Skip to main content

​
Creating a funding form

View our video guide to creating a funding form

​
Creating a funding form

Funding forms can be created in two ways:
  1. From the child’s page: Navigate to the Children page, select the ‘More actions’ (…) button next to the child, and click “Create Funding Form”.
  2. From the Funding Forms page: Go to the Funding Forms page and click “Add Funding Form”. Funding Add List
Add Funding Form

​
Verifying and updating a form

After creation, you will see the funding form details page where you can review and update the following sections:
  • Funding Details: Are they eligible for 2 year old funding? Have you seen their proof of DOB?
At this stage if you have seen the proof of DOB, input the DOB type and number. You don’t need to upload the DOB (although you can). Parents/Guardians won’t be asked to supply it when they submit the form for approval.
  • Funded Hours: Review the funded hours that you are expecting the child to receive. The total hours across universal and extended hours can only be edited by the setting so its important to review these.
  • Chargeable Hours and Costs: Verify the chargeable costs that have been pulled from the invoicing system are correct. This gives a breakdown of any private (chargeable) hours on top of funded hours and additional costs per day. The summary also gives a breakdown of both the additional costs per week, segregated per chargeable item.
Chargeable hours and costs are prefilled from the child’s schedule and extra charges at the start of the term. This may need amending if the child’s charges or sessions change part way through the term. If any changes are missing, verify that the child has them set on the extra charges schedule.
  • Terms: You can preselect the terms that you expect the child to be attending your nursery.
Verify Funding Form

​
Sending to parents

Once verified, send the form to parents by clicking the Send to Parent/Guardian button at the bottom of the form, or on the funding form list page select ‘Send to Parent/Guardian’ in the more actions (…) button against the child’s form. Parents will receive an email with a link to complete their portion of the form. Funding Send
Only one parent/guardian needs to fill out the form, but that parent needs to have been sent an invitation and logged into Pigeonhole. You can check a parent’s status in the parent/carer list - make sure to send an invite to any parents who haven’t received one yet.

​
Approving and rejecting forms

Once parents have submitted their form, you will be notified by email and the status in the funding form list will change to ‘Awaiting Approval’. From here you can click the ‘view’ (magnifying glass) icon on the form to view the form. Funding View The view page allows you to either reject or accept the form:
  • Approve: Finalize the funding form and sign for its completion.
  • Reject: Return to parents with comments for corrections.
Funding Approve Reject Once the form has been corrected and resubmitted by the parent, you will be notified by email and the form will be available for approval again.
The form data is used within our Chrome extension integration to provide live check data and also allow you to easily copy data into portals. It’s vital that the form data is correct to stop any issues submitting funding claims at a later stage.

​
Editing a form

To edit a form, navigate to the Funding Forms list, locate the form, and click Edit. Make your changes and click Save. Edit Funding Form
You can edit a form at any stage apart from when the form is in the ‘Awaiting Approval’ stage. Please note if the form is completed, amendments to the form will not show up in the PDF that has been signed by the parents. This will always show the original signed form.

​
Deleting a form

To delete a form, navigate to the Funding Forms list, locate the form, and click the Delete icon. Edit Funding Form
You can delete a form at any stage apart from when the form is in the ‘Approved’ stage. Please note this action cannot be undone.

​
Manually updating forms

For various reasons, some parents might not be able to complete and sign a form online. Pigeonhole makes this easy to manage by providing pre-filled forms for each child that a parent can sign, and you can then scan and upload the form to Pigeonhole. Manual forms also allow the parent to sign the forms with you, so you can show them the form and get it signed off. In order to create a manual form:
  1. From the Funding Forms page: Go to the Funding Forms page and click “Add Funding Form”.
  2. Select the child and make sure ‘Manual Upload’ is selected. Funding Manual
  3. The form will now show in the list with the manual icon. Funding Manual Icon
  4. Click the Edit (pencil) icon to edit the form
  5. Verify the funding hours and chargeable hours sections that have been pre-filled and click ‘Save’.
  6. You can also at this stage fill in any other information (Parents’ NI Numbers, DOBs, extended codes), and any proof of date of birth if required. This will then be pre-filled on any further form renewals.
For new forms, you only need to input the DOB type and number. You don’t need to upload the DOB if you have already seen it.
  1. You will now see a ‘Download Form for Completion’ button. This generates a personalised form for that child pre-filled with all the information. Funding Download
Optionally at this point, instead of signing and returning the form, parents can sign the form on your device.
  1. When you have received the signed form back, click ‘Upload Completed Form’ to upload the form that has been signed.
  2. Finally, submit the form for approval. You can then approve and sign for the form as you would on a normal funding application.

