Early Learning Centres

The admin, compliance and governance that comes with running an early learning service.

MoE licensing, Infocare, weekly payroll, parent committee governance, ERO preparation, FamilyBoost, policy reviews, staff hui. The back end of an ECE centre is its own discipline - and it doesn't run itself. I already know what's required.

March
March

What this covers

Everything the centre needs running cleanly behind the scenes.

ECE administration has its own obligations - and they don't pause.

Here's what I cover across governance, compliance, finance, operations and the daily rhythm of centre life..

Not sure where to start? Select a category above to see what's covered in that area of your centre's operations.

15 services

Compliance & Governance

MoE compliance, licensing & frequent absences

Licensing criteria compliance, attestation support and the ongoing record-keeping that keeps a centre audit-ready. Frequent absences are tracked, analysed and actioned - so patterns are identified and addressed before they become a compliance risk.

Compliance & Governance

ERO preparation & Management Assurance

Working through ERO's Management Assurance on Legal Requirements, identifying areas for improvement and ensuring evidence is documented, current and properly held before a review.

Compliance & Governance

Parent committee governance

Agendas, minutes and action tracking for parent committee meetings. Annual returns and officer records for committee-governed centres. The governance cycle, properly managed.

Compliance & Governance

Staff Hui & Whānau Hui

A proper system and process to capture decisions and actions from both staff and whānau hui - so nothing gets lost, follow-through is clear, and the centre has a reliable evidence trail.

Compliance & Governance

Staff records & employment compliance

Maintaining current staff files - employment records, Teachers Council registration, first aid certificates, police vetting and qualifications - so the centre's people records are always audit-ready.

Compliance & Governance

Monthly centre audit

A structured monthly check across the centre's systems, processes and documentation to confirm everything is current, compliant and meeting MoE and ERO requirements - so issues are caught and resolved before they become problems.

Business Admin & Operations

Infocare management

Daily and weekly Infocare inputs: attendance, WINZ statements, bank statements, timesheets. Child enrolment records and funding claims kept accurate every cycle.

Business Admin & Operations

FamilyBoost & 20 Hours ECE

Ensuring whānau receive their FamilyBoost statements. Managing the transition process when tamariki turn three - following up with whānau on 20 Hours ECE eligibility and enrolment changes.

Business Admin & Operations

New hire process

Managing the full onboarding process for new kaiako and support staff - employment documentation, Infocare setup, payroll registration, police vetting follow-up and staff file creation. Everything in place before day one.

Financial Administration

Weekly payroll

Weekly payroll processing for teaching and support staff - including sector pay parity obligations - via iPayroll, with payday filing on time, every week.

Financial Administration

Debtor management

A focused, consistent approach to keeping debtors low - ideally zero. Tracking outstanding accounts, following up with whānau and working with management to resolve balances promptly.

Financial Administration

Accountant, auditor liaison & statutory returns

Working with the centre's accountant and auditor on budget implementation, financial reporting and audited accounts - ensuring accounts reach MoE by 30 June. GST returns filed on schedule. Pourato funding claims (RS7) and the Annual Business Survey with Statistics NZ managed and submitted on time.

Financial Administration

Pay parity monitoring & kaiako recognition

Tracking kaiako hours against ECE pay parity thresholds in Infocare and issuing a letter of congratulations when each milestone is reached - recognising the achievement while ensuring pay parity obligations are actively monitored and met.

Systems & Documentation

Policy suite & procedure reviews

Leading the process of policy and procedure reviews - not just updating a document, but facilitating the process with kaiako and management so the policies reflect how the centre actually operates.

Systems & Documentation

Kaiako accountability support

Creating and implementing processes and systems that support kaiako in meeting their MoE and ERO obligations - practical, workable tools built alongside the people who use them.

No services found in this category.

In Practice

The regular rhythm of ECE admin.

ECE centres run on tight cycles. Here's what a typical ongoing engagement looks like - week by week, term by term, year by year.

