Not every charge follows a recurring weekly or monthly schedule. For multi-site operators, Playground gives you two layers to work with: the center-level Create Debits workflow for site-specific billing, and the enterprise-level tools that let you manage Saved Items, discounts, and subsidies across all your locations from one place.
This article walks through both approaches so you can decide when to bill at the center level vs. the enterprise level - with guidance for the most common multi-site structures (franchises, corporate-managed networks, family-owned multi-center operations, and decentralized site-led teams). If you operate a single site, see the single-site version of this article instead.
When to Use a One-Time Charge
Use the one-time billing method for any of the following across your locations:
Registration fees — a flat charge collected at the start of enrollment
Supply fees — materials, activity, or consumable fees billed once per term
Semester-based tuition — programs that bill tuition in one or two lump sums per year
State assistance co-pays — the portion of tuition owed by families receiving subsidy funding
Choosing the Right Approach for Your Multi-Site Structure
Different multi-site operations have different billing realities, and Playground is designed to flex with them. Before diving into the workflow, consider where your operation falls:
Franchise networks (each location is independently owned/operated under a shared brand)
Each franchisee typically manages their own pricing, fees, and billing at the center level.
Enterprise-level items may be available for brand-required standard fees (e.g., a national registration fee), but local fees should live at the center level.
The corporate office may want read-only visibility into all centers' billing but typically doesn't bill on behalf of franchisees.
Best practice: Use enterprise-level items sparingly for true brand-wide fees. Let each franchisee operate their billing locally so they retain control.
Corporate-managed networks (one organization owns/operates all locations, central billing team)
Pricing, fee structures, and billing policies are typically standardized across all centers.
A central billing team handles most charge creation, often working at the enterprise level so changes apply everywhere.
Site admins may handle day-to-day Fee Approvals but not strategic billing setup.
Best practice: Maximize enterprise-level Saved Items, Discounts, and Subsidy templates. Use center-level only for site-specific variations.
Family-owned multi-center operations (small chain owned by one person/family, 2–5 locations)
The owner typically manages billing across all sites personally or with a small admin team.
Pricing may be standardized or may vary by site location/demographics.
Owner often touches both enterprise and center layers depending on the task.
Best practice: Set up enterprise-level items for fees that apply everywhere; use center-level for site-specific tuition rates or local fees. The hybrid approach works well at this scale.
Decentralized site-led operations (each center has significant autonomy on billing)
Site directors set their own fees, deal with their families directly, and may not coordinate with a central team.
Enterprise-level tools are used minimally — mostly for reporting consolidation.
Best practice: Use the center-level workflow as the default. Reserve the enterprise level for things that genuinely require consistency (system-wide compliance fees, shared subsidy agreements).
💡 Rule of thumb across all structures: If you'd rebuild the same fee at every location, set it up at the enterprise level. If it's truly unique to one site or set by a local owner/director, set it up at the center level.
Quick Decision Matrix: Center-Level vs. Enterprise-Level
Use this table to quickly determine where to set up a given charge based on what it is and how your operation runs.
Charge or Setup | Center-Level | Enterprise-Level | Best For |
System-wide registration fee (same amount at every site) | Possible, but redundant | ✅ Recommended | Corporate networks, family chains, franchises with brand standards |
Site-specific registration fee (each location sets its own) | ✅ Recommended | Not applicable | Franchises, decentralized operations |
Annual supply fee (same across all sites) | Possible, but redundant | ✅ Recommended | Corporate networks, family chains |
Semester tuition (standardized pricing) | Possible | ✅ Recommended via Saved Item | Corporate networks |
Semester tuition (varies by site) | ✅ Recommended | Not applicable | Franchises, decentralized operations, family chains with location-based pricing |
One-off charge at a single center (e.g., field trip at one location) | ✅ Recommended | Not applicable | All structures |
Brand-required standardized fee (corporate-mandated) | Not recommended | ✅ Recommended | Franchises |
State assistance co-pay (enterprise-wide subsidy contract) | Possible | ✅ Recommended via enterprise subsidies | Corporate networks with system-wide contracts |
State assistance co-pay (site-specific contract) | ✅ Recommended | Not applicable | Franchises, family chains with local contracts |
System-wide discount (e.g., sibling discount, military discount) | Possible, but redundant | ✅ Recommended | Corporate networks, family chains, franchise brand standards |
Site-specific discount (e.g., grand opening promo at one location) | ✅ Recommended | Not applicable | Any structure for one-off promos |
Late payment fees | ✅ Per-center setup with Support | Not applicable | All structures (configure consistently across centers via Support) |
Fee Approvals queue (overages, daily attendance fees, etc.) | ✅ Per-center (this is the only option) | Not available enterprise-wide | All structures |
Subsidy visibility setting (hidden vs. visible to families) | Per-center possible via Support | ✅ Recommended for consistency | Corporate networks (uniform), franchises (often varies) |
How to read the matrix:
✅ Recommended means this is the primary, best-practice path for the scenario.
