Bloomily vs. PayPal

PayPal in its own words

PayPal says its invoicing is "built for freelancers, service pros, consultants, and small businesses billing clients directly" (PayPal Invoicing). It is a payments tool. Programs use it to send a bill and get paid.

Customers can pay "even without an account with PayPal." They can choose PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, credit and debit cards, Pay Later or Pay by Bank (ACH). Invoices go out by email, SMS, messaging apps or social media, or as a QR code for in-person payments. You can set up recurring invoices and automatic reminders, and add taxes, discounts or notes. PayPal also offers a sync with QuickBooks or Xero (PayPal Invoicing).

PayPal's help page says invoicing has no setup or monthly fees. A seller can allow partial payment on an invoice, with an optional minimum amount. PayPal adds that partial payments "aren't a credit product" (PayPal help). Its fees page lists a rate for each way a customer pays (PayPal fees).

Where Bloomily fits a preschool or camp better

PayPal sends a bill to a client. Bloomily starts from the child, and the bill follows from enrollment or the camp weeks a family picked.

Preschool tuition. Tuition bills on your charge day, and families on autopay pay without a nudge. You see what came in and who still owes (Bloomily for preschools). Invoices generate on your schedule, with tuition, fees, discounts and subsidy splits already itemized. Late fees come with grace periods, and reminders go out by email and SMS (Bloomily billing).

Camp weeks. A family picks the weeks it wants, and each week keeps its own price. Families can pay in full, pay a deposit, or use a payment plan. Sibling discounts, early-bird prices and promo codes apply at checkout (Bloomily camp registration). Deposits come in at registration, and the balance bill is made for you (Bloomily for camps). Camp weeks and add-ons land on one family balance, with one autopay and one statement (Bloomily programs).

One family, one balance, one app. Each family gets one autopay, one statement and one history, however many children it has (Bloomily billing overview). Families view invoices, pay and set up autopay from the parent app (Bloomily parent app), on iPhone or Android (Bloomily for parents). When an autopay fails, the family is asked to update their card, and the payment retries on its own (Bloomily billing).

Money into your own Stripe account. When a family pays, the money goes to your own Stripe account, not to a Bloomily account. Families pay by card or bank transfer, and your program decides who covers the processing fee (Bloomily payments). Card and bank details live with Stripe, not on Bloomily's servers (Bloomily security).

Using PayPal and Bloomily together

PayPal's page describes invoices to clients, sent once or on repeat. If you bill a few families and nothing else needs to follow from the bill, that may be enough.

Once a bill needs to follow enrollment, camp weeks and a family balance, move it to Bloomily. Send each family's bill from one tool only, so no family pays twice for the same month.

For the books, Bloomily gives exports for your accountant (Bloomily billing overview). It does not connect to accounting software.

PayPal's invoicing page offers a sync with QuickBooks or Xero, so ask your bookkeeper how they want both handled while you switch.

Moving from PayPal to Bloomily

Bring the list you keep today, as it is. AI help does the reading. A spreadsheet, another system's export, a PDF or a photo of a paper list. It reads children, families and pickup people, and nothing saves until you approve it.

When you are ready, send each family one invite. Their child is already on their account. Families add a card when they first pay, and can save it for autopay. Keep your old system running beside Bloomily as long as you like (Switching to Bloomily).

Questions to ask in both demos

• How is a family's tuition bill made from their child's enrollment and schedule?
• How does a camp limit each week to a set number of campers and keep a waiting list?
• How does autopay charge a family's saved card or bank account on each due date?
• How does a sibling discount apply when a second child registers for camp?
• How do staff record check-in, check-out and who may pick a child up?
• Where do families see photos and messages from their child's room or group?
• How does a family get a year-end statement of childcare payments?

Which one fits your program

Keep PayPal for the occasional bill to a client. Choose Bloomily when tuition or camp bills should follow each child, with autopay, one family balance and a parent app. See Bloomily for preschools, Bloomily for camps, Bloomily's preschool pricing, Bloomily's camp pricing and Bloomily's payment fees.