Payment Schedule

[daycaremom9]

About 2 years ago I changed my fees so that I was charging my clients a set monthly rate based on a 20 day month instead of charging based on the number of days in the month. The reason I started doing this was to compete with neighbouring daycares that were charging a set monthly rate. I'm just wondering how you ladies charge for services? Also do you charge for stat holidays and are you closed for the stats?

[mamabear]

I charge a flat monthly rate. They pay on the 1st of the month. I close for stats and they are paid days off.

[Big Hearts]

It is more work but my families can choose to pay weekly or bi weekly. I get paid for stats and the families pay half their fee when they go in holidays to hold the spot, but not when I take holidays. I have thought about monthly but think it is easier for my family's to pay this way instead of one large lump sum.

[Crayola kiddies]

my fees are biweekly for the following two weeks and I am closed for stats and they are paid.

[DaycareLady]

I ask for weekly payment but I do not ask for a deposit so the weekly payment makes sure I don't get jipped out too much if someone decides to leave care.
I am closed all stat days and don't ask for payment nor do I ask for payment for my personal holidays but parents must pay full for any days they miss/holidays they take....none of my parents have an issue with this set up and it is the norm for my area!

[torontokids]

Families pay a 2 wk deposit used toward last 2 wks of care IF they give 1 months notice. Pay weekly or biweekly but pay the Friday before the week. My part time family pays monthly as I wanted it to be simple for me plus they aren't here on Fridays.

[torontokids]

My stats are paid plus I added Christmas Eve and Easter Monday (thanks Momof4!) I take 3 wks vacation, unpaid. If I am sick and close, they do not pay.

[Momof4]

About 2 years ago I changed my fees so that I was charging my clients a set monthly rate based on a 20 day month instead of charging based on the number of days in the month. The reason I started doing this was to compete with neighbouring daycares that were charging a set monthly rate. I'm just wondering how you ladies charge for services? Also do you charge for stat holidays and are you closed for the stats?

Aren't there more days in some months? For instance there are 23 weekdays in May. Aren't you shorting yourself pay?

[Judy Trickett]

I don't care how they pay as long as it is in advance. I never work without having been paid first. I have some parents who pay weekly with post-dated cheques and others who choose to pay monthly. It doesn't matter to me as long as it's in advance.

I charge for all stats and parents pay FULL fees for any day, vacation included, that their child is not here.

[SongSparrow]

I don't have a set pay schedule for my daycare, but my daughter's preschool is paid monthly in advance and I really like it. I only need to remember it once a month!!
I close for stats and don't charge.

[playfelt]

I am paid each Monday for that week of care. I don't care if a family pays me for one week or two or four or whatever as long as it is for weeks coming up ie in the future. This is one of the reasons that I give a receipt with each pay period so there is no discrepancy in how much was paid and when more money is due since some of my parents pay in cash - ie hit the ATM for $20's since I am at $200 a week it is easy for them to do.

[mop]

I receive a cheque dated for the 1st of the month, and it covers that entire month.

[daycaremom9]

I do think that I'm being shorted but at the time I was a little concerned for my business with the new group daycare opening. This daycare provider also has another group daycare in the area. But as it turns out it didn't seem to affect my business in a negative way. As a matter of fact I seem to get more calls & interest in my daycare.
I'm just wondering for the providers that charge for stats if you've had many complaints, especially if the parents have to pay for other care for those days?

[Momof4]

My fees are due in full for 49 weeks of the year, except for the 3 weeks I'm closed for vacation. That way all stats and any missed days are always paid and I can always budget, so the families never have any questions or math to do.

I have families who pay monthly, biweekly and weekly and I agree with the others, it's best to be aid at the beginning of the pay period, not at the end.

[zoomama]

I take monthly payment and base my fee on 22 days per month. Some months are 21, some are 23, but I think 20 is really short changing yourself. My rate is flat fee regardless and I take stats off with pay. I reimburse parents the following month in case of having to close due to illness or whatever. I have also started requiring that parents pay a full month deposit which is applied to the last month of care if 1 month notice is given. It's too easy to get totally shafted without that month of deposit with monthly payment. I know from experience!