Possible means you can do it this way, but a better option exists.
Possible, but redundant means you'd be duplicating work at every center.
Not applicable means the feature doesn't exist at that level.
Not recommended means the alternative is strongly preferred.
💡 Quick read for centralized billing teams: Most of your work should happen in the right-hand column (enterprise-level), with site admins handling Fee Approvals and exceptions.
💡 Quick read for franchise corporate: Focus enterprise-level setup on brand-required items only; let franchisees own the rest.
💡 Quick read for site directors / decentralized operations: Most of your work happens in the left-hand column (center-level). The enterprise level is rarely your daily driver.
Center-Level vs. Enterprise-Level Quick Comparison
Multi-site operators have two paths for creating one-time charges:
Center-level (Billing → Overview → Create Debits at an individual center):
Best when a charge applies to just one location (e.g., a site-specific supply fee, a one-off registration drive at a single center).
Lives within that center's billing only.
The workflow is identical to single-site billing.
Best fit for: franchisees, decentralized site-led operations, or any one-off site-specific fee.
Enterprise-level (Enterprise Dashboard → Billing → Items or Discounts):
Best when the same charge applies across multiple centers (e.g., the same registration fee for all locations, a system-wide tuition increase, an enterprise-wide subsidy program).
Items and discounts created at the enterprise level propagate to all centers so you don't have to recreate them at each location.
Centers can still apply enterprise-level items to specific students at their site.
Best fit for: corporate-managed networks, franchises with brand-required standardized fees, family-owned chains.
How to Create a One-Time Fee at the Enterprise Level
For charges that apply across all (or most) of your centers, use the enterprise-level workflow. This is typically run by a central billing team or owner at corporate-managed and family-owned operations.
Step 1 — Navigate to Enterprise Dashboard → Billing
From your Enterprise Dashboard, click Billing in the left sidebar. This is where enterprise-wide Items, Discounts, Subsidies, and other billing structures live.
Step 2 — Create or Update an Enterprise-Level Item
Click into Items (or Saved Items depending on the layout).
Click Add Item or Create New Item.
Enter a Name (e.g., "2025–2026 Registration Fee"), Price, and optional Description.
Optionally assign an Accounting Code for GL/accounting export consistency across your sites.
Click Save.
The item is now available at every center in your enterprise.
💡 Franchise note: If you're a franchisor setting up a brand-required fee that all franchisees must charge, communicate the rollout in advance — franchisees should know which fees they're expected to apply and on which timeline. Setting up an enterprise-level item doesn't auto-apply it to students; franchisees still need to use it when creating debits.
Step 3 — Apply the Enterprise-Level Item at Each Center
Once the item exists at the enterprise level, individual center admins (or your central billing team) can apply it to students:
Navigate into the specific center → Billing → Overview → Create Debits.
Select the student(s) at that center who should be charged.
Pull the enterprise-level Saved Item from the list rather than creating a new charge from scratch.
Confirm the frequency (typically One-Time / Paid all at once), post date, and due date.
Click Create Debits.
The charge posts to those students' accounts using the centrally-defined amount and description.
💡 Centralized billing teams: If your corporate billing team handles charge creation across all sites, build a quarterly or annual calendar listing which enterprise-level charges to apply at which time of year, then move through the centers sequentially. This ensures consistency and avoids missed sites.
