Business resources
Texas daycare
startup planner
Plan your daycare’s startup costs, monthly budget, staffing, and opening tasks. Download the free planner for a home daycare or child-care center.
Free to use. No email required. PDF and Word totals are calculated manually.
For automatic totals, download the Excel budget.
What’s included
Business setup
Type of daycare, ages, hours, enrollment, staffing and tuition.
Location and approvals
Track permit questions, property restrictions and approvals to confirm.
Startup costs and funding
Separate one-time costs, opening reserves and confirmed funds.
Monthly budget
Compare expected tuition payments with payroll and other expenses.
The first three months
Estimate opening cash, collections, payments and ending balances.
Opening tasks
Assign an owner, due date and status to each next step.
Insurance preparation
Gather permit, payroll, activity and transportation details for a review.
What costs should I plan for before opening?
Separate what you need to spend before opening from the bills you will pay each month. Use quotes for your location and operation where you can.
- Startup expenses
- Deposits, furnishings, safety improvements, equipment, application fees and initial supplies.
- Monthly expenses
- Payroll and payroll taxes, rent or other property costs, utilities, food, supplies and insurance payments.
- Opening reserves
- Cash to cover bills while enrollment builds or payments arrive later than expected. Keep this separate from money already committed to setup.
Use the first-three-months worksheet to compare when money will arrive with when bills are due. Include a slower-enrollment scenario before deciding how much cash to set aside.
Calculate your first three months
The Excel budget uses your enrollment, tuition, collections and expenses to calculate monthly cash balances. Switch between planned and slower enrollment. Expenses stay the same unless you change them.
Leave unknown amounts blank. Enter zero for costs you know will not apply. Check when bills and payments fall within each month, too.
Download Excel budgetHow do I estimate monthly daycare income?
For each tuition rate, multiply the expected number of enrolled children by the amount billed that month. Then estimate how much of that money you will actually receive during the month.
Illustrative monthly example
Made-up figures to show the calculation. These are not typical Texas tuition rates, permitted capacity or a forecast.
- 10 children × $800 monthly tuition
- $8,000 billed
- Assume 95% is collected this month
- $7,600 received
The remaining $400 has not been received. The $7,600 is cash coming in before expenses, not profit.
Adjust for different age groups, part-time schedules, discounts, partial months and payment timing. Count each tuition payment once, including any amounts paid by families and a subsidy program.
How to use the planner
Use the PDF to fill in the form, or Word to edit the document.
- Download and save a copy before filling it in.
- Type in the shaded fields and use the dropdowns. Leave unknown costs blank.
- Calculate totals manually. Save and reopen your copy to check your entries.
If the PDF fields do not work in your browser, open the saved file in a PDF reader. Your answers stay in your downloaded copy.
What should I check before signing a daycare lease?
Before signing a lease or paying for improvements, confirm that the property can support the type of daycare you plan to open.
- Allowed use. Ask local authorities about zoning, building, fire and occupancy approvals. Check the lease, deed restrictions and homeowners association rules for limits on operating a daycare.
- Daycare requirements. Confirm your permit type and applicable indoor and outdoor space, safety and staffing requirements with Texas HHSC Child Care Regulation.
- Full property cost. Add rent, deposits, utilities, maintenance and any taxes, insurance or shared-property charges passed through to you.
- Improvements. Get estimates for required work and written agreement on who approves and pays for it.
- Opening delays. Ask when rent begins and what the lease allows if inspections or licensing take longer than expected, or approval is denied.
Use the planner’s location worksheet to record each open question, who must answer it and the response before you commit. For a home daycare, check property restrictions and approvals even if you own the home. This planner is not a permit application or a complete licensing checklist.
Texas Child Care Connection: guide for new child care businesses
Planner version 4 · October 2026