Getting Paid by Check
 

I have a question for those providers who take cash or checks. Do you require parents to hand it to you or do they simply leave payment in their child's belongings or cubbies?
I've never had an issue with this particular dcf paying. Sometimes dcm leaves it in their baby's bag but usually mentions it or takes it out and hands it to me. I'm emailing her this weekend because I didn't receive their payment. But was curious about what others do. I'm not collecting payments other than cash or check((mostly because I'm not capable lol). I'm not worried about getting paid; I know they will. But things like this always make me go *sigh*. And I know dcd now writes the checks instead of dcm so maybe that's why.

I only take checks, or cash I guess buy no one ever pays that way. My cubbies are right inside my front door and everyone just drops their check there on Monday morning. When they are new I just let them know that's what everyone does so they know to do it that way.

Originally Posted by Josiegirl:
I have a question for those providers who take cash or checks. Do you require parents to hand it to you or do they simply leave payment in their child's belongings or cubbies?
I've never had an issue with this particular dcf paying. Sometimes dcm leaves it in their baby's bag but usually mentions it or takes it out and hands it to me. I'm emailing her this weekend because I didn't receive their payment. But was curious about what others do. I'm not collecting payments other than cash or check((mostly because I'm not capable lol). I'm not worried about getting paid; I know they will. But things like this always make me go *sigh*. And I know dcd now writes the checks instead of dcm so maybe that's why.

My children do not have cubbies. I have one built in cubbie type closet at the enterance with hooks that all jackets and shoes go when they arrive. Nothing else goes back and forth. All of my parents pay by check except one that pays cash. Sometimes it’s handed to me and sometimes of just thrown on the counter. I have never had payment issues with anyone but I have read on here that some providers make them physically hand them the checks and some have a box for checks.

I am considering giving parents the option to direct bank deposit but I do not know much about it so I haven’t yet.

I'm wondering why you chose not to accept credit? There is a fee associated with accepting cards, but why not include that price into your fees (like a retail establishment does)?

I use Square.com and love it! It is so simple and I can use my phone or iPad to accept payment, along with online through my website and can bill families through that also.

So easy!

Melissa

Most of my parents pay via Brightwheel which I love!!! (I am just trying to get rid of Brightwheel for other reasons.)

I do accept checks and cash.... the dcm that pays cash hands it to me in a big stack for the month which I end up putting in my pocket (I do not like cash) the two dcms that pay by check put it in their child's lunch bag.

I may look into Square.... do you physically swipe the card or can they pay online? What is the fee and how do you word parents paying it? I think it my state businesses cannot pass on those fees to consumers....

All my families pay by cash. I have a small plastic drawer unit right by the front door (kids do not have access to this area during the day). Each drawer has a kid's name on it and the parents put the money in there. I take the money out and replace it with their receipt. I can easily glance at it Friday morning and see who paid at drop-off and who to keep an eye on at pick up ;). My problem is that they use to hand me cash during the most chaotic times and I would stick it in a pocket or up high and a shelf, not a great system. I was constantly trying to remember who gave me what, and who needed a receipt.

https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/im...400/12715p.jpg

I've never had a specific requirement for how parents get their payment to me. Usually, they just hand it to me or leave it on my kitchen counter when they come in. The only time I've had to look in a diaper bags is when the parent has forgotten to give it to me. At some point during the day, I might get a text or email apologizing and asking me to get it from the bag.

I hate taking cash, much prefer checks. I deposit every cent of income I make and the bank is about 20 min away. I’m rural.

Cash gets handed to me, checks clipped to the sign-in clip board.

I have one family that sends it paypal, and another that uses Venmo. :)

Originally Posted by MelissaP:
I'm wondering why you chose not to accept credit? There is a fee associated with accepting cards, but why not include that price into your fees (like a retail establishment does)?

I use Square.com and love it! It is so simple and I can use my phone or iPad to accept payment, along with online through my website and can bill families through that also.

So easy!

