With no standard approach to issuing and redeeming vouchers, nurseries are having to deal with up to 14 different online and paper voucher systems.
Although they are keen to accept the vouchers, which enable parents to meet nursery fees, owners express growing frustration over 'unreliable computer systems', 'unacceptable levels of customer support' and 'lack of communication from voucher providers'.
Lindsay Gillespie, manager of Claylands Nursery in Edinburgh, said, 'Paper vouchers are the worst. They take up to three weeks to process and go into our nursery account. Other companies send bulk payments for a number of different customers in one transaction, leaving us to try to guess whose is whose.'
Penny Owen of Christopher Robin Day Nurseries in Woking, Surrey, said, 'I am reaching the limit of my tolerance. In future I will have to consider not accepting vouchers from companies who appear to have no regard for the end user.'
Lesley Maughan, co-owner of Tots 'n' Tykes nursery in Pudsey, Leeds, said, 'More and more companies are operating as voucher providers. Two years ago there were just Accor and Busy Bees. This year alone we have had four new providers. A lot of companies have jumped on the bandwagon because it's obviously quite lucrative for them, as they charge administration fees.
'But for me it's a nightmare. Some of the big providers are fine. You can redeem the vouchers over the phone and it's a very simple system. But others are very difficult to administer. Often it's a case of chasing late payments.'
The Busy Bees nursery chain - one of the largest providers of childcare vouchers, which now deals with 50,000 parents receiving vouchers - is investing 250,000 in a new system that it hopes will be up and running by the end of the year.
Managing director John Woodward said, 'We developed our system as a carer, with the aim of making it as easy as possible for all carers. More than 95 per cent of parents have no problem with it.
'We admit that we don't get it right all the time. But we think we can continually improve our system and make it better. We say this because in 12 months we believe we will be dealing with 100,000 parents - and we should be responsible for making the system as good as possible for parents, employers and carers.'
The National Day Nurseries Association said it would like to see consistency from all childcare voucher providers in the way they process payments so that it reduces administrative paperwork and allows nursery staff to spend more time in the nursery.
NDNAchief executive Purnima Tanuku said, 'We are concerned at reports that some nurseries were experiencing issues with the various redemption systems. This can lead to cashflow problems for nurseries, as they find it difficult to track late payments or may have to employ additional staff to handle the extra workload.'
But Thom Crabbe, head of projects at the Daycare Trust, said that callers to the Daycare Trust helpline, including childcare providers, reported 'positive experiences' with voucher providers. He said, 'It is vital for everyone that voucher payments are efficient and straightforward.'