In France, vacation camps - also officially known as régimes d'accueil collectif de mineurs (ACM) or, more recently, séjours de vacances - are run by approved organizations that are subject to regular inspections. The team of socio-cultural animators is rigorously selected, while management is entrusted to a BAFD-qualified director. This person is responsible for managing the staff, ensuring compliance with numerous standards, and efficiently managing the allocated budget.
If you're in charge of a summer camp, this article is of great interest, as it will provide you with valuable information and advice on how to effectively control the expenses and fees of your animators mentioned in the director's booklet.
Summer camp expenses
The price charged to parents depends on several factors.
- Lodging, whether at a campground or a resort, involves different costs.
- There are meals, including breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner, for which the manager establishes an overall food budget for the duration of the stay.
- The cost is also influenced by the materials used, whether teaching aids, balls, audio equipment or board games. The more sophisticated the equipment, the higher the price.
- Activities, whether offered on site or elsewhere, such as tree climbing, water parks, rock climbing, boat trips or canoeing, entail additional expenses such as entry tickets, rental fees and transportation.
Depending on all these criteria, you'll need to manage a larger or smaller budget.
Tools to use
To make your work easier, there are vacation management software packages that will simplify your life.
These solutions offer a range of functions for efficient management of:
- Activities, organized by group of children, by day and by activity leader, as well as contractual activities.
- Individual files for each child, including information such as diet, medical records, pocket money and room placement.
- Entertainers, taking into account their weekly rest periods, employment contracts and CVs.
- Mandatory documents such as the staff register and the children's register.
- Stocks for better resource management.
- Suppliers, with the ability to place orders and track deliveries.
- Other purchases and expenses associated with the stay, as listed in the director's notebook.
For better expense management, online accounts offer invaluable support. For example, you can authorize your entertainers to use a payment card with customizable limits for small purchases. This means you can track all expenses in real time, knowing who spent what and when.
Anytime has enabled us to set up a very large fleet of cards for our supervisors and teachers who go abroad. What we appreciate most is the flexibility, ease of use, traceability and security of the solution," describes TomBrowne, DGA Go and Live Group, specialist in school trips and stays for children, teenagers and students, in an interview.
To satisfy accounting requirements, every expense must be supported by an official document such as an invoice, receipt or expense report. Online accounts feature a practical tool that allows your animators to instantly attach a photo or scan of the receipt, simplifying the process.
With an online account, your summer camp management organization benefits from two undeniable advantages:
- Better budget control
- A considerable time-saver.
Budget control
To make it easier for your entertainers to manage their expenses, you can pre-allocate a certain amount to their business bank card. They can then use it to withdraw cash from ATMs, pay for purchases online or in stores, and pay for admission to amusement parks, museums or any other place visited with the children.
With the chosen online account, there are no additional fees for international transactions. What's more, in the event of loss or theft, card insurance offering enhanced protection for travel is also included.
Time-saving
Expenses, recorded in the director's notebook, are meticulously classified by category, giving the organizer an instant overview of the costs incurred on a daily basis, without the need for tedious research or laborious calculations.
Digital transmission of receipts eliminates the hassle of retrieving and filing receipts, eliminates the need for reminders, and makes lost receipts a rare occurrence. The nominative bank card takes the hassle out of reimbursement and expense management.