Subsidy rates define how much an agency pays for different types of care, while vouchers connect those rates to individual students. Together, they allow Playground to calculate expected subsidy payments and track what your program should receive for each service period.
Understanding Subsidy Rates and Vouchers
A rate represents the amount a subsidy agency pays for a specific type of care. Agencies typically set these rates based on factors like the child’s age, program level, or attendance schedule. Rates are configured for a specific service period, such as weekly, biweekly, or monthly, and can distinguish between full-time and part-time care.
A voucher is the agency’s authorization that a specific student qualifies for subsidy funding. When creating a voucher, you assign the student to one of the available subsidy rates. This tells Playground how much the agency is expected to pay for that student. Once a voucher is assigned, Playground uses the selected rate and the student’s schedule to calculate the expected subsidy amounts for each service period. A student can have multiple active vouchers running over the same period, for example if they receive funding from more than one agency or program at the same time.
🚨 Subsidy rates and vouchers are part of an internal feature that is not enabled by default. If this feature is not turned on for your account, you will not see the Rates or the Vouchers tab or any of the options mentioned in this article. To get access, please reach out to the Playground support team and we can enable it for you.
Create a Rate
From the Admin Dashboard, click the Billing tab and open the Subsidies tab.
Select the subsidy agency you want to create the rate for.
Open the Rates section and click Add Rate.
Select the Service Period for the rate. This determines how often the agency is billed (Weekly, Biweekly, or Monthly).
If using a weekly or biweekly rate, choose the day the week begins using the Week Starts On setting.
Choose the Pricing Structure:
Full-time/part-time
Full-time for care of 5 hours or more per day
Part-time for care of less than 5 hours per day
Flat rate
Flat rate for the service period.
Enter the rate amount.
Click Save to create the rate.
Manage Rates
Edit, Archive, or Delete a Rate
Go to Billing, then select Subsidies.
Click the subsidy agency the rate belongs to.
Select the Rates tab.
Find the rate you want to manage.
Click the three dots on the right side of the rate.
Choose one of the following options:
Edit to update the rate details
Archive to remove the rate from the active list while keeping it for historical records
Delete to permanently remove the rate
If you select Edit, the Edit rate window will open. Most rate details cannot be changed once the rate has been created. The only field that can be updated is the Accounting code.
If an accounting code is added or updated, it will apply only to future voucher assignments and will not affect existing debits created from that rate.
Click Save rate to apply the change.
Unarchive a Rate
Go to the Billing tab, then select Subsidies.
Click the subsidy agency the rate belongs to.
Select the Rates tab.
Change the Status filter from Active to Archived.
Find the rate you want to restore.
Click the three dots next to the rate.
Select Unarchive.
Create a Voucher
A voucher connects a student to a subsidy rate and records that the agency has approved funding for that child. Once a voucher is created, Playground uses the assigned rate and the student’s schedule to calculate the expected subsidy amounts for each service period.
From the Admin Dashboard, click the Billing tab and open the Subsidies tab.
Select the subsidy agency you want to work with.
Open the Vouchers tab.
Click Add in the top right corner and select Voucher.
If you need to create vouchers for multiple students, toggle Add more in the top right corner before continuing. When Add more is enabled, Playground will return you to the Add voucher screen after saving so you can create another voucher for the next student. The workflow will continue looping back to the beginning until this option is turned off.
Search for and select the student who has received subsidy approval.
Choose the Rate that applies to the student.
If the student already has billing items, click See existing billing items to review their current charges. This allows you to confirm whether any related billing items already exist for the student before creating the voucher.
Enter the Voucher Start Date and End Date.
Choose how co-payments should be handled for this voucher under Co-payment billing plan:
Don’t create a co-payment billing plan – Select this if the student does not have a required co-pay.
Charge co-payments in addition to the rate – Select this if the family is responsible for paying a co-pay on top of the subsidy amount paid by the agency.
Subtract co-payments from the rate – Select this if the co-pay is part of the total rate, meaning the family pays a portion and the agency pays the remaining amount.
If you choose Charge or Subtract, you will need to configure the copay billing item.
Enter the copay amount in the Price field.
Add an optional description or accounting code if your program uses accounting codes.
Choose how the copay should be billed under This charge should be.
Most programs will leave this set to Recurring with a start and end date
Select how often the copay occurs under This charge will occur (for example, weekly).
Enter the billing dates:
First invoice will post – when the first copay charge will appear
Day of week due – the day the charge is due
Last due date – when the recurring copay charges should stop
Review the preview section to confirm the billing schedule.
Click Add item to save the copay billing plan.
Click the Review the expected amounts button that will be created for the student.
Review the student’s schedule at the top of the page.
This schedule is used to calculate how much the agency is expected to pay for each service period.
If needed, you can:
Click the three dots next to the schedule to edit it and delete it.
Click Add recurring schedule to add another schedule
Review the Expected amounts table.
This table shows a preview of the subsidy amounts that will be generated for the student based on:
the assigned rate
the student’s schedule
any co-payment settings
Confirm the details shown in the Expected amounts table:
the period dates
the number of scheduled days
the co-payment amount (if applicable)
the expected amount from the subsidy agency
Click Create voucher to finish.
