🤓 What you’ll do here
Invite parents to Famly
Get answers for parent FAQs
Find out more about in-app payments
Extra: Create parental permissions
🎒 Have these handy
Your current permission slips (if any)
Parent emails (if not already added)
💌 1. Invite parents to Famly
👉 Where: Children menu - Overview
Inviting parents to Famly means everyone stays informed, collaboration is easy, and trust grows stronger.
Go to the Children Overview and click on the Invite parents button. Parents whose emails are added will receive an invitation to join Famly 💜
📽️ Take a look at this video guide, which will help guide you through the process
A parent’s view of Famly
Wonder what parents see when they log into Famly? It's great for knowing what the app looks like from a parent's perspective, so you can answer any initial questions that arise once they start exploring Famly for themselves. Check out this video for a look at the parent experience!
📽️ Watch a video here
Helping Parents Get Started with Famly
Change can be a big step, so we’ve created materials to make it simple for parents:
🔗 Read help articles: Invite Parents
💡 Tip: Remember you can always add yourself as a parent to a test child and switch to parent profile to easily check out what parents will see once they log in.
Why add parents to Famly?
We believe it takes a village to raise a child, and stronger partnerships lead to thriving children. Here’s how Famly supports this:
Ready to bring your community together? Let’s get those permissions set up and parents on board! 😊
🤝 2. Parent FAQs
What to do if: A parent hasn’t received the invite for the app
You can resend the login link by heading to their profile and clicking on their role. If you experience more issues, reach out to Customer Team and we can help.
What to do if: A parent says that they can’t see the invoice on their app
Make sure they’re set up as an invoice recipient. Just head to the search bar in the top right corner of Famly, select Bill payers, and look up the payer connected to the parent who’s missing the invoice. On the payer’s page, you’ll find Invoice recipients on the left side—simply add the parent here, and they’ll start receiving all future invoices.
What to do if: a parent says they’ve sent a message, but the staff hasn’t seen it
Check that the staff member has starred the classrooms they’re working in. Starring a classroom means they’ll receive notifications for it. To do this, just go to the classroom in Famly and click the star icon in the top right corner next to the classroom name.
What happens when a child is withdrawn or graduates?
This article explains what happens from parent’s perspective.
Can parents message each other on the app?
Yes, if you turn it on in settings. Go to the Setup Guide on your home page under the Communication tab, or find it in Settings > Communication > Parents.
💳 3. In-app payments
Famly makes it easy and fast for parents to settle their balances with options like debit, credit, and ACH payments—all within the app. With just a few taps, parents can make payments on their outstanding balance without any extra manual work for you. And best of all, your financial reports and accounts update in real-time!
To check your setup: Go to Settings in your sidebar, then select Finances → Invoicing → In-app payments.
How it works
Once you’ve completed your setup and chosen which payment methods to accept, in-app payments will be activated and ready for parents to use.
Parents can pay their full outstanding balance, or you can allow them to pay custom amounts by ticking the box under Settings → Billing → In-app payments.
Famly will automatically email parents a day before their billing date, and managers will receive a notification in Famly at the same time.
Fees
Famly charges a processing fee for in-app payments but there are no additional costs besides that. You can choose whether your center or the parents pay this fee.
Credit and debit cards: 2.8%
ACH Direct Debit: $0.60 per transaction (if your center covers the fee) or a flat $2 per transaction (if the fee is passed to parents).
Payers see fees as a separate charge.
Getting parents started with in-app payments
We've put together some resources to help you get parents set up with in-app payments. Download your very own parent poster, newsfeed template and payment badge for your website.
Download the parent poster here: Payment Flyer_US.pdf
💡 Tip: Families can generate their tax statements themselves, so you don’t have to do a thing. Find out more here
✨ 3. Create a parental permission
🔒 Parental permissions are only available in the Essential and Premium packages
👉 Where: Children menu - Parental permissions
If you’re on an Essential or Premium package, you’ll find Parental Permissions in the Children menu. This is where you can set up consent forms and gather permissions seamlessly.
Click Add and give your permission a name, like Can be in photos.
Choose who should receive the form.
Attach any documents if needed for signing.
Once created, parents get a notification and can respond with Yes or No. Plus, future parents joining will receive these forms too 😊
Say goodbye to paper slips – now you’ll always know what each child is allowed to do, all in one place.
🎦 Watch video: Parental Permissions
🔗 Read help articles: Parental permissions