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CheckFirst ESA
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Made for families using an ESA

Know if an ESA purchase fits the rules before you buy

Education savings account money comes with a rulebook, and the platform that holds your funds rarely explains it. CheckFirst ESA keeps your receipts in order, tracks what is left in each category, and shows you what your program's own published rules say — with a link to the page they came from.

Start free See how it works

CheckFirst ESA is an organizing tool, not your program administrator. Every decision about your funds is made by your program, not by us.

  • 18states open to families: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming
  • 1 tapfrom any rule to the page it came from
  • 0bank connections or card links. Nothing here can move a dollar
  • 1 fileper child, with every receipt attached

Made for the family at the kitchen table

It is built for a phone first, because a phone is what you are holding when the receipt is in your hand.

A mother and her son on the couch, showing a hand-made solar system poster
A mother and daughter working together at a kitchen table
A mother reading a picture book with her son in a bright room

The money arrives. The rulebook does not.

Most families learn how their program works one rejection at a time. The handbook is a PDF on a state website. The funding platform shows a balance and a list of transactions, and nothing at all about the thing you are standing in a store holding.

  1. You spend first and find out later

    A submitted purchase can come back long after the term has moved on. The money is already gone, and the answer is not yours to argue with.

  2. The categories are where it goes wrong

    Two families can buy the same thing and hear two different answers, because it was filed under a different category or bought at a different point in the year.

  3. Documentation arrives as a deadline

    Nobody asks you for one receipt. They ask for all of them, at once, with a date on it — and a camera roll is not a filing system.

You deserve the truth, not a pep talk.

The Homeschool Launchpad — our free guide for new homeschool parents

What it does

Six things it does. Further down, the list of what it does not.

Check before you spend

Describe what you want to buy and see what your program's published rules say about it, with the exact rule and a link to its source. You decide with the rulebook in front of you instead of guessing in a store aisle.

Receipts that file themselves

Photograph a receipt and the vendor, date, total and line items are filled in for you to confirm. The photo stays attached to the record, because a summary is not what anyone asks you to produce.

Limits you can see coming

Each child's remaining balance and category limits update as you log purchases, so a limit shows up as something approaching rather than something you discover in month eight.

Reporting-ready records

When your program asks for documentation, export a clean summary with every receipt attached — in about the time it takes to find the folder you meant to keep them in.

Both parents, one set of records Coming soon

Invite the other adult in the house and you both see the same balances and the same receipts. Nobody logs the same purchase twice, and nobody has to ask whether it was logged.

A separate file per child

Each child's award, categories and receipts stay their own. One trip to one store can be split between them, so the records still stand up on their own afterwards.

How it works

Three steps, and none of them file anything with your program.

  1. Add your children and programs

    A first name or nickname is all we need. Tell us which program each child is in and roughly what their award is.

  2. Snap receipts as you go

    Take a photo at the register. Line items, totals and dates are filled in for you to confirm. Forwarding an order confirmation by email is coming soon.

  3. Check, track, and report

    Ask about a purchase before you make it, watch your category limits, and export everything when a deadline comes around.

Where the rules come from

A rule you cannot check is worth nothing. Everything CheckFirst ESA shows you is taken from a document your own program published, and it arrives with the receipt for itself.

We would rather show you a gap than fill one. Where a program has not published an answer, the product says there is no published rule and points you at who to ask. It does not reason its way to one.

  • Entered by hand, from the source Each program's handbook and guidance is read and checked by a person, and every rule is verified against its source before it goes live. Nothing is filled in from general knowledge of how these programs usually work.
  • Every rule carries its citation The document, the section, and a link, shown next to the wording itself. You can open the original in one tap and read it for yourself.
  • Versions are kept, not overwritten What you logged stays attached to the wording that was current when you logged it. A record made in the fall still reads the way it read in the fall.

What CheckFirst ESA does not do

This list matters more than the feature list. A tool that overstates what it knows about your money is worse than no tool at all.

