In order to collect payments from families through brightwheel, you must first add a deposit account that payments will be deposited into, and provide additional school and tax details.
After you've successfully submitted this information and your account has been verified, you'll be able to begin receiving payments through brightwheel. Follow steps 1-3 below to complete this process
🇺🇸 If you are located in the U.S., refer to Add a deposit account for payouts (U.S. providers)
Step 1: Gather the required information
To get started, ensure you have the following information handy:
Deposit account information (this must be a checking account affiliated with a Canada bank)
Your school's full address
Your Registration number (if assigned)
The primary billing administrator's information
Know your business type and structure. Visit What is my business Type & Structure? if you're unsure which option to select during this process.
Note: The primary billing administrator must be the individual that taxes are filed under. Often this is the person who manages and is authorized to make decisions about the company's funds (E.g. owner, site manager, staff accountant, etc.). The billing administrator does not need to match the name of the Bank Account owner.
Step 2: Add a deposit account & school/tax details
Now that you've gathered the required information, take the steps below to input the information in brightwheel.
Log in to brightwheel on the web
Select Billing on the sidebar menu
Click the Activate Account tab
Click Add information
Continue through the steps to enter business, personal, and deposit account details
When you reach the ‘Review and confirm’ step, ensure all fields are complete and accurate to avoid delays
Click Edit next to fields as needed
When ready, click Confirm to submit and wait for a confirmation message to appear
💡Tip: Not ready to accept payments? Once you've added a deposit account, you can disable Accept Online Payments to prevent them. Payers can still add payment methods, and you can enable payments when you're ready.
Step 3: Invite families while your account is being verified
Once you’ve submitted your business details and added a deposit account, it can take up to seven business days for the brightwheel team to verify your account before you can start receiving payments.
In the meantime, we recommend you invite families to add payment methods so they're ready to make payments and you determine the payment methods and settings that best fit the needs of the program.
Once the verification process is complete, families can begin paying. You’ll receive an email notification or you can visit your Billing Settings for updates.
🚩 Sometimes the payment processor, Stripe, will request additional details to verify your identity. If this is the case, the account admin will receive an email with instructions. Canadian providers can also visit the Billing tab > At a Glance page see if additional information is needed under the Action required section.
Responding to these requests in a timely manner is vital to getting your program up and running on brightwheel billing as quickly as possible. For assistance, please contact verify@mybrightwheel.com.
FAQs
What is my business Type & Structure?
What is my business Type & Structure?
When adding a deposit account, providers will be asked to select a legal entity for their company, including the type and structure of their business. Please refer to the table below for guidance.
Business Type
Individual or sole proprietorship | This option is for an unincorporated business that is owned by one individual and does not have a 9-digit Business Number (BN). |
Company | This option is for businesses that have a 9-digit Business Number (BN) issued by the CRA. |
Non-profit | Please visit the CRA’s Income Tax Guide to the Non-Profit Organization to determine if this business type applies to you |
Business Structure
Depending on what you select for your business type, you'll select from one of the following structures.
Corporation | This is for businesses that are a separate legal entity that can enter into contracts and own property in its own name, separately and distinctly from its owners. When forming a corporation, the owners transfer money, property, or services to the corporation in exchange for shares. |
Partnership | This is for businesses that are a an association or relationship between two or more individuals, corporations, trusts, or partnerships that join together to carry on a trade or business. Like a sole proprietorship, a partnership is easy to form. |
Registered Charity | This is for programs that are a charitable organization, public foundation, or private foundation registered with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRD), and have been issued a Registration Number. |
Non-profit organization | This is for programs that are associations, clubs, or societies that are not charities and are organized and operated exclusively for social welfare, civic improvement, pleasure, recreation, or any other purpose except profit. |
What should I do if it is taking longer than 7 business days to verify my account details?
What should I do if it is taking longer than 7 business days to verify my account details?
There are times when the payment processor will request additional information about the deposit account and/or the billing administrator for security purposes.
In these cases, brightwheel's Payment Operations team will reach out to the account administrator 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. You can also visit your Billing page > At a Glance to see if there are any additional reasons under the Action required section at the top of the page.
In the meantime, you can configure your payment settings, set up billing plans, and families can add payment methods to prepare for their first invoice!
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 > Sign in to see details. You'll view the deposit account under 'Payout details'.
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. Once it is resolved, or if you are still experiencing issues, please contact verify@mybrightwheel.com.
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.
Will deposit amounts appear in USD or CAD?
Will deposit amounts appear in USD or CAD?
For Canadian providers, all charges are billed in the Canadian Dollar, (CAD), paid in CAD and deposited in Canadian bank accounts as CAD. Amounts are denoted with a dollar sign ($).