Weekly

52 touchpoints a year


  • Weekly payroll processed and filed via iPayroll
  • Attendance and timesheets entered in Infocare
  • WINZ statements and bank statements input to Infocare
  • Debtor monitoring and whānau follow-up
  • Operational correspondence and scheduling
  • Xero reconciliation and accounts management
  • Financial reporting for management and committee
  • Pay parity monitoring - hours checked in Infocare, congratulations letters issued at each milestone

Monthly

12 touchpoints a year


  • Frequent absence reporting - printed, analysed and actioned
  • 20 Hours ECE transitions - follow-up with whānau when tamariki turn three
  • GST returns filed every two months
  • Centre audit - systems, processes and documentation reviewed for currency and compliance

Each Term / Quarter

4 touchpoints a year


  • FamilyBoost statements issued to whānau
  • Pourato funding claims (RS7) submitted to MoE
  • Parent committee meeting - agenda, minutes, actions
  • MoE compliance records reviewed and updated
  • Whānau and staff hui - documented where required

Annually

Every year, without fail


  • Audited accounts - liaison with accountant and auditor, submitted to MoE by 30 June
  • Annual Business Survey - Statistics NZ
  • Policy and procedure review - led with kaiako and management
  • ERO Management Assurance review and preparation
  • Annual returns and committee governance filings

ERO & Strategic Compliance

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements - properly evidenced.

ERO's Management Assurance process asks centre management to attest that they're meeting their legal obligations. That attestation is only as good as the records behind it - and keeping those records current is a year-round job, not a pre-review scramble.

Where ERO identifies areas for development, I bring a solution-based mindset - working closely with management and kaiako to build a practical, documented response. The goal is always systems and practices that the team can genuinely own, not paper exercises that look good once and fade.

Supporting kaiako to meet MoE and ERO expectations isn't about more paperwork. It's about creating workable processes - in partnership with management and kaiako - so accountability is built into how the centre operates every day.

What This Looks Like in Practice

01

Know your compliance. Prove it.

Maintaining the documentation and records that management needs to attest to their legal compliance with confidence - not guesswork.

Without this — Management making compliance calls from memory, hoping it holds up when it matters.
02

ERO feedback that actually changes things.

When ERO identifies areas for development, I work alongside management and kaiako to build a practical, documented response - systems and practices that produce genuine, sustained improvement.

Without this — The same areas for development cycling back review after review, with no clear trail of what changed.
03

Accountability built with kaiako, not handed to them.

Creating and implementing processes that support kaiako to meet their MoE and ERO obligations - built with them, not imposed on them.

Without this — Paper systems no one uses, because no one was part of building them.
04

Systems your team can own and run themselves.

Working with management and kaiako to develop systems and processes they can own and run themselves - building genuine consistency and accountability within the team.

Without this — Everything resting on one person who holds it all in their head - until they don't.
05

Licensing records ready before the call.

MoE licensing criteria records kept current between visits, not assembled the week an ERO review is announced.

Without this — A frantic week pulling evidence together every time a visit is announced - and hoping nothing slipped through the gaps.

The Reality of Running An ECE Business

The compliance load that comes with caring for tamariki.

Running an early learning centre means carrying a compliance load that most organisations never have to think about. MoE licensing criteria. Infocare records that feed directly into your funding claims. Weekly payroll with pay parity obligations. An ERO framework that expects your documentation to be current, not assembled the week before a visit.

Underneath all of that - a parent committee that needs proper minutes and financial reports, whānau who need FamilyBoost statements and support through the 20 Hours ECE transition, and kaiako who need practical systems to meet their own obligations without being buried in paperwork.

The teaching team is there to teach. The centre manager is there to lead. Someone needs to hold the back end - the filings on time, the Infocare accurate, the payroll processed every week, the debtors managed, the policies reviewed properly.

Nothing is farmed out to a stranger, and nothing is left half-done.

How It Can Look In Your Centre

Your Centre, Taken Care Of


Every week. Every term. Every year. Not a review dropped in your inbox — someone inside your centre doing the work alongside you.

Built around your owners, your manager, your kaiako — and the outcomes that matter for your tamariki and whānau.

  • Your Payroll, via iPayroll Processed and filed on time, every week — no chasing, no gaps.
  • Your Infocare Attendance, timesheets, WINZ and bank statements — kept current each cycle.
  • FamilyBoost & 20 Hours ECL Statements issued to your current and past whānau. Transitions followed up when tamariki turn three.
  • Debtor Management Your outstanding balances kept low to zero — managed consistently, not reactively.
  • Policy & Procedure Reviews Led with your kaiako and management — not handed over and forgotten.
  • MoE Compliance & ERO Management Assurance Your records maintained year-round so audit-readiness is the default, not a scramble.
  • Accountant Liaison Your budgets implemented and monitored in partnership with your centre accountant.
  • Processes & Systems for Your Team Built for your kaiako and management — designed to be used, not filed away.