Melissa

Easy for you:D I swear I have a mental block when it comes to certain things. I can use my laptop but only for simple-minded things. And don't have a smartphone or ipad, etc.:o Plus I have this foolish need to actually see or feel my payment. Weird, I know.:(

Originally Posted by MelissaP:
I'm wondering why you chose not to accept credit? There is a fee associated with accepting cards, but why not include that price into your fees (like a retail establishment does)?

I use Square.com and love it! It is so simple and I can use my phone or iPad to accept payment, along with online through my website and can bill families through that also.

So easy!

Melissa

This is me, Cash or Credit only (Square also)... No checks. I hate the hassle of mobile deposit (at least with the new software my credit union uses) and I avoid bounced checks.

Originally Posted by CityGarden:
Most of my parents pay via Brightwheel which I love!!! (I am just trying to get rid of Brightwheel for other reasons.)

I HATE Brightwheel. It's such a waste of time and money.

I do accept checks and cash.... the dcm that pays cash hands it to me in a big stack for the month which I end up putting in my pocket (I do not like cash) the two dcms that pay by check put it in their child's lunch bag.

I may look into Square.... do you physically swipe the card or can they pay online? Both. Swipe and online.What is the fee and how do you word parents paying it?You don't tell this to parents. You just add it to everyone and cut out the check and cash process. So much easier. LOL. Credit and bank cards only. I think it my state businesses cannot pass on those fees to consumers.... You aren't passing them on to your customers. You're just including it in their rate. And you'd have to do it for everyone. You just raise your rate to cover that expense, like when you buy toilet paper.

Look for my response in the quotes.

Ugh she just emailed me and said her dh had folded it up and put it into the baby bag. She's got enough stuff in that bag to last a week. :rolleyes: And I don't always think to check it. Guess I won't charge her the fee for late payment since it was my goof-up. Everyone else places it in their cubby, easy to see that way.

Originally Posted by Josiegirl:
Ugh she just emailed me and said her dh had folded it up and put it into the baby bag. She's got enough stuff in that bag to last a week. :rolleyes: And I don't always think to check it. Guess I won't charge her the fee for late payment since it was my goof-up. Everyone else places it in their cubby, easy to see that way.

Another reason to NOT ALLOW diaper bags to be bought back & forth lol

I had a little locking box i put on a shelf. The parents would put their tuition in it.

we have a check box for the parents, Mounted on the wall in the the entry

Cash or Venmo. I don't take checks any more. Parents started complaining that they never used checks other than for me and were only ordering them to pay me. They also didn't like having to go to the bank to get cash as most people keep very little cash on them nowadays.

Almost all my families use Venmo. Quick, easy and in my account the next day....and free!

Parents usually hand it to me in the morning. Every once in a while it will be in a book bag or diaper bag.

I accept cash or checks . 99% of the time it is handed to me or put on the sign in clipboard while I am standing there .

I have 1 sa kid who sometimes had it in his backpack. He always forgot to give it to me and I would go through the backpack . A few times dcm insisted an envelope of cash was in the backpack(but dcb did not come in the morning so who knows what happened to an envelope of cash in school) but it wasn't so who knows what happened it it but I did charge a late payment fee because late payments were happening too much .

Venmo! I switched to venmo only recently and it is so great! If they forget, you can send them a payment request. It is always in the bank by the next day at the latest - often it goes in same day. No more bank runs, no dealing with cash. Parents like it too cause they can do it on their own time during the day and don't have to remember to hand me something. No late payments at all since I started Venmo. People often pay early, in fact. Try it!

Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Venmo! I switched to venmo only recently and it is so great! If they forget, you can send them a payment request. It is always in the bank by the next day at the latest - often it goes in same day. No more bank runs, no dealing with cash. Parents like it too cause they can do it on their own time during the day and don't have to remember to hand me something. No late payments at all since I started Venmo. People often pay early, in fact. Try it!

What is required for using a service such an Venmo or zelle? What type of information do you need to give parents/do they need to give you. I have been thinking about looking into it for awhile now but haven’t. My parents all pay by check except one that pays cash. I haven’t had issues with checks at all as I mobile deposit and my mobile deposit app through my bank has no issues reading anything so far but I do have parents say they wouldn’t be sad if they didn’t have to write a check every week. Also can you send them invoices day on Wednesday to have them paid by Friday?