​
Converting forms to a manual form

You can easily switch a funding form between “manual” and “online” modes, depending on how the form will be submitted. Funding Convert To convert a form to a manual form:
  1. Go to the Funding Forms list and find the form you want to change.
  2. Click the More Actions (…) icon next to the form.
  3. Select ‘Convert To Manual’ To convert a manual form back to online:
  4. Go to the Funding Forms list and find the form you want to change.
  5. Click the More Actions (…) icon next to the form.
  6. Select ‘Convert To Online’
Switching between manual and automatic modes allows you to choose the workflow that best fits your situation. For example, use manual mode if a parent cannot access the online form.

​
Renewing forms

When a funding form is due to expire, you can easily create a new form based on the previous data. Next to the approved form, select ‘Renew Funding Form’ under more actions (…). This will create a new form pre-filled with all the child’s details, with everything copied from the previous form. Funding Renew In the funding form list, you can use the ‘Expires’ filter to easily see which forms are expiring soon. Funding Expires

​
Copying forms to other children

The Copy To feature allows you to duplicate an existing funding form to another child. This is particularly useful for siblings or children with similar funding arrangements, saving significant time on data entry. How to use Copy To:
  1. Navigate to the Funding Forms list page
  2. Locate the form you want to copy
  3. Click the More Actions (…) button next to the form
  4. Select Copy To from the dropdown menu
  5. Select the target child from the list
  6. A new funding form will be created for the selected child with all funding and charge data copied from the original
Funding Renew
The Copy To feature copies all funding and charge to the new childs funding form. This is useful if you are not using the Pigeonhole invoicing system and are managing funding forms manually.

​
Frequently asked questions

We recommend you do as it synchronises the funding and invoice systems to reduce the workload, but you can just use the funding form functionality and manually input any charges or funded hours. Setting up sessions and charges provides:
  • Automatic calculation of chargeable hours on funding forms
  • Synchronization between funding and invoicing
  • Better oversight of funded vs. charged hours
  • Reduced manual data entry
However, if you only want to use funding forms without the full invoicing system, you can absolutely do that and manually enter the required information on each form.
When a form is awaiting approval, it means the parent has completed and submitted their portion of the form. To maintain data integrity and provide a clear approval workflow, the form is locked during this stage. If changes are needed, you can reject the form with comments, and the parent can make corrections and resubmit.
While you can edit approved forms, any changes will not appear in the original PDF that was signed by the parents. The signed PDF always shows the data as it was when the parent completed the form. This ensures the integrity of the signed document while allowing you to update your records if needed.
No, approved forms cannot be deleted as they represent completed agreements with parents. You can only delete forms that are in draft, sent, or rejected states. This protection ensures you maintain records of all completed funding agreements.
Online forms are completed digitally by parents through a secure link, while manual forms are downloaded as PDFs for physical completion and signing. You can convert between the two modes depending on your needs - use manual mode if parents can’t access the online system or prefer paper forms.
Chargeable hours and costs are automatically pulled from the child’s current schedule and extra charges. If these appear incorrect, it usually means the child’s schedule or extra charges were updated after the form was created, or the changes haven’t been properly set up in the system. Check the child’s schedule and extra charges to ensure they’re current.
No, you only need to input the DOB type and number if you’ve already seen the physical document. The system remembers this information for future form renewals. Only upload the document if you need to keep a digital copy on file.
You can create a manual form which generates a pre-filled PDF that can be completed on paper. Parents can also sign forms directly on your device during pickup/dropoff times. This ensures all families can complete funding forms regardless of their digital access.
Use the ‘Expires’ filter on the funding forms list to see forms nearing expiration. For approved forms, you can use the ‘Renew Funding Form’ action which creates a new form pre-filled with all the previous data, saving time on data entry.
Every parent who has been marked as ‘Has Parental Responsibility’ is required to sign the form (although both parents can sign at the same time under one logged in parent). If parents are incorrect check which parents are selected as ‘Has Parental Responsibility’ against the child.
Simple click ‘Convert to manual’ in the funding list view actions. You can then edit the form and upload your own PDF version of the form.