After the voucher is created, the expected subsidy deposits will appear in the Deposits tab for the selected agency.
To view the full billing plan created for the student, open the Debits tab.
Schedule Changes & Active Vouchers
When editing or deleting a student's recurring schedule, Playground will alert you if the change will impact an active subsidy voucher or co-payments linked to that student. A warning will appear at the top of the Edit a recurring schedule window letting you know the change will affect the student's subsidy payments.
If the schedule change means the current voucher is no longer accurate, you can toggle on End voucher at the bottom of the window before saving. This will end the voucher at the appropriate date so you can assign a new one that reflects the updated schedule.
You can also view a student's active voucher directly from their billing profile. The Vouchers section on their profile shows the assigned rate, service period, start and end dates, and an option to upload the voucher document.
Manage Vouchers
Once a voucher has been created, you can upload supporting documents, end a voucher early, or delete it entirely from the Vouchers tab. Click the three dots next to any voucher to see the available options.
End a Voucher
If a student's subsidy details change, you can end an existing voucher and create a new one.
Go to Billing, then select Subsidies.
Click the subsidy agency the voucher belongs to.
Open the Vouchers tab.
Locate the voucher you want to update.
Click the three dots on the right side of the voucher.
Select End voucher.
The End voucher window will open showing the student's name and current rate.
Review the Start date and update the End date to reflect when the voucher should end.
If you need to immediately create a new voucher for the same student, toggle on Create a new voucher for this student.
Click End voucher to confirm.
If you toggled on the option to create a new voucher for the student, the create a new voucher page well open, and you can create one through the workflow.
Upload a Voucher Document
You can upload the voucher document you received from the agency directly to the voucher record for your files.
Go to Billing, then select Subsidies.
Click the subsidy agency the voucher belongs to.
Open the Vouchers tab.
Locate the voucher you want to upload a document for.
Click Upload in the Document column next to the voucher, or click the three dots and select Upload voucher.
Select the file you want to upload and confirm.
💡 You can also upload a voucher document during the voucher creation process. When adding a new voucher, click Upload in the Upload voucher panel on the right side of the screen before clicking Create voucher.
Delete a Voucher
Go to Billing, then select Subsidies.
Click the subsidy agency the voucher belongs to.
Open the Vouchers tab.
Locate the voucher you want to remove.
Click the three dots on the right side of the voucher.
Select Delete.
In the confirmation window, review the warning message. Deleting a voucher will remove all associated subsidy debits, and this action cannot be undone.
Click Delete voucher to confirm.
You can also end or delete a voucher directly from anywhere the student's billing plan appears, including their individual billing profile.
💡 Vouchers that are expiring within the next two months will appear in Billing alerts under the Ending soon tab, alongside billing plans that have two or fewer installments remaining. This makes it easy to catch vouchers that need to be renewed before they lapse.
Record a Subsidy Deposit
After creating vouchers, Playground automatically generates expected subsidy deposits for each service period. When a payment is received from the subsidy agency, you can record the amount received for the corresponding deposit.
Go to Billing, then select Subsidies.
Select the subsidy agency you want to work with.
Open the Deposits tab.
Locate the service period you want to record a payment for.
Click the three dots on the right side of the deposit. Select Edit.
On the Record deposit page, check the This deposit has been received checkbox to indicate that payment has been received. Credits will automatically be created for any received amounts.
Enter in the Deposit date and optionally, you can enter in the deposit number
To set post and due dates for the debits recorded in this deposit, click Set post and due dates.
On the Record deposit page, review the students listed in the Distribution section. For each student, you can see:
the rate assigned through their voucher
the number of scheduled days during that service period
the number of days attended during that period
the expected amount based on the rate and scheduled attendance
Use the checkboxes next to each student's name to include or exclude them from the deposit. This is helpful for partial deposits where payment has only been received for some students.
For each student, you can click the three dots to view additional details or take action:
View debit: Opens the transaction details for that student's debit, including the service period, unit amount, and payment update history.
View co-payments: Opens a side panel showing co-payments linked to that student for the service period. From here you can edit or delete existing co-payments or add a new one by clicking + Add co-payment.
The co-payment amount for the student, if applicable. Click the i icon next to the co-payment amount to open the co-payments panel, where you can view, edit, or add co-payments for that student.
Add a debit note: Opens a text field where you can enter a reason why an expected amount was changed. Click Add note to save. The note will be appended to the debit description for auditing purposes.
Enter the received amount for each student based on the payment received from the subsidy agency.
If the received amount differs from the expected amount, choose how the difference should be handled.
You can leave the balance on the account, waive the difference or charge the remaining amount to the family.
Click Finish and record. Enter Confirm in the Conformation window.
Click Edit deposit.
If you attempt to edit a subsidy credit or debit from outside of the deposit flow, the platform will notify you that the payment has an associated deposit and cannot be edited directly.
Click Go to deposit to be taken directly to the associated deposit where you can make changes. If the credit or debit h as no associated deposit or agency, you can edit it as normal.