The first step to accept online payments through brightwheel is to add a deposit account. This is the account that online payments made by payers will be deposited into — it must be a checking account affiliated with a United States bank. It is the fastest and easiest way to get money from payers to you!
🇨🇦 If you are a provider located in Canada, please refer to our resource Manage Deposit Account in Canada to add a deposit account.
Setup Deposit Account
To begin, providers will first enter their program information and then add a deposit account. Once this information is submitted and verified by the brightwheel team after 1-3 business days, payments can be collected through the brightwheel app.
ℹ️ To prevent payments until you're ready to accept them, consider disabling the Accept Online Payments setting. Payers can add payment methods at any time and providers can control when to accept payments.
Click to expand each section below and complete the steps to be on your way to getting paid through brightwheel! 💸
Step 1️⃣ : Input School Information
Step 1️⃣ : Input School Information
To get started, an administrator can enter the school’s information through the Billing Settings page. Make sure to have the required information ready, including the school’s complete address and the EIN or SSN of the primary billing administrator.
Log in to brightwheel on the web
Open the Billing tab from the purple dashboard menu, and select Settings/Activate Account
Click to open the School Information section
Select Corporation/LLC or Individual/Sole Proprietorship
Corporation/LLC: This option is for any programs that have an Employer Identification Number (EIN) issued by the IRS
Individual/Sole Proprietorship: This option is for programs that do not have an EIN. The Social Security Number of the billing administrator is required by law. The billing administrator must be the individual that taxes are filed under. For more info, see: Why do you need personal information to verify my company's billing account?Click Continue
Complete the requested fields in their entirety, and click Save
ℹ️ The Billing Administrator should be the person who manages and is authorized to make decisions about the company's funds. That can be the owner, site manager, staff accountant, etc. The Billing Administrator does not need to match the name of the Bank Account owner.
Step 2️⃣ : Add Deposit Account
Step 2️⃣ : Add Deposit Account
Once the above information is complete and saved, the option to add a deposit account will appear. The deposit account must be a checking account connected to a United States-based bank. To add your account, enter the bank’s routing number the desired checking account number, and click Save.
Next, you will be required to verify ownership of your administrator account through a two-factor authentication (2FA) process. This extra layer of security is added protection for your brightwheel billing account to ensure your program’s funds are safe and secure. This measure is also commonly referred to as two-step verification, 2-step verification, or dual-factor authentication.
A pop-up will appear prompting you to input the verification code that was sent to the email address associated with your brightwheel administrator account. You can view the Administrator Email Address in the School Information section in Billing Settings. If the verification code sent to your email doesn't arrive, make sure to check your Spam folder! Please note this code expires after 10 minutes, and brightwheel will never ask for the code outside of this process in our platform.
Once the 2FA process is completed, the deposit account will be successfully added!
Step 3️⃣ : Fill out Tax Details (if applicable)
Step 3️⃣ : Fill out Tax Details (if applicable)
This section will only appear if the Corporation/LLC option was chosen in the first step. In order for our payment processor to verify the center as a business entity, the Legal Business Name and Employee Identification Number (EIN) are required. Be sure these match exactly with the IRS records. Once this information is saved a pop-up will appear to confirm the details entered.
It can take up to three business days for your account to be fully verified and ready to receive payments. The best way to ensure that your account is verified quickly is to enter all required information as accurately as possible. While the account is being verified, the details entered cannot be edited.
💡 While your account is being verified, parents can add payment methods to their brightwheel accounts and you can determine the payment methods and settings that best fit the needs of the center.
Verify a Deposit Account
Sometimes the payment processor will request additional information about the deposit account and/or the billing administrator. These additional steps are taken to confirm the identity of the listed person and help prevent the misuse of the brightwheel billing platform.
In the case that additional information is required, the account administrator will receive an email outlining exactly what steps need to be taken, how to follow up, and a direct email address in case there are any questions. Responding to these requests in a timely manner is vital to getting the program up and running on brightwheel billing as quickly as possible.
💡 If you are the program Administrator and need assistance verifying your deposit account, please reach out to verify@mybrightwheel.com
Update a Deposit Account
After the original deposit account has been verified, administrators can change the routing and account numbers to update the deposit account where tuition payments are received at any time!
Navigate to the Billing section of brightwheel
Go to the Settings tab
Click Deposit Account
Update your routing and account numbers
Click Save
Two-factor Authentication (2FA): enter the verification code that was sent to the email address associated with your brightwheel administrator account. Please note this code expires after 10 minutes, and brightwheel will never ask for the code outside of this process in our platform.
If the verification code sent to your email doesn't arrive, make sure to check your spam folder!
Click Save to verify the code and Save again to save the new deposit account information
Remove a Deposit Account
Removing a deposit account on an Administrator's account will mean that parents will no longer be able to make payments through the brightwheel platform. To remove a deposit account on an Admin account for any reason, please complete this form. Our support team will be able to assist in removing this account and will follow up once complete.
FAQ
It's been more than three business days since I submitted my deposit account and tax details for verification. What should I do?
It's been more than three business days since I submitted my deposit account and tax details for verification. What should I do?
There are times when the payment processor will request additional information about the deposit account and/or the billing administrator for security purposes. You can learn more about this by reviewing our Verify a Deposit Account resource.
In these cases, brightwheel's Payment Operations team will reach out to the account administrator for your program via email to request additional information. Please check your email for any communication sent by the brightwheel team or, email support@mybrightwheel.com for more information.
In the meantime, providers can configure their payment settings and payers can add payment methods to their brightwheel account to prepare for their first invoice. You can also start setting up billing plans & charges!
Why did my deposit fail?
Why did my deposit fail?
If funds failed to deposit into your account, an automated email is sent to the admin noting why the deposit failed.
There are a few common reasons for failed deposits:
The deposit account information was entered incorrectly. To resolve, verify the correct information under Billing > Settings > Deposit Account
There are insufficient funds when a negative deposit is attempted
The withdrawal is not authorized by the bank or account holder when a negative deposit is attempted
To resolve this issue, please follow the instructions in the automated email to attempt to resolve the root cause. Once it is resolved, or if you are still experiencing issues, please contact verify@mybrightwheel.com. A brightwheel Payment Operations Analyst will provide instructions to help resolve the issue and facilitate any necessary re-deposit attempts.
Please note that in most cases, funds are not automatically redeposited. It's important to contact brightwheel directly to inform them of the issue so they can take the necessary steps to reactivate your deposits.