success of all businesses, making it an integral part of the running of a childcare provision. It is not purely about financial calculations (although this is a large part of it!) but should include areas such as marketing and research.

Planning needs to be an ongoing process that is embedded into day to day operations, not something that is only considered when setting up a business or branching into new areas.

Once plans and budgets have been set it is important to monitor and analyse the information to confirm that the business is on track. This helps to establish that business plans and targets are being met but also gives you the opportunity to investigate anything that is going wrong. Without the analysis and ongoing work, the effort put into the original planning will be wasted.

Knowing exactly where the business is at any point in time ensures that effective and relevant decisions can be made in relation to its long term future.

The Market Development Team can assist childcare provisions with all aspects of business and financial planning. These include:

• Researching local need
• Marketing the provision
• Generating budgets and cash flow forecasts
• Recording keeping
• Bad debts analysis
• Staffing (Holiday entitlement, Maternity leave etc)
• Business Health Checks

 We offer:

• Workshops and conferences
  Business workshops and an annual business conference will be made available free of charge to Kent childcare providers and can be accessed via CPD online.
• Networking Meetings
  Network meetings will be arranged across West, Mid and East Kent. These will give childcare providers an opportunity to learn about and discuss a variety of topics and network with practitioners from other provisions. Details of these events can be accessed via CPD online.
• 1:1 Surgery Appointments
  If you have a business issue which you need to discuss in private, this service is available at our Business Hubs. Dates have been set up across Kent where appointments can be booked to come along and meet with a member of the Market Development Team on an individual basis. For details of current dates and to book a place, please contact:
  • East Kent
    Carole Wright on 01304 841487 or carole.wright@kent.gov.uk
  • Mid Kent
    Elsa Holdsworth on 01233 637500 or elsa.holdsworth@kent.gov.uk
  • West Kent
    Sharon Edwards on 01622 626760 or sharon.edwards@kent.gov.uk

Referral
In order to ensure that all business enquiries can be dealt with efficiently and effectively, a referral contact number and email address has been set up to allow childcare providers to contact and request support from a Childcare Business Officer at any time.

Please contact 01233 667391 or eycc.providerreferral@kent.gov.uk with details of your enquiry.

As well as individual support and group training, we have a number of resources available which will enable you to monitor the operation of your childcare business. These include: Business Plan templates, Financial templates and a Business Health Check support pack.  These are all available by following the referral details above.