💡 Why this saves time: If your registration fee changes from $150 to $175 next year, you update the Saved Item once at the enterprise level — every center pulling that item gets the new amount automatically for future debits. Without enterprise items, you'd have to update at every location individually.
How to Create a One-Time Fee at the Center Level
For charges that apply to only one location — or for franchisees and decentralized site directors managing their own billing — use the standard Create Debits workflow at the center level. This is identical to the single-site workflow.
Step 1 — Navigate to the Specific Center → Billing → Overview → Create Debits
From the Enterprise Dashboard, click Centers in the left sidebar and select the center you're billing for. Inside that center, click Billing → Overview → Create Debits.
💡 If you're billing a single student, you can also access Create Debits directly from the student's profile (Billing tab → Actions → Create Debits).
Step 2 — Select the Student(s)
Select the student(s) at that center receiving the charge. For semester billing, you can select all active students at the center or filter by classroom, program, or enrollment status.
🚨 Only select multiple students at once if they'll receive the exact same charge amount.
Step 3 — Name the Charge Descriptively
Use names that are meaningful on the family's statement:
Semester billing: "Fall 2025 Tuition" or "Spring Supply Fee"
Registration fees: "2025–2026 Registration Fee — [Center Name]"
State-funded families: "State Assistance Co-Pay"
💡 Naming tip for multi-site: Including the center name (e.g., "Registration — Westside") on site-specific charges helps your central billing team, franchise corporate, and families identify which site the fee belongs to when reviewing statements.
💡 Franchise tip: If your franchise brand has naming standards for fees, document them in your franchisee training and reinforce them periodically. Inconsistent naming across franchisees can confuse families if they visit or transfer between brand locations.
Step 4 — Set the Amount
Enter the dollar amount to be billed at this center.
Step 5 — Set Frequency to One-Time (Paid All at Once)
Select Paid all at once for true one-time charges. Use Recurring with a start and end date or Split into even installments for semester structures that span multiple payments.
Step 6 — Set the Post Date and Due Date
Post date — when the charge appears on the family's statement.
Due date — when payment is expected. For semester billing, typically the start of the term.
Step 7 — Review and Create
Review the item overview, select your notification method (app, email, or none), and click Create Debits.
Co-Pays (State Assistance) for Multi-Site Programs
Multi-site programs receiving subsidy funding have a few options depending on whether subsidies are managed centrally or per-center.
Option A — Co-Pay as a Charge (Recommended for Most Programs)
If you expect to receive subsidy payments for students and don't need families to see the subsidy amount, create a billing item reflecting only the parent's co-pay.
For center-specific subsidy contracts:
Navigate into the relevant center → Billing → Overview → Create Debits.
Select the student(s) at that center receiving the subsidy.
Create a billing item named "State Assistance Co-Pay" (or similar).
Enter only the co-pay amount the family owes.
Set the frequency to One-Time or recurring as appropriate.
Click Create Debits.
For enterprise-wide subsidy programs:
If you have a subsidy contract that applies across multiple centers (e.g., a state-funded program covering students at every site, or a system-wide CCAP arrangement at a corporate-managed network), you can manage the subsidy agency, rates, and vouchers at the enterprise level:
Go to Enterprise Dashboard → Billing → Subsidies.
Set up the agency, rates, and voucher templates centrally.
Apply vouchers to specific students at each center as needed.
This avoids recreating the same agency setup at every location and ensures consistent rate application across sites.
💡 Corporate-managed network tip: If your central billing team handles subsidy reconciliation, the enterprise-level approach also makes month-end reconciliation cleaner because you can pull subsidy reports across all centers in one view.
💡 Franchise tip: Subsidy agreements are often franchisee-specific (negotiated locally with state/county agencies), so most franchise networks set these up at the center level. Use enterprise-level subsidy setup only if your franchise has a corporate-negotiated agreement that applies to all locations.
💡 Split families: If the co-pay is split between two sides of a family, add a separate co-pay item for each side and assign each item to the correct payer group.
Option B — Co-Pay as a Discount
If you want the original tuition and subsidized discount both visible on the family's statement, apply a discount to the full charge.
Example: Tuition $650, family co-pay $100. Create the charge for $650 and add a $550 discount labeled "State Subsidy."
