Funding Forms Only Setup

If you want to use Pigeonhole primarily for managing funding forms without setting up the full invoicing system, this streamlined setup guide is for you. Follow these steps to get started quickly with just the funding functionality.

Overview

This simplified onboarding path focuses on the essential components needed for funding forms management:

1. Update your site profile and select your council
2. Configure funding rates
3. Import funding forms
4. Manage children and relatives
5. Create and manage funding forms
6. Send forms to parents for completion

Step 1: Update Site Profile and Select Your Council

Start by configuring your basic nursery details and selecting your council for funding integration.

What to do:

1. Navigate to Settings > Site Profile
2. Enter your nursery name, address, and contact details
3. Select your council from the dropdown - this is essential for funding rates and live register integration

Why it matters: Selecting your council enables automatic funding rate configuration and, if supported, live register import functionality.

📚 Full Site Profile Guide

Step 2: Add Funding Rates

Configure the funding rates that apply to your nursery based on your council’s funding scheme.

What to do:

1. Navigate to Settings > Funding Rates
2. Review the pre-populated rates for your selected council
3. Adjust rates if needed or add custom funding rate bands

Why it matters: Accurate funding rates ensure Pigeonholes finance reporting gives accurate totals for expected funding for each term.

📚 Full Funding Rates Guide

Step 3: Import Funding Forms

Import your existing funding forms data to get started quickly.

Import Options:

Option A: CSV Upload

Upload a custom CSV file with your existing funding form data.

1. Navigate to Settings > Import/Export
2. Select the Funding Forms tab
3. Upload your CSV file
4. Review and edit extracted data
5. Click Import

Option B: Live Register Import (If Supported)

If your council supports live register integration, you can import directly from the council’s system.

1. Navigate to Settings > Import/Export
2. Select the Funding Forms tab
3. Click Import from Live Register
4. Follow the prompts to connect and import

📚 Full Import Guide

Step 4: Add Children and Relatives

After importing funding forms, you may need to add any new children and their relatives who weren’t in the initial import and you need to send funding forms out to.

What to do:

1. Navigate to Children and add any new children
2. Navigate to Relatives and add parent/carer details for each child
3. Important: Make sure to activate any new relatives so they can access parent forms

Activation states:

• Pending: Relative has been added but hasn’t logged in yet
• Active: Relative can access and complete funding forms
• Inactive: Relative cannot access the system

📚 Add Relatives Guide

Step 5: Create Funding Forms

For any new children or when renewing existing forms, you’ll need to create funding forms.

1. Navigate to Funding Forms
2. Click Add Funding Form
3. Select the child to create the form
4. Fill in the funding details, and send to the parents/guardians for signing

Using the Copy To Feature

If you have an existing funding form and want to create a similar one for another child:

1. Navigate to Funding Forms
2. Find the form you want to duplicate
3. Click the More Actions (…) button
4. Select Copy To
5. Choose the target child
6. The new form will be created with all the funding data from the original form

📚 Full Funding Forms Guide

Step 6: Send Forms to Parents for Completion

Once you’ve created and verified funding forms, send them to parents to complete their portion.

What to do:

1. Navigate to Funding Forms
2. Find the form you want to send
3. Click Send to Parent/Guardian in the more actions (…) menu
4. Parents will receive an email with a secure link to complete the form

After parents submit:

1. You’ll receive an email notification
2. Review the completed form
3. Approve or reject with feedback
4. Once approved, the form is finalized

📚 Sending and Approving Forms

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