Last reviewed: 14 August 2026
Quick summary
- An attendance register and cashbook are still valuable records, but a childminder in MTD should keep digital income and expense records under the MTD rules.
- For food and drink, current HMRC guidance distinguishes the actual-cost approach in MTD from the estimated-cost approach that can apply outside MTD.
- Use a weekly routine to join care dates, parent or provider payments, food evidence and your accounting categories.
Topic hub: Making Tax Digital by business type
Direct answer
Yes, keep your attendance register and cashbook, but do not assume they are the entire answer once you are in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. HMRC's current childminder guidance says childminders using MTD should keep digital records of self-employment income and expenses following the MTD rules. An attendance register is excellent supporting evidence for care delivered and a cashbook can help reconcile money, but your digital record still needs the income and expense entries required for the business.
The same distinction matters for food. HMRC says a childminder in MTD can claim the actual business cost of food and drink provided to children, using a reasonable proportion where it is shared with the household. Outside MTD, there is a separate estimated-cost approach. Do not mix the two approaches simply because your old paper routine was convenient.
A childminder weekly workflow that makes sense later
Build the record around how the work actually happens: sessions first, then money. At the end of each week, save or update the attendance record with dates, hours and a family or child reference that protects privacy. You do not need to put sensitive personal detail into accounting software. The point is to be able to explain what period a payment covers.
- Attendance: record booked and delivered care, funded hours or changes, using your usual safeguarding-conscious system.
- Fee expectation: record the amount due, payment route and period. Keep retainers, deposits, late-payment charges and funded payments separately labelled rather than folding them into one weekly total.
- Money received: match bank transfer, Tax-Free Childcare provider payment, cash or other route to the fee record. A bank description alone is rarely enough.
- Expense capture: add food, craft materials, outings, toys, mileage and household costs to the relevant digital category while the receipt or note is still easy to find.
- Weekly check: investigate an attendance line with no payment, a payment with no care period, or a supermarket spend with no reasonable business note.
This approach helps when a parent pays late, a provider payment is split, a child changes hours or a funded-hours payment appears in a different week from the care. It also keeps personal household spending from silently becoming a business total.
Food, snacks and a mixed household shop
The tricky childminder cost is often not a large invoice but a normal supermarket basket: family groceries, packed-lunch items, nappies, cleaning supplies and food supplied to minded children in one payment. For a childminder using MTD, current HMRC guidance points to actual food-and-drink costs for children and a reasonable proportion where the food is shared with the household. That calls for a sensible method you can explain, not a perfect receipt annotation after every meal.
One workable approach is to keep the full receipt digitally, then add a short weekly note: "three lunches and two snacks for minded children, items X/Y/Z" or a reasonable shared-food proportion agreed with your accountant. Do not alter the original receipt. The note explains the business part. If you shop online, save the order confirmation and delivery substitution record as well as the bank entry.
Separate food from the other frequent childminder categories. Toys, craft consumables, outings, professional subscriptions, insurance, mileage and household running costs have different evidence patterns. The childminder home-expenses guide explains the household-cost side; this page is about the daily income-and-food routine.
Examples that show why the register alone is not enough
A Tax-Free Childcare payment has no child name
Match the provider reference and date to your own fee ledger and attendance period. Store only the minimum identifier you need. Your accountant needs a clear income trail, not unnecessary personal data.
A parent pays a weekly fee and a separate retainer
Record the purpose of each amount. A retainer, deposit or absence payment can require different follow-up when it is refunded, applied to a future week or retained under the agreement.
Food is bought with family groceries
Save the receipt and write the contemporaneous business note. A cashbook entry saying simply "Tesco GBP 86" does not explain which part relates to the business.
A cash payment is received
Record who or what it relates to, date, amount and when it was banked or spent. Do not let cash fees and household cash disappear into one undated pot.
What to gather for a childminder MTD setup
- Attendance register or care diary, with privacy-conscious references.
- Fee schedule, invoices or parent-payment log and funded-hours information.
- Bank statements and Tax-Free Childcare or other provider payment evidence.
- Digital copies of food, craft, toy, outing and other expense receipts.
- Notes supporting mixed food and household expenditure proportions.
- Mileage record and vehicle-cost method used, if applicable.
- Insurance, registration, training and professional-subscription evidence.
- Your latest Self Assessment return and any HMRC MTD notice.
Common mistakes
Using attendance as proof of payment. It supports the care record, but you still need a payment trail.
Using a bank feed as proof of food allocation. The bank entry shows where the money went, not why a business proportion is reasonable.
Mixing the old and MTD food approaches. Check which regime applies to you before adopting an estimated amount or an actual-cost record.
Leaving receipt capture to January. A brief weekly note takes minutes. Eight months of mixed supermarket shopping is far harder to reconstruct accurately.
Questions to ask an accountant
- Am I in MTD yet, and what exact digital records do I need?
- How should I document the business proportion of shared food shopping?
- Can my attendance app and accounting software work together without storing more child data than necessary?
- How should Tax-Free Childcare, deposits, retainers and funded hours appear in my income records?
- Which household and mileage method is appropriate for my circumstances?
Related guides
Key takeaway
Keep the attendance register, then use it as the start of a digital record trail. Match every care period to income and every mixed cost to a short, reasonable evidence note.
Official guidance checked on 14 August 2026
FAQs
Do I need to photograph every receipt?
Digital copies are practical, but check the MTD record requirements and your own evidence method with an accountant. The aim is a clear, retrievable business record.
Can I keep a paper attendance register?
It can remain useful supporting evidence. The MTD issue is whether income and expense records are kept digitally as required once you are in the regime.
What if a parent pays late?
Keep the care period, amount due and payment date visible as separate facts. That makes late or split payments easier to reconcile.