The 2027 OIOF is open. Here's how to get it in calmly.

Hi there,

In this week's newsletter, I flagged the November 2 deadline for Toronto child care centres to submit the 2027 Operating Information Online Form (OIOF). This follow-up goes one step further: what to check before you submit, where common errors can arise, and how your inputs affect your 2027 Cost-Based Funding Allocation (CBFA).

The OIOF opened October 13 in the TCS Online Services Portal. With the deadline approaching, now is a good time to check your form against your licence, approved fee memo and Parent Handbook.

Here's what I would review before pressing Submit.

Five checks before you press Submit

1. Confirm your Contact List and your Signing Authority.
The OIOF can't be submitted until your Contact List in the User Management Application is in "Confirmed" status. Budget Preparers can enter and save information, but only the Signing Authority can submit. If your Signing Authority is away in the last week of October, sort this out now.

2. Check licensed spaces against your licence.
Licensed spaces should match the Primary Capacity table on page 1 of your Ministry of Education licence, without alternate capacities. If you filed online last year, this field is prepopulated and can't be edited. If it looks wrong, contact your Consultant before you submit. (Operating spaces are a separate field and do include alternate capacities in use.)

3. Count annualized service days carefully.
Count the days a base fee is charged, including statutory holidays and other closed days where a fee is still charged. Leave out closed days with no fee. For Monday-to-Friday programs, the 2027 maximum is 261 days.

4. Make sure your fees match what parents see.
TCS reviews the fees in your OIOF against your approved fee memo and the fees published in your Parent Handbook, and may follow up on differences. For CWELCC-eligible age groups, mandatory fees count toward the $22/day cap. The guideline's own example: a one-time $500 fee over 250 service days adds $2 a day.

5. Use the new 2027 program categories.
For 2027, the full-day non-instructional categories for kindergarten and school-age programs are split into school year and summer. Check that each row of your base fee revenue section uses the category that matches how the program actually runs.

Why these numbers matter: where they flow in your CBFA

You don't need to rebuild the formula, but it helps to know where your inputs go. In simplified form:
- Program Cost Allocation = Benchmark Allocation + Growth Top-Up (if you're new or expanding) + Rolling Top-Up
- plus the Allocation in Lieu of Profit/Surplus
- minus the Expected Base Fee Revenue Offset, which is based on your spaces, fees and service days, and adjusted for an allowable vacancy rate (x0.95 for 2026 onward under the Ministry guideline)

Two things to know for 2027:
- The 2027 Rolling Top-Up starts at $0 until your 2026 SFR is submitted and reviewed. The 2026 SFR is expected to launch in Q1 2027, with Rolling Top-Ups expected to be finalized in Q2 2027.
- The OIOF shows a single-total CBFA estimate when you save. The detailed Annual Summary appears once TCS has verified your form and the monthly payment process has run, typically after the 20th of the month.

Outside Toronto? Your CMSM or DSSAB runs its own operating-information process, forms and dates. The provincial funding formula is the same, but check your local guideline and ask your consultant for your deadline.

Your next few weeks at a glance
- This week: Confirm your Contact List and your Signing Authority's availability
- This week: Pull your licence (page 1), fee memo and Parent Handbook, and compare them to the prepopulated OIOF
- By Fri 30 Oct: Aim to save a complete draft so there's time to fix questions with your Consultant (my suggestion, not a TCS deadline)
- Mon 2 Nov: 2027 OIOF due for Toronto child care centres
- Sun 15 Nov to Mon 30 Nov: OIOF window for Toronto home child care agencies
- Dec 2026: TCS calculates 2027 CBFA
- Jan 2027: OIOF Update Form available online for in-year changes

You might be wondering: "The prepopulated numbers look right. Can I just submit?"
They're a starting point, not a confirmation. The form carries forward last year's online submission, so anything that changed (a new fee memo, a room re-licensed, a different summer schedule) won't show up unless you update it. A ten-minute side-by-side with your licence, fee memo and Parent Handbook is time well spent.

A second set of eyes
If you'd like me to walk through your OIOF inputs with you before November 2, reply to this email or write to [email protected]. If I'm your centre's auditor, I'll first check that the help fits within auditor independence rules, and sometimes I'll have to say no.

Want to share something with other operators, like a tip or a question you'd like answered in a future issue? Hit reply; I read the replies. Please don't send confidential documents by email. I'll set up a secure way to share them.

Warmly,
Natalie Lee, CPA, CA, LPA, MBA
Principal, Lee Chartered Professional Accountant Professional Corporation

Sources for this issue
- Toronto Children's Services, 2027 TCS Funding Requirements Guideline (DRAFT, September 2026): https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/8e98-2027-TCS-Funding-Requirements-DRAFT-Guideline.pdf
- Ontario Ministry of Education, CWELCC Cost-Based Funding Guideline (Ch. 2, Div. 2, July 2026): https://www.ontario.ca/files/2026-07/edu-chapter-2-division-2-cwelcc-cost-based-funding-guideline-en-2026-07-22.pdf
- Toronto Children's Services, Contract & Financial Information: https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/community-partners/early-learning-child-care-partners/financial-information/

General information only, not advice for your centre or your specific situation. The 2027 TCS guideline is marked DRAFT and may change. Your Children's Services Consultant and the official TCS and Ministry documents have the final word. Please speak with a qualified advisor before acting.