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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Payment's a Day Earlier
mrsp'slilpeeps 08:12 AM 09-30-2011
So because the 1st of the month falls on a saturday, I put a note up on my board saying that payment is due today.

You should have seen the looks on their faces.

My hubby said if his payday falls on a weekend, He gets paid the day before, so why shouldn't I?

Good Point.

Only one parent said, I never thought of that, I will have your cheque to you after work.

All the others did this and left.

Im starting to feel walked all over again.
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Country Kids 08:21 AM 09-30-2011
How do you bill your parents, weekly or monthly? I do hourly and then do all my billing on the last evening of the month. So since tomorrow is on a Sat., I will give them their bills on Monday. This has never been a problem for me in the 16 years of doing childcare. This way I only have to keep track of payments 12 times a year.

If you get paid on the first and get your check a day early (working outside the home) can you do anything with it because of it being dated the first? We only have one bank open in our town on Saturdays, so unless you have an account there you can't do banking with them.
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Doodlebug 08:29 AM 09-30-2011
I can see if you just sprung it on them they might be a little shocked, but I agree you should be paid the friday before.

Post that your payment policy is changing and let them know this is the way its going to be. Maybe add a late payment fee if they don't pay you that friday and no one is allowed back to daycare Monday unless their account is caught up.
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mrsp'slilpeeps 08:30 AM 09-30-2011
I bill them monthly.
They usually just date it for the day they give it to me.
But my problem is that next week i wont see half of the kids until thursday, and I cant wait another week to get paid.
My hubby gets paid once a month aswell (15th of every month) so we have to budget carefully.
If they dont want their kids to freeze, I need money to pay my gas bill!
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Meyou 08:35 AM 09-30-2011
You would think it would be more convienent for them to pay Friday when they're at your house anyway that on Saturday which would be a special trip.
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cheerfuldom 10:44 AM 09-30-2011
I do payments every monday morning regardless of the date
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wdmmom 10:47 AM 09-30-2011
I have 2 parents that pay on the 1st of each month. 1 paid me yesterday and the other told me they'd have my check at pick-up today. My parent's are really good about paying when they're due and usually don't need to be reminded.
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Crazy8 10:50 AM 09-30-2011
have you recently changed to monthly billing? Are they paying the month in advance? I would always assume to give payment the day before if the 1st fell on the weekend. When my DS was in preschool that is what we did and he only went 2 days a week so I tried to make sure I paid on the Thursday even if the first wasn't until the following Monday because I didn't want to be late.
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Crazy8 10:53 AM 09-30-2011
Originally Posted by Country Kids:
How do you bill your parents, weekly or monthly? I do hourly and then do all my billing on the last evening of the month. So since tomorrow is on a Sat., I will give them their bills on Monday. This has never been a problem for me in the 16 years of doing childcare. This way I only have to keep track of payments 12 times a year.

If you get paid on the first and get your check a day early (working outside the home) can you do anything with it because of it being dated the first? We only have one bank open in our town on Saturdays, so unless you have an account there you can't do banking with them.
Just curious.... so you watch kids for an entire month without payment?? I've never dealt with the non-paying clients that so many here mention but watching someone's child for a whole MONTH before they pay for those services would scare me. I'd be requiring a $1,000 deposit.
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wdmmom 10:55 AM 09-30-2011
Some of my parents pay monthly because I offer a 4% discount if they pay up front for the entire month.

Then they are due on the same day of each month and it's less checks to write and less trips to the bank.

2 of my families pay at the beginning of each month, 2 pay at the middle of each month and 2 pay weekly. Works good for me!
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JaydensMommy 11:08 AM 09-30-2011
Originally Posted by wdmmom:
I have 2 parents that pay on the 1st of each month. 1 paid me yesterday and the other told me they'd have my check at pick-up today. My parent's are really good about paying when they're due and usually don't need to be reminded.
Same here, I require payment every other monday for the following 2 weeks. Some parents prefer to pay for the entire month at once, doesn't matter to me as long as they pay at least two weeks in advance. We have been cutting it pretty close as far as money and really looking forward to payday on Monday. And I had a parent hand me a check today for 5 weeks!! I love my families, well ... except for 1 who needs to be reminded, but the rest just pay me on time or early.
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bice99 11:13 AM 09-30-2011
All of my families pay on the 1st of each month for the upcoming month. It's only the first month that's it's hard for them. After that, they just need to save from their checks if they get paid on a different schedule. And I have a $25 per day late fee, including weekend days so if someone doesn't pay me today, they owe me an extra $50 come Monday
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littlemissmuffet 11:39 AM 09-30-2011
I also charge a monthly fee, due the 1st of each month... however, if the 1st falls on a Satursday or Sunday, a holiday, during my vacation or theirs it's due the day before... and if they pay in checks it's also dated for the day before, no exceptions, ever.
When I hand out a list of my holidays and vacation days for the year each January I also hand out a sheet of alternate pay dates, inluding all the Fridays they will be paying because the 1st falls on weekends (there have been quite a few this year).
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bgmeyers 09:02 AM 10-01-2011
My parents are all required to pay on the first for the entire month. If the first falls on a weekend, they pay before they leave on the last day of care. They may post date a check for the first and I will honor that date.
I have a late fee of $25 per day and only once have I had to charge that. They were never late again.
I'm off to the bank this morning, as yesterday was payday.
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Country Kids 09:30 AM 10-01-2011
Originally Posted by LittleDiamonds:
Just curious.... so you watch kids for an entire month without payment?? I've never dealt with the non-paying clients that so many here mention but watching someone's child for a whole MONTH before they pay for those services would scare me. I'd be requiring a $1,000 deposit.
Yes, I do watch the children for the entire month without payment. A dying are but works wonderfully for me. One gal that does the pre-payment type of system is constantly losing clients. Another gal who does pre-payment only get only part-timers, like 2 or 3 days a week. To much of a headache for me juggling different schedules! This has always worked, never have had a problem. I think of it like a utility bill, I do not pay those till after the service, or when I go to the store I don't pre-pay before I buy.

I also charge hourly and have mostly full-time children-4 out of 6 are full time. When you have them 8-10 hours a day it adds up. The parents are totally responsible for checking in and out times. This gives them the opportunity to actually see how long their child is in care if they want to squabble about amounts and such. All my parents commute within 10 min. from me but most places here, the jobs are longer days-

I'm actually one of the few that hasn't had a problem keeping children for several years once I have them. Usually get them around 2 or 3 and keep them till they start school (first grade) or several I have had till they went to 6th grade. I think the parents actually like how my system works. One less thing to always remember, every week. I just bill them, they pay, and don't have to worry about it for another month.
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Sunshine44 11:35 AM 10-01-2011
Sounds to me like you just put a sign up this morning saying payment is due by the end of the day??? If that's the case, you are in the wrong in my opinion. You can't just spring this on them. That's not right. BUT, if you gave ample notice, then it should be ok. I would think at LEAST a week notice.
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daycare 12:16 PM 10-01-2011
I charge monthly and all payments are due on the last Friday of every month
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Angelwings36 09:57 AM 10-02-2011
Originally Posted by bice99:
All of my families pay on the 1st of each month for the upcoming month. It's only the first month that's it's hard for them. After that, they just need to save from their checks if they get paid on a different schedule. And I have a $25 per day late fee, including weekend days so if someone doesn't pay me today, they owe me an extra $50 come Monday
This! Plus I don't accept checks because there is a 5 day hold on them. So when I get paid I have access to the funds the same day!
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