It does not decide

No screen will tell you a purchase is fine. It shows you the published rule and where to read it. Your program administrator decides, every time.

It does not touch your funds

No bank connection, no card linking, no account numbers, and no access to your funding platform. Nothing here can move a dollar.

It is not advice

Not tax advice, and not advice from an attorney. It is a record-keeping tool that shows you what a document says.

It does not sell you on

Your records are not a product. No advertisers, no data brokers, and no selling your household to vendors who would like to reach families with money to spend.

Where we are starting

We are adding states one program at a time. Each page below links through to that program's own official pages, which stay the authority on what your family can do. Your state not listed? Join the waitlist below.

Alabama

Now available

Arizona

Now available

Arkansas

Now available

Florida

Now available

Idaho

Now available

Indiana

Now available

Louisiana

Now available

Mississippi

Now available

Missouri

Now available

Montana

Now available

New Hampshire

Now available

North Carolina

Now available

Oklahoma

Now available

South Carolina

Now available

Tennessee

Now available

Texas

Now available

West Virginia

Now available

Wyoming

Now available

See every state we cover

Your state not listed? Join the waitlist

Tell us where you are and we will let you know when CheckFirst ESA covers your program. No spam, and you can leave at any time.

Is your state in the list above? You do not need the waitlist. Start free instead.

What happens after you join

  1. One email, right away. You click a link to confirm the address is yours. Until you do, you are not on the list.
  2. Then a few emails. A short series about how CheckFirst ESA works while we work on adding your state.
  3. One email when we cover your program, with the price and how to start. Every message we send has a one-click way out.

Your state and program are optional, and they are the main thing we use to decide which program to add next.

Two parents and their daughter looking at a laptop together at the dining table

The name you see on your funding platform is fine.

We will send one email to confirm it is you. After that, a short series about how CheckFirst ESA works and when it covers your state. Unsubscribe any time.

CheckFirst ESA is an organizing tool, not your program administrator. Rules can change; always confirm with your program.

Questions

Can it tell me yes or no on a purchase?

No. It shows you what your program's own published rules say, quotes the relevant one, and links you to the source document. Your program administrator makes every decision about your funds — we are a record-keeping tool, and we say so on every screen that shows you a rule.

Where do the rules come from?

From each program's published handbook and guidance, checked by a person and cited line by line, with the source shown next to it. Nothing is guessed. When a program updates its rules, the version you saw is recorded alongside what you logged.

What if my program changes a rule mid-year?

A record you already made should not quietly re-read itself. Each rule we hold carries the date and version it was taken from, and what you logged stays attached to the wording that was current at the time. When we take an update in, you can see that it changed and what it changed from.

Does it connect to my funding platform?

No. You upload receipts and set the status yourself. Those platforms do not offer a way to connect, and we would rather be honest about that than pretend to a sync that does not exist.

What do you store about my children?

A first name or nickname and a grade level. No birthdates, no last names, no school or student identifiers. Children do not get accounts and there is nothing in the product aimed at them.

Do you sell my data?

No. Not to advertisers, not to data brokers, and not to vendors who would like to reach families with education money to spend. We do not hand your records to your program either — exports go to you, and you decide who sees them.

Can I get my records out again?

Yes, at any time, including on your way out. Every receipt you upload stays downloadable and every summary exports with the files attached. Records you may have to produce a year from now should not be locked inside somebody's product.

What does it cost?

New accounts get a 14-day free trial, and you do not need to enter payment details to start. If you decide to subscribe, the price is shown before you pay, so there are no surprises.

Do I need to be good with computers?

If you can take a photo and open an email, you can use it. It is built for a phone first, because a phone is what you are holding when the receipt is in your hand.

Is my state supported?

Check the states listed under “Where we are starting”. If yours is there, you can sign up now. If it is not, join the waitlist and tell us your state — that is how we choose what to add next. We would rather get one program's rules right than cover every state badly.