How about for all families do a non-refundable one week deposit and a yearly registration fee either the same time every year before the school year starts or a year from their sign up. It's like giving yourself a yearly bonus by helping pay for matierials needed for the year that you can stock up on for the year. Espesually great if you teach preschool or do field trips and that way you can tell the parents wont need to pay for any extra things (like field trips, project materials, new play equiptment, etc,) for the year. It also gives you an opportunity to revise your policies/contracts yearly or maybe say it also pays for one free "date night" you offer in the year (just be clear its a one time use in the year thing).

I took a FCC class with a provider that said she never did a yearly enrollment/registration fee but was deciding to go back from a LFCC to a SFCC and only do preschool because many after schoolers parents made her late for night classes; but after the class she said that when she switches her daycare over to a preschool she is going to do a yearly enrollment/registration fee.

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