This kind of support only works when it’s built on trust - a close partnership with the business owners and centre manager, focused on great outcomes for everyone in the centre community.”

  • Tamariki - safe, compliant, well-resourced
  • Whānau - informed, supported, low to zero debt
  • Kaiako - accountable systems they can actually use
  • Management - clear financials, ERO-ready, focused on leading
  • The centre - financially healthy, compliant, running well

How this works

Not a service provider. A working partnership.

The admin is only part of it. I work closely with centre owner Shona Ua-Marsh and the kaiako at Giggles Te Puke Early Learning to ensure consistency and accountability across everything the centre does - not just the tasks on a list, but the way the centre operates as a whole.

I come with a solution-based mindset. When something isn't working - a process, a system, a gap in how things are being tracked - we identify it together and work out a practical response. The goal is always systems and practices that kaiako can own themselves, building genuine accountability within the team rather than dependence on me.

You deal with me directly, every time. Because I'm already across the centre's admin, compliance and governance, I can ask the right questions — and I already know enough of the context to help find the right answers.

How its delivered

Remote-first, by design - not by default.

I'm not your on-site receptionist or administrator. I work in partnership with management, directly inside your cloud systems - Infocare, iPayroll, Xero - to make sure the work actually gets delivered, not just done somewhere else.

Focused, uninterrupted work

Dedicated time on your compliance and admin, not squeezed in between phone calls, drop-offs and whoever's at the front desk.

Full access, without needing a desk

Cloud-based tools mean I have the same visibility as someone standing in your office - Infocare, iPayroll and Xero, all current, all the time.

Consistency, regardless of the day

The work doesn't depend on which day I'm physically nearby. Payroll, records and deadlines run on the same reliable schedule, every week.

More hours on your work, not the road

No travel time between centres means more of every hour goes into your admin, compliance and governance - not into driving to get to it.

The same rigour, every cycle

Weekly, monthly and annual obligations run on a fixed system - not on whatever time is left over after a day on the floor.

No cost for a desk you don't need

You're not paying for someone in a chair whether or not there's work that day - just for the actual hours spent on your admin, compliance and governance.

Based in Te Puke, working across Tauranga, Rotorua, Whakatane and the wider Bay of Plenty. On-site attendance is scheduled deliberately and scoped into your retainer from the start - never billed as a surprise extra.

The Full Picture

Everything mapped to a service area.

Engage one area or all four. Here's how ECE-specific work maps across the four service areas.

  • Infocare management - attendance, timesheets
  • WINZ and bank statement inputs
  • FamilyBoost statements to whānau
  • 20 Hours ECE transitions & whānau follow-up
  • Enrolment and HR administration
  • Operational scheduling and correspondence
  • New hire process - onboarding, Infocare setup, payroll registration
  • Weekly payroll - iPayroll and payday filing
  • Xero - reconciliation and management
  • GST returns filed on schedule
  • Pourato funding claims (RS7) submitted to MoE
  • Debtor management - low to zero focus
  • Accountant and auditor liaison - audited accounts to MoE by 30 June
  • Annual Business Survey - Statistics NZ
  • Pay parity monitoring - hours tracked in Infocare, milestone letters issued
  • MoE licensing criteria - year-round records
  • ERO Management Assurance on Legal Requirements
  • Areas of improvement - brainstorming and creating systems and processes for implementation and evidence gathering
  • AGM and annual returns
  • Whānau hui - agenda and documentation
  • Staff and whānau hui - documented and actioned
  • Monthly centre audit - systems, processes and documentation
  • Policy and procedure reviews - led with kaiako and management
  • Operational procedures and management processes
  • Induction documentation
  • H&S and child protection documentation
  • Staff records - employment files and compliance documentation
  • System setup and documentation for new processes

Whi I'd Be Working With

In ECE since 2008

1998
Running my own businesses
2008
Contracting into ECE governance & admin
100%
Done by me - never handed off

I've been in businesses since 1998, and I've been contracting governance, compliance and admin support into early learning since 2008 - long enough to know the sector's specific rhythms: MoE reporting cycles, ERO reviews, funding claims, ratios, and the relentless day-to-day that comes with running a centre.