[sunnydays]

Some of my parents pay monthly and other biweekly..I leave that up to them, but it is always in advance. For monthly, I give them a list of the months in the entire year and the fees due in each month based on the number of days of care in the month. Most people are paid for stat holidays (though of course I know some people work stats) so I have never had anyone complain about paying for them.

[venusrockstar]

My clients pay me weekly and I ask for payment on Monday's.

[blackcomb]

Good to know, I am going to do this based on 22 days a month too and set a flat fee, what do yours work out at per day on that rate? I'll put in my contract that ill days and holidays still have to be paid for your space to be kept too, but if I take a holiday or am ill they won't have to pay

[Busy ECE mommy]

I do up a fee schedule twice a year, outlining the fees in 6 month increments. I do not do flat monthly rates. Each month is tallied by the number of days scheduled, multiplied by my daily rate, and due whether they attend or not. All my stats are paid, as well as 2 weeks of holidays are paid. I also take a 2 week non-refundable deposit to be applied to the last 2 weeks of care.
Post dated cheques are due all on the 1st of the month, or divided btwn the 1st and 15th. I take 6 months of post-dated cheques at a time, so I'm not hunting down parents for payment.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I write in the monthly newsletter when payment is due and than mark down individually what they owe for the 2 weeks in advance.

[Rachael]

I'm just wondering how you ladies charge for services? Also do you charge for stat holidays and are you closed for the stats?

I charge a daily rate. Any child joining my day care has set days. I can't accommodate those whose shifts change regardless of how much notice they can give - unless they are paying for a FT place. Lots of nurses locally work 4 days on and 4 days off and so they need the availability of all five week days but many only want to pay for what they use.

Fees are due two weekly, in advance. Fees are due either by cash at drop-off time on the first Monday of the pay period or by e-mail transfer no later than drop off time at the first Monday of the pay period. I stopped accepting post dated cheques from new clients a few years ago when some local providers were having issues although I did continue taking them from clients who had that existing agreement.

If fees are not paid when due, even if it's later that same day, my contracts state I can apply a late fee of $5 per day per child, and that if they aren't paid the next day, I have the right to refuse care until the debt is settled. This avoids me working 2 weeks at 50 hours a week, providing 10 lunches, and 20 snacks, and running the risk of not getting paid. I get paid in advance - it's not negotiable.

Yes - I close and charge for Stat days. These are listed out clearly in my contracts, repeated again in my handbook, and also I have a private group on FB for current clients, where these dates are set up each calender year so my clients get a reminder of them all.
However, fees are only due for the days registered. So if I happen to have a child who attends say Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, then they wouldn't pay for a stat day on a Monday as they aren't contracted for care on that day anyway. I wouldn't expect to be paid for their normal three days plus a stat day which they wouldn't attend anyway.
Should a Stat day fall on the weekend, I am then entitled to have the next business day as closed and paid. i.e. If Christmas Day fell on a Saturday, since my stat days include both the 25th and 26th, I would take my weekend as normal plus the following Monday and Tuesday. Otherwise, I'd only be getting my standard weekend for Christmas!

My contract give me 10 personal days a year as well for my own sickness and/or vacation. These 10 days are paid.

Essentially what this all results in is a set income for the duration of time a client is here. They pay for days reserved for their child regardless of child's attendance. They pay full fees regardless of if a stat day falls in the pay period. They pay when I am unavailable - up to a max of 10 days a year. If I ever did take more than 10 days off, the additional days would be unpaid.

I've never had an issue with this but primarily that's due to it being clearly defined in my contracts from the get go. If someone doesn't want to pay for my 10 days, if someone wants to pay solely on attendance, then that's entirely their right and they are more than welcome to find a provider who operates that way.