I prefer automatic bank transfers. It's free and posts to my account immediately.

I require parents that pay via check or cash to hand the money directly to me. I don't allow diaper bags or back packs to be left here so there is no option of tucking payment in a bag for me to search for.

I don't accept credit/debit cards either and won't.
I bought a tee shirt at a concert once where Square was used. My CC info was compromised somewhere along the way and that was horrible but I figured it was just weird one time thing. Until it happened again when I paid my hair stylist via Square... that was enough for me.

Never again.

For Venmo, they don't have to give you any information other than their email address. They sign up on Venmo, put their bank information on there, then they are set up as a user of venmo. Then you find them by their email or they find you. It's super easy.

Originally Posted by Unregistered:
For Venmo, they don't have to give you any information other than their email address. They sign up on Venmo, put their bank information on there, then they are set up as a user of venmo. Then you find them by their email or they find you. It's super easy.

Are you able to send requests for money as reminders? Like say Friday morning send out as invoice DCM1: owes $150. I have zero problems with parents paying right now and I don’t want to start something that may cause them to start slipping up by forgetting to send it if I don’t have a way to send a reminder or that sort of thing.

I downloaded both Venmo and zelle. So far from what I can tell I prefer Venmo as zelle didn’t have my bank listed and I have to figure out how to add it manually haha.

I had trouble with Zelle too. Venmo is so easy. Yes, you can send a payment request. I have never had to, but I see that it's pretty easy.

Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I had trouble with Zelle too. Venmo is so easy. Yes, you can send a payment request. I have never had to, but I see that it's pretty easy.

I downloaded Venmo yesterday and got everything verified by this morning. I am testing it out with my SIL this week to see if I like it before letting my other parents know about it.

Originally Posted by storybookending:
Are you able to send requests for money as reminders? Like say Friday morning send out as invoice DCM1: owes $150. I have zero problems with parents paying right now and I don’t want to start something that may cause them to start slipping up by forgetting to send it if I don’t have a way to send a reminder or that sort of thing.

I downloaded both Venmo and zelle. So far from what I can tell I prefer Venmo as zelle didn’t have my bank listed and I have to figure out how to add it manually haha.

Does Zelle allow you to send invoices / reminders like you describe above? What I like about Zelle is several major banks are with them i.e. Chase, Bank of America, etc. but I have not used them for business.

Originally Posted by CityGarden:
Does Zelle allow you to send invoices / reminders like you describe above? What I like about Zelle is several major banks are with them i.e. Chase, Bank of America, etc. but I have not used them for business.

I don’t know the answer to this as I chose to go with Venmo over zelle. I sent the link out to all my interested parents tonight. Does anyone know the answer to the question “can I set up recurring payments since I pay you the same every Friday?” I told her I didn’t know but I would ask if anyone here did!

Originally Posted by storybookending:
I don’t know the answer to this as I chose to go with Venmo over zelle. I sent the link out to all my interested parents tonight. Does anyone know the answer to the question “can I set up recurring payments since I pay you the same every Friday?” I told her I didn’t know but I would ask if anyone here did!

Just did a quick google search and it says that feature is coming soon. See the link: https://www.braintreepayments.com/features/venmo

Does Venmo allow you to send invoices and track your earnings? (Those are the two features I like in Brightwheel but I hate the rest of Brightwheel.)

Originally Posted by CityGarden:
Just did a quick google search and it says that feature is coming soon. See the link: https://www.braintreepayments.com/features/venmo

Does Venmo allow you to send invoices and track your earnings? (Those are the two features I like in Brightwheel but I hate the rest of Brightwheel.)

Thanks! I googled searched last night and all that I could find was some forum posts from October saying that it wasn’t an option yet but that things are always changing.

I just downloaded Venmo this week and sent the links out to my parents last night so I haven’t had any payments yet. It appears that you and send out payment “requests” as a type of invoice and it keeps a log of payments but I am not exactly sure specifics as I haven’t received any payments yet.