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safechner 05:37 PM 05-30-2010
I am looking for a simple contract but I couldn't find anything online. I dont know what to say about fee. I have one question. I would charge $75 per child. Sounds fair?

Do you think I should add about pets on my contract? I have one dog but she stays outside all the time. I put her in the cage while the kids play outside for safety. Any suggestion?

Thanks!!
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55CMK83 06:14 PM 05-30-2010
I don't charge a registration fee, however, I do have a deposit fee which is 2 weeks of care for the child. My rate is $120/wk so on their 1st day of being there, I require $240 in hand. This $240 is used at the end of service - when they give their notice that they will be finishing.

I would include that you have a dog into your contract and have them all sign that they understand that you have a pet, that it's kept outside. Also include that your dog has been vaccinated and is up to date on everything (If it is of course).
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safechner 08:04 PM 05-30-2010
That would be a great idea! Thanks!!
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Chickenhauler 10:05 PM 05-30-2010
Originally Posted by safechner:
I am looking for a simple contract but I couldn't find anything online. I dont know what to say about fee. I have one question. I would charge $75 per child. Sounds fair?

Do you think I should add about pets on my contract? I have one dog but she stays outside all the time. I put her in the cage while the kids play outside for safety. Any suggestion?

Thanks!!
That's how they all start.....and they grow from there.


Ever read a contract/handbook/disclaimer and think to yourself "Why on God's Green Earth would they think to put this in there?"

Because somebody did it, that's why.

I agree with what 55CMK83 stated about the pooch-document, document, document. When in doubt, write it down.
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MarinaVanessa 09:32 AM 05-31-2010
Yup no regitration here either but I also require a two-week deposit. I require payment in advance of care so you may want to think about it. Getting paid a week in advance can really avoid the problem of clients owing you money. If they don't pay, they don't stay.

The deposit is paid in advance also at the time of sign up. For me (for infants) I charge $155 a week so when they come back to sign up they must bring $310. It is used towards their last two-weeks of care should they decide to leave and willing they give me a written notice two-weeks in advance. Then they pay for the 1st week of care the morning of their 1st day.

As for a simple contract ... like chickenhauler says, we all start with a really simple contract (mine was two pages one sided) and add to it throughout the years because of situations that you may think are common sense others don't think about (mine is now 22-24 pages long front and back).

Another idea may be that you have a contract that states the fee agreement and late payment and termination stuff and have a seperate booklet of your policies with everything else like attendance, rules, discipline policy etc. Just put it in your contract that the policy book works in conjunction with your contract.

Things to deffinetely have in your contract/policy handbook
*Names of parties )parents and your name/daycare name
*Hours of operation
*First day of care
*Payment terms - how much a day/week, how often, when must they pay, deposit?, what happenes if they pay late etc.
*Termination procedure - how much time do you require to be notified, written/verbal, if they owe you money will it be taken out of their deposit?, what happens to the rest etc.
*Signature of the parents and yourself.

Here's the most simple one that I have found. It's from the book Family Child Care Contracts and Policies by Redleaf Press.

Child Care Contract
1) This contract is made between Name of Parent (parent) and Name of Provider (provider) for the care of Name of Child (child), birthday, at the home of the provider.
2) Child care will be provided from Hours of Care/Days of Week.
3) The childcare fee will be $Amount per week/day/hour, to be paid one week in advance/at the last day of the week at pick-up etc . Payment will be for the next week of care/previous week of care.
4) This contract may be terminated by the parent by giving a two-week written notice. The provider may terminate the contract at will. The parent will pay a deposit of $amount that will cover the last two weeks of care, even f the child care rates are higher at that time.
5) The parent's signatures on this contract indicate that they agree to abide by the provider's written policies. The provider may change the policies at any time.

Provider:
Home Address:
Phone:
Cell Phone:
E-mail:

Parent/guardian:
Home Address:
Work Phone:
Employer Name/Address:
E-mail:

Parent/Guardian Signature/Date
Provider Signature/Date
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safechner 02:22 PM 05-31-2010
Thank you very much! Usually, I do write contract on my own with my husband's help. I just need to look up a simple contract so it will gives me some idea to add. I had written a new policy (deposit fee, pets, field trips, etc) this morning for two hours and I let my husband to read. He changed a little bit to make it perfect for me.

At 1:30pm, the new parents came with two children (ages of 15 mo. and 7 1/2). They are very nice people. Daycare dad talked to my husband a lot because they are in common, haha. They seem very comfortable with us so they decided to start come here on June 7th. Yay! I got it. I feel so great. It is worth to take a break for a month but I still keep a 10 month old girl. I am ready to work with children again. Again, thank you so much for the help.
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misol 01:12 PM 06-01-2010
Originally Posted by safechner:
Thank you very much! Usually, I do write contract on my own with my husband's help. I just need to look up a simple contract so it will gives me some idea to add. I had written a new policy (deposit fee, pets, field trips, etc) this morning for two hours and I let my husband to read. He changed a little bit to make it perfect for me.

At 1:30pm, the new parents came with two children (ages of 15 mo. and 7 1/2). They are very nice people. Daycare dad talked to my husband a lot because they are in common, haha. They seem very comfortable with us so they decided to start come here on June 7th. Yay! I got it. I feel so great. It is worth to take a break for a month but I still keep a 10 month old girl. I am ready to work with children again. Again, thank you so much for the help.

Good for you!
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Tags:contract, deposit, fees, handbook
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