Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Do you remind parents every week that they need to pay you. I'm getting tired of having to remind parents when they need to pay. It's a weekly thing where I have to remind at least 1 person of payment. I have 3 options for parents to pay. Cash, chase or paypal. I do not accept checks because I don't want to deal with the hassle if the check bounces. I am on vacation and for the past few weeks leading up to my vacation I have been telling parents they need to pay me in cash the friday before I go on vacation or pay the Thursday while I'm on vacation for the upcoming week through paypal(I do not charge parents for my vacation). All of my cash paying parents opted to pay via paypal but yesterday by the end of the day no one paid so I had to text them during my vacation to remind them to send payment. It gets so frustrating because I don't get to pocket all of the money they pay me. A large portion of it gets set aside for taxes then I have to buy food and supplies for the upcoming week. I really love what I do but chasing down payment and the fact that people don't want to pay for childcare is really making me rethink this career chose. Sorry for the long vent.
I never chase my paycheck. Instead I have "motivational consequences" so that parents WANT to pay on time.
Today is payday for everyone.
If anyone does not pay their invoice, they automatically have $30 added onto their bill and services are suspended until the bill is paid in full in cash. (NO other payment options are available if they are paying late).
If this is the second time they are paying late, they would have $60 added to their bill with the same requirements for payment.
If it's the third time they are late, they have no child care any longer and their deposit (2 weeks) is forfeited.
So honestly, if a parent wants to pay me late, they are gambling with their contract. Up to them to make sure they pay on time.
I do not do reminders, weekly invoices are passive-aggressive behaviors when it comes to being paid.
I uphold my end of the deal and FULLY expect parents to hold up their end. After all, they ARE adults.