Childcare funding software that fills in the claim for you
Parent declarations built from the records you already hold, signed online, checked by you, then typed into the council portal for you by our Chrome extension. One record for each child, from first form to final claim.
- The signed PDF matches what they issue
- Your council's form
- Online, on paper or on your screen
- Three ways to sign
- From the form you approved
- Portal fields filled
The signed PDF matches what they issue
Online, on paper or on your screen
From the form you approved
What nursery funding software should do
Every funded child needs a signed parental declaration, a valid eligibility code at each of the council's check dates, and a claim in the council's portal that matches the hours they attend. Most of what goes on those forms — the child's details, their sessions, the charges you've agreed — is already in your nursery system. Funding software should use it, rather than have parents write it out and staff type it in again.
That is what Pigeonhole does. The declaration starts from the child's record, the parent signs it online, you approve it, and the approved figures go into the council portal without being retyped.
From declaration to claim, step by step
The same five steps every term, with the data entered once
- 1
Create the declaration from the child's record
Pick a child and Pigeonhole builds their parental declaration on your council's form: names, date of birth, address, and the funded and chargeable hours taken from the sessions and extra charges they're already booked for. You check the hours and choose the terms it covers.
- 2
Parents complete and sign it
Parents get an email, open the form in their portal, add what only they know (National Insurance numbers, eligibility codes) and sign. Every parent with parental responsibility signs, and both can do it in one sitting. Families who can't use the online form can sign a printed copy or sign on your screen in the office.
- 3
You review and approve
The completed form comes back to you as Awaiting Approval. Approve it with your own signature, or reject it with a note and it goes back to the parent to correct. The signed PDF is kept against the child, and the approval is recorded in your audit log.
- 4
Check it against the council's live register
Where your council uses the LiquidLogic portal, compare your approved forms with the council's live register export. Pigeonhole lists eligibility code problems, data that doesn't match, and children missing from either side, and you can send the parent a reminder in one click.
- 5
Fill in the council portal
In your council's provider portal, our Chrome extension fills in the fields it recognises from Pigeonhole and puts every other figure one click away to copy. Pick a child and it works from the form you approved. It never overwrites a field that already has something in it.
Between claims
Renewals start from last time
When a form is due, renew it and the new form is pre-filled from the previous one. Filter the list by expiry date to see what's coming up, set when your setting renews (each autumn, spring or summer, or rolling), and copy a form to a sibling rather than starting again.
Funding income alongside fees
Enter your council's hourly rates for each age band and academic year, and finance reports project the funding you're due next to what parents pay — so you can see what each place really earns.
Invoices that show funded hours
Invoices are worked out from the same sessions as the declaration, with funded hours shown on each line, so the hours you claim, the hours you bill and the hours on the form come from one record.
Your council's form, not a generic one
Each council issues its own parental declaration, and they differ in the boxes, the wording and who has to sign. So declaration forms are set up council by council, using each council's own parental declaration, and the signed PDF Pigeonhole produces is laid out like the form your council issues.
If yours isn't set up yet, ask us to add it. The rest of Pigeonhole — registers, invoicing with funded hours, the portal extension — works wherever you are.
Councils already set up
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bristol
- Cheshire East
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Croydon
- Durham
- North Somerset
The funded entitlements in England
As of October 2026. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run different schemes. Your council's provider agreement sets local deadlines and rates.
| Entitlement | Who | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Working parents | Children from 9 months to school age whose parents work and earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the minimum wage, and under £100,000 each. Parents reconfirm their eligibility every 3 months. | 30 a week |
| Universal entitlement | All 3 and 4-year-olds, from the term after their third birthday | 15 a week |
| 2-year-olds with extra support | For example, families on some benefits (including Universal Credit with household income of £15,400 or less after tax), and children who are looked after, have an EHC plan or get Disability Living Allowance | 15 a week |
Hours are based on 38 weeks a year; families can take fewer hours a week over more weeks if you offer a stretched place. Councils also pass on the Early Years Pupil Premium and the Disability Access Fund for eligible children. Tax-Free Childcare is a separate scheme that helps parents pay your fees, not part of your funding claim, and employer childcare vouchers closed to new applicants in 2018. Our guide to maximising nursery funding goes into more detail.
What it doesn't do
Worth knowing before you decide, rather than after
It doesn't submit your claim. You still sign in to your council's portal and submit the headcount yourself. The extension fills in the fields; you check them and press submit.
The live register check depends on your portal. It works where your council uses the LiquidLogic portal. Elsewhere, the extension still fills in and lets you copy the figures, but there's no register to compare against.
Declaration forms are set up per council. If yours isn't on the list yet, the forms aren't available until we've set it up.
The extension is for Chrome. It installs from the Chrome Web Store and runs in Chrome on a desktop or laptop.
“The funding form feature is absolutely brilliant and that one feature alone has saved me a huge amount of time.”
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