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 Canada bank. It is the fastest and easiest way to get money from payers to you!
U.S. providers can refer to our resource Manage Deposit Account in the U.S.
🇨🇦 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 ($).
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, payments can be collected through the brightwheel app.
It can 1-3 business days for the brightwheel Payment Operations team to verify the individual or business before receiving payments is possible. The best way to ensure that your identity 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
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 will enter the school’s information through the Billing Settings page. Make sure to have the required information ready, such as the school’s complete address, information for the primary billing administrator and your Registration number (if assigned).
Log in to brightwheel on the web
Open the Billing tab from the purple dashboard menu
Click Get set up or the Activate Account tab
Click Add information
In the pop-up window, enter the Mobile number & Email address
Click Continue
Enter the 6-digit verification code sent to the phone number just added
Select the Type of Business and the Business structure. Visit What is my business Type & Structure? if you're unsure which option to select.
Types include Individual or Sole proprietorship, Company, & Non-profit
Structures include Corporation, Partnership, Registered Charity, & Non-profit organization
Click Continue
Complete the requested fields in their entirety, and click Continue
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 Information
Step 2️⃣: Add Deposit Account Information
Once the above information is completed and saved, the option to add a deposit account will appear. The deposit account must be a checking account connected to a United States, or Canada-based bank.
Under Add an account for payouts
Input the relevant bank account information and numbers
Click Continue
Step 3️⃣: Verify Your Identity
Step 3️⃣: Verify Your Identity
Under ‘Management and ownership’, click Edit next to the highlightest ‘Information Required’ label
Under ‘Additional Information’ select from the three options to verify your identity through Stripe, brightwheel’s payment processor
Review the summary of information entered and checking it is correct, clicking Edit next to fields as needed
Click Confirm to submit the information to brightwheel
Wait until you see a message confirming successful submission. The administrator will receive an email notifying when the verification is complete.
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.
Verify a Billing 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 the Deposit Account
After the original deposit account has been verified, administrators can change the routing and account numbers to update the deposit account where payments are deposited.
Navigate to the Billing section of brightwheel
Go to the Settings tab
Under Billing Setting, scroll down to the bottom of the page
Click Sign in to see details
In the pop-up window, click Send code
Enter the 6-digit verification code sent to the phone number associated with the account
Navigate to the Payout details
Click the three dots next to the bank account to Edit, or Remove the bank account
Click Add bank account to add an additional account
If you’ve added two bank accounts, click Change default currency to select if the payouts will be converted to USD, or CAD before sending to the desired bank account.
Once edits are made, it will be saved automatically and the window can be exited
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.
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
Once the business type is selected, providers will be asked to list their business Structure.
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. |
FAQs
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 Billing 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.