For multi-site programs running this approach across multiple locations:
Create the discount at the enterprise level (Enterprise Dashboard → Billing → Discounts) so the same discount is available at every center.
Center admins (or central billing) apply the discount to the appropriate students during the Create Debits workflow.
For full instructions on recording agency payments and tracking subsidy deposits, see Track Subsidies.
Subsidy Visibility for Multi-Site Operators
Whether guardians see subsidy charges on their statements is controlled by a subsidy visibility setting that's managed by the Playground Support team.
Hidden from families (default for newer programs): Guardians at all your centers see only their private pay (co-pay) portion — subsidy entries don't appear on their statements.
Visible to families: Guardians see both subsidy charges and credits alongside private pay.
For multi-site operators, this setting can be configured uniformly across all your centers (most common, especially in corporate-managed networks where consistency matters) or differently per center if needed (more common in franchise networks where each location may have different agency reporting requirements). To change the setting, reach out to Playground Support and specify whether the change applies to your entire enterprise or specific locations.
Tips for Semester Billing Across Multiple Sites
Name charges by term and (if site-specific) by center — "Fall 2025 Tuition" works well at the enterprise level; "Fall 2025 Tuition — Greenwood" works better for center-specific variations.
Use "Split into even installments" if families pay semester tuition in two lump sums. This creates two equal installments within a single plan.
Use enterprise-level Saved Items for fees that apply across your entire operation (annual registration fees, system-wide supply fees, etc.). Update the item once; every center benefits.
For tuition that varies by site, create the items at the center level since each location has its own pricing structure.
Coordinate with site admins or franchisees before creating enterprise-level charges so they understand which fees they're billing and which are auto-applied.
Franchise rollout: When introducing a new system-wide fee, give franchisees 30–60 days notice and provide a Help Center link or internal training resource explaining how to apply the item at their site.
Central billing team: Maintain a quarterly billing calendar mapping each fee to which centers it applies to and when it should post. This avoids duplicate or missed charges.
Using Enterprise-Level Saved Items for Recurring One-Time Fees
If your enterprise charges the same registration fee, supply fee, or activity fee year after year across all sites, create them as Enterprise-Level Saved Items:
From the Enterprise Dashboard, navigate to Billing → Items.
Click Create New Item.
Enter a Name, Price, optional Description, and Accounting Code.
Click Save.
The item is now available for use at every center in your enterprise. Each enrollment season, center admins (or your central billing team) can pull the saved item from the list in Create Debits.
💡 Tip: Audit your enterprise-level items annually so you're not carrying around obsolete fees. Archive items that no longer apply rather than deleting them so historical records stay intact.
💡 Franchise governance tip: If your franchise corporate sets standardized fees that all franchisees must apply, document which items are "required" vs. "optional" so franchisees know which to use and which they can customize at the center level.
Fee Approvals (Multi-Site)
Fee Approvals work at the center level — each center has its own Fee Approvals queue at Billing → Fee Approvals. Playground generates these charges automatically based on activity (late pickups, program check-ins, daily attendance, etc.) and they require an admin to approve before posting to a family's account.
For multi-site operators:
Each center's Fee Approvals queue is independent. There isn't a unified enterprise-level Fee Approvals view that shows all pending fees across every site at once.
Site admins typically handle their own Fee Approvals unless central billing has access to each center and reviews them centrally. At franchises and decentralized operations, this almost always lives with site staff.
Late fee policy can be configured at the center level — if you want consistent late fee behavior across all sites, coordinate with the Playground Support team to enable late fees at each location with matching settings.
The main fee types are:
Overages — late pick-ups or early drop-offs beyond scheduled hours
Late payment fees — generated when a debit becomes overdue (Support-enabled)
Program check-in fees — triggered on program check-in
Program time fees — based on duration in a program
Program enrollment fees — one-time fees for optional program enrollment
Daily attendance fees — for attendance-based billing programs
For each pending approval, you can:
Charge — post to the student's ledger
Forgive — dismiss without charging (record retained)
Edit — adjust the amount before charging
💡 Corporate oversight tip: If your corporate team wants oversight into how individual centers are managing Fee Approvals (e.g., to ensure overage fees are being applied consistently), the simplest approach is to give corporate billing staff access to each center so they can spot-check or directly review the queues.