How Holiday Camps Can Simplify Tax Free Childcare Payments with Automation

If you run a holiday camp in the UK, you already know this story.

The phones are busy. Places are filling up. Parents are asking about Tax Free Childcare and vouchers. You are trying to keep track of reference numbers, spreadsheets and bank transfers while also hiring staff, planning activities and ordering snacks.

It is a lot.

The good news is that Tax Free Childcare does not have to equal admin chaos. With the right activities management software and online payment solutions for clubs, you can take most of that pressure off your team and make life easier for parents at the same time.

This is where automation steps in.

Why Tax Free Childcare creates headaches in the first place

Tax Free Childcare is brilliant for families. The government tops up what parents pay, which makes holiday camps and childcare more affordable. The problem sits on your side of the fence.

When everything is done manually, you are stuck with things like:

• Parents paying from government accounts with long reference codes

• Staff trying to match each payment to the right child and booking

• Vouchers arriving from different providers on different days

• Chasing late payments, even when the parent thought they paid on time

For a seasonal business that relies on healthy cash flow, those delays really hurt. Your costs are upfront. Your income is dripped in. That is where automation starts to feel less like a nice extra and more like a basic requirement.

What automation actually does behind the scenes

Let us strip out the jargon.

When we talk about automation here, we are talking about a system that:

• Connects your bookings and your payments in one place

• Lets parents pay by card, Tax Free Childcare or vouchers in a single, simple checkout

• Matches payments to bookings automatically so you are not chasing codes

• Updates balances and registers without anyone retyping information
  
  
  

Platforms like Pebble, with our partner PonchoPay, are built to do exactly that for holiday camps and clubs.

You can:

• Turn on Pay with PonchoPay at activity level

• Let parents choose Tax Free Childcare or vouchers at checkout

• Have payments reconciled in the background instead of on a spreadsheet

It is still your camp. It is still your pricing and your policies. Automation just handles the boring bits.

Automated Tax Free Childcare and vouchers, without the drama

Here is how it looks in practice when you use Pebble with PonchoPay.

1. Set up once, benefit every season

You link your camp to PonchoPay in your Pebble settings, add the OFSTED URN for each location, and enable PonchoPay on your activities. Once that is done, you do not have to reinvent the wheel every holiday.

2. Parents see clear payment options

At checkout, parents can choose:

• Card

• Tax Free Childcare

• Childcare vouchers

They stay inside a simple, guided flow rather than bouncing between your site and government portals. That alone removes a lot of confusion and missed payments.

3. Reconciliation happens for you

PonchoPay tracks Tax Free Childcare and voucher payments and ties them back to bookings. You are not sitting with bank statements, trying to decode who “HMRC J SMTH” belongs to.

If vouchers have not arrived after 14 days, you can use PonchoPay’s card guarantee to charge the parent’s card instead. That turns a stressful wait into a predictable outcome.

Result:
Automated payment for Tax Free Childcare and vouchers with no more endless code matching or chasing.

Faster cash flow, calmer planning

Holiday camps run on tight timelines. Staff, venues and equipment all need paying long before the first child arrives with their packed lunch.

Automation helps you:

• Accelerate your cash flow with upfront payments: Parents can secure places quickly, and funds start moving sooner. You are not waiting weeks for everything to clear.

• Build realistic staffing plans: Because payments and bookings are synced, you can see who is actually coming, not just who enquired.

• Sleep better at night: Knowing that late or missing vouchers are backed by a card guarantee gives you breathing room.

For many providers, this stability is what makes it possible to grow. It is no surprise that Pebble is trusted by leading providers like NTE, Munchkin Sports and Camps4Champs.

Happier parents, fewer awkward conversations

Parents are under a lot of pressure too. They are juggling work, childcare, school holidays and stretched budgets. Tax Free Childcare can feel confusing at the best of times.

A good online payment solution for clubs removes a lot of friction for them as well:

• One clean checkout instead of several logins

• Clear confirmation when a payment has gone through

• Flexibility to choose the method that works for their family

With Pebble and PonchoPay, you can offer flexible payment options to suit every parent, without creating extra admin for your team. Cards, Tax Free Childcare and vouchers sit side by side in one flow.

The benefit for you is simple. Fewer “Have you got my payment?” emails. Fewer uncomfortable chats at drop off. More trust in your process.

Why activities management software is becoming non-negotiable

Running a modern holiday camp without proper activities management software is a bit like trying to run a full camp from a paper register and a cash tin. It might technically work, but it is slow, stressful and hard to scale.

With the right platform, you get:

• Online bookings

• Automated confirmations and reminders

• Integrated Tax Free Childcare and voucher payments

• Clear registers and attendance

• Cleaner reporting at the end of each season

Most importantly, it gives you your time back. Instead of drowning in admin, you and your team can focus on what you are brilliant at. Creating safe, joyful, memorable experiences for children.

Bringing it all together

Tax Free Childcare and vouchers are not going anywhere. For many families, they are the only way holiday camps are affordable. The challenge is not the support itself. It is the manual admin that wraps around it.

Automation changes the picture:

• Payments are faster and more reliable

• Cash flow is steadier

• Parents have a smoother experience

• Your team has fewer headaches and more headspace

If you are ready to move away from chasing reference codes and late vouchers, it might be time to look at a joined up solution like Pebble with PonchoPay.

You get the bookings. The system gets the admin. Parents get clarity. Children get brilliant holidays. Everyone wins.