Through Compleation Limited I bring that experience directly to your centre. Nothing is farmed out to a stranger, and nothing is left half-done. You deal with me directly, every time - and because I'm already across your centre's admin, compliance and governance, there's no learning curve at your expense.

Ways to Work Together

Predictable pricing. No meters running.

Flexible hours for one-off ECE work, or a fixed monthly retainer for ongoing, dependable support across payroll, Infocare, compliance and governance.

As needed
Hourly
Price on application · plus GST
Best when the work is occasional or one-off. You get me, available for whatever needs doing - no fixed scope, no retainer commitment, no paying for hours you don't use.
Ideal for:
  • Policy or procedure review and rewrite
  • A single parent committee or staff hui
  • ERO Management Assurance review or documentation project
  • Centre admin overflow during a specific busy period
Book a call

This is bespoke governance and admin work, so pricing is scoped to your needs - no rigid packages, no paying for hours you won't use. All prices in NZD plus GST.

COMMON QUESTIONS

ECE specific questions.

The full picture - Ministry of Education compliance, Infocare management, payroll, parent committee or governance board support, staff HR records, and the policy suite your licence depends on. I've done this work directly as Office Manager and Governance Support for Giggles Te Puke Early Learning, so I understand how the pieces fit together - and what happens when they don't.
Yes. Enrolments, attendance, subsidy records, parent communications and the funding data MoE needs - I work inside your Infocare account, not around it. Your access and ownership stay with you at all times.
I keep the records, filings and documentation that MoE licensing and funding require - current, accurate and ready when they're needed. That includes funding attestation, licensing criteria evidence and the administrative side of any review or audit. ECE compliance obligations shift regularly; staying on top of them is part of the job, not an afterthought.
Yes. Most ECE parent committees are made up of people who care deeply about the centre but haven't been elected to run a governance body before - which means the secretariat and administration work often falls to whoever has time, or doesn't get done at all. I prepare agendas, track action items and handle the correspondence and ongoing governance admin so things actually move forward after everyone leaves the room. For non-recurring or special meetings - outside regular hui - I can also take and produce minutes.
Yes. An ECE policy suite isn't a one-off project - it needs to stay aligned with the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 and current licensing criteria as they change. I review, update and document policies so your suite reflects how the centre actually operates, not how it operated three years ago. If you're heading into a licensing review, that preparation is exactly the kind of work I do.
A full-time hire brings salary, KiwiSaver, ACC, leave entitlements, recruitment costs, management time and the risk that they leave. With me you get experienced ECE administration and governance support without any of that overhead - and without the learning curve, because I've had experience in the ECE sector. You engage the hours you need, not a fixed headcount.
ECE payroll is no different to any other payroll. I process it in iPayroll or your existing payroll system, keeping pays accurate and on time. I also keep the staffing documentation current so the records MoE needs - for funding and licensing - are in order when they're needed.
That's completely fine - most clients start with one or two things and add more over time. There's no minimum scope and no pressure to take on more than you need right now. Book a call with Kirsten and talk through what's actually on your plate.
Also fine. Some centres need the full picture - compliance, payroll, governance support, policy maintenance and day-to-day admin - and that's exactly what an ongoing retainer is built for. Book a call with Kirsten and talk through what you need.

Let's Talk

Ready to hand off the back end admin?

If the compliance, payroll or governance load is eating time your centre needs for the work that matters; for tamariki, whānau and kaiako - that's exactly the sort of thing I'm good at picking up.

Work with Kirsten

Compleation Limited

Independent governance, compliance and administration support for lean New Zealand organisations. Hand it off, consider it done.

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Who I help

Early childhood centres, incorporated societies and clubs, rural, farming and catchment groups, domain boards and community trusts, small and medium businesses, committee and charitable trusts.

Where I Work

Based in Te Puke, serving Tauranga, Rotorua, Whakatane and the wider Bay of Plenty. Mostly remote, onsite when it counts - with remote support right across New Zealand.

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