For home daycares and child care centres. Your books done the day you upload your statements, checked against your bank, for $79 a month.
Free to join. The first 1,000 in get their catch-up free.
Sales tax
Tennessee's sales tax is 7%, and cities and counties add their own, about 9.61% in all on average. If what you sell is taxable, you collect it and file returns with the state.
State income tax
Tennessee has no state income tax on your business profit.
Federal tax
Working for yourself, you pay 15.3% self-employment tax on most of your profit, plus federal income tax, usually in four estimated payments: April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15.
Contractors
Paid a contractor $2,000 or more in 2026? Send them a 1099-NEC by January 31.
What every business in Chattanooga (about 190,000 people) keeps track of in 2026. Rates change, so check with your accountant before you file.
Daycares in Chattanooga, by the numbers
Hamilton County, home to Chattanooga, has 66 child care businesses with employees (Census Bureau, 2023).
That's 1% fewer than in 2018 (67).
Another 440 are run by one person with no employees, mostly self-employed owners.
Across Tennessee there are 1,207 with employees, so about 5% are in Hamilton County.
Every one of them has books to keep: sales to match to the bank, costs to sort and tax to work out.
Why daycares need different books
Monthly fees from parents, government funding with its own rules and reports, staff ratios that drive payroll, food for the kids and a home or building that's partly the business. Funding is what makes daycare books different.
What a bookkeeper for daycares in Chattanooga keeps track of
Parent fees and who's paid
Government funding received
Staff payroll
Food and supplies
The business share of your home, for home daycares
Taxes for daycares in Tennessee
Child care isn't subject to sales tax in Tennessee.
Child care is generally not subject to sales tax.
A home daycare can deduct part of the home based on the hours and space used.
You give parents your tax ID so they can claim their child care credit.
What SumSwift does for daycare and child care owners, for $79 a month
Monthly parent fees invoiced and chased automatically
Funding deposits sorted apart from fees
Payroll worked out each payday, with the deposit file for your bank and the remittance to send
Home office share worked out for a home daycare
Receipts snapped with your phone or forwarded by email are read and matched to the charge
Every statement checked against the balances your bank printed, to the cent, with personal spending kept off your profit
Up to 3 accounts included. Prices in USD. Your accountant still files your tax return, with clean books and free access.
Questions.
How much does a bookkeeper for daycares cost in Chattanooga?
Published price guides put most small businesses at $300 to $1,500 a month for a bookkeeper, more when the books are busy, as they often are for daycares. SumSwift does the monthly work for $79 a month, the day you upload your statements.
Can parents pay automatically?
Yes. Repeating invoices go out each month and parents can pay by card or bank.
Does SumSwift know Tennessee's tax rules?
Child care isn't subject to sales tax in Tennessee. Child care is generally not subject to sales tax.
Behind on my books. Can you catch me up?
Yes. A catch-up of up to 12 months is $599, once, checked against your bank to the cent.