Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Why Do You Charge How You Charge?
KSDC 12:41 PM 10-01-2013
So, I am raising my rates for the first time in 7 years. I am also thinking about changing how I charge.
I have been reading old posts about how you charge. (contracted hours, flat weekly fees, flat daily fees, etc.) I have found some really great info!
But, what I would like to hear in this thread is "why" you do it the way you do. Not a detailed list of your rates. But, more of why do you choose to charge your fees a certain way and what you love or hate about it.
Go!
I have been reading old posts about how you charge. (contracted hours, flat weekly fees, flat daily fees, etc.) I have found some really great info!
But, what I would like to hear in this thread is "why" you do it the way you do. Not a detailed list of your rates. But, more of why do you choose to charge your fees a certain way and what you love or hate about it.
Go!
wdmmom 12:58 PM 10-01-2013
I charge based on departure time. I do this for several reasons. My daughter's daycare provider (Nannyde) did! She didn't charge me what she did for other families needing 10 hours a day for care when my daughter was only with her for 6 hours a day, 4 days a week! Because of this, I could afford Nan's weekly rate and my daughter got to attend. If I had to pay what everyone else did, there would have been no way I could have had her there.
Why charge families from open to close if you don't want their child from open to close? People today take whatever they can get. If you offer 10 hour days, chances are, you're going to have kids in your care for 10 hours each day up until the very last minute even if parents are off hours before your closing time.
If you add in contracted hours and charge less to someone leaving at 3pm versus 530pm, chances are, you might make a little less money each week but many families might take advantage of saving a few bucks each week too and you can adjust your closing time.
Why charge families from open to close if you don't want their child from open to close? People today take whatever they can get. If you offer 10 hour days, chances are, you're going to have kids in your care for 10 hours each day up until the very last minute even if parents are off hours before your closing time.
If you add in contracted hours and charge less to someone leaving at 3pm versus 530pm, chances are, you might make a little less money each week but many families might take advantage of saving a few bucks each week too and you can adjust your closing time.
daycare 01:09 PM 10-01-2013
I charge monthly....formula is weekly rate x 52 divide by 12 and you get 12 even payments.
My rates are based off of 9.5 hours of care, anything over that is charged at $6.75 an hour and must be arranged in advance.
Hope this helps.....
My rates are based off of 9.5 hours of care, anything over that is charged at $6.75 an hour and must be arranged in advance.
Hope this helps.....
Blackcat31 01:13 PM 10-01-2013
I charge on contracted basis because I don't believe ALL families should have to pay the same rate if they use less/more care than others.
One flat weekly (or daily) rate works but I have found that most parents will simply leave their child from open to close since they are paying for it.
Charging hourly or daily according to actual time used is WAAAAY too much paperwork and figuring for me to manage.
Contracted hours allow me to schedule things outside my working hours and allows for me to better plan my days/time at work and my days/time off.
One flat weekly (or daily) rate works but I have found that most parents will simply leave their child from open to close since they are paying for it.
Charging hourly or daily according to actual time used is WAAAAY too much paperwork and figuring for me to manage.
Contracted hours allow me to schedule things outside my working hours and allows for me to better plan my days/time at work and my days/time off.
melilley 03:24 PM 10-01-2013
I charge a flat weekly rate and a flat daily rate for part time care for a minimum of 2 days per week-with contracted hours. I do this because I can only take 5 children (I have to count my own so I can have a total of 6) and I decided that to financially be stable, that I had to have at least 3 full time and the other 2 could be full or part time. I don't want to mess with half days-it would be hard to find someone to fill the other half of the day.
I also do it this way because I just opened in Jan. of this year and didn't think of the different ways that I could charge.
(I'll probably still keep it the way I have it though)
Hope this makes sense. It always does in my head...
I also do it this way because I just opened in Jan. of this year and didn't think of the different ways that I could charge.
(I'll probably still keep it the way I have it though)Hope this makes sense. It always does in my head...
TheGoodLife 03:26 PM 10-01-2013
I have a small daycare- 3 kids- so I have set tuition AND contracted hours. My 8:30-4:30 pays the same as my 7-4:30. I can't afford to have them pay less to pickup early, but I do contracted hours so that I know when to expect my kids to be here. If they have a change in work hours I will work with them, and I haven't chrged more, but I do have that option in my contract to do so. So far. I complaints or anything- I just tell them what their rate is when they tell me the hours they need.. I also just started doing an I crease in PT rates, whereas I used to do a strict $30 a day- now they pay a bit more depending on the number of days.
. I also just started doing an I crease in PT rates, whereas I used to do a strict $30 a day- now they pay a bit more depending on the number of days.
LoraJenkins 03:46 PM 10-01-2013
I charge by the day AND by the contracted hours. For example, one family who's hours are 4-5 days a week, 8am to 5:30PM (9 1/2 hours) has one daily rate. While another family who's hours are 4-5 days a week, from 6am to 5pm (11 hours) pays a higher daily rate. I also offer drop-in care (no more than 10 hours in a day) and it has the highest daily rate of all. I hope this makes sense.
Hunni Bee 11:09 PM 10-01-2013
Originally Posted by wdmmom:
I charge based on departure time. I do this for several reasons. My daughter's daycare provider (Nannyde) did! She didn't charge me what she did for other families needing 10 hours a day for care when my daughter was only with her for 6 hours a day, 4 days a week! Because of this, I could afford Nan's weekly rate and my daughter got to attend. If I had to pay what everyone else did, there would have been no way I could have had her there.
Why charge families from open to close if you don't want their child from open to close? People today take whatever they can get. If you offer 10 hour days, chances are, you're going to have kids in your care for 10 hours each day up until the very last minute even if parents are off hours before your closing time.
If you add in contracted hours and charge less to someone leaving at 3pm versus 530pm, chances are, you might make a little less money each week but many families might take advantage of saving a few bucks each week too and you can adjust your closing time.
Does drop off time affect your rates as well? Or if Kid A comes from 8-4 and Kid B comes from 10-6, does Kid B pay more because he has a later pick up time than Kid A, even though it's the same amount of hours?I charge based on departure time. I do this for several reasons. My daughter's daycare provider (Nannyde) did! She didn't charge me what she did for other families needing 10 hours a day for care when my daughter was only with her for 6 hours a day, 4 days a week! Because of this, I could afford Nan's weekly rate and my daughter got to attend. If I had to pay what everyone else did, there would have been no way I could have had her there.
Why charge families from open to close if you don't want their child from open to close? People today take whatever they can get. If you offer 10 hour days, chances are, you're going to have kids in your care for 10 hours each day up until the very last minute even if parents are off hours before your closing time.
If you add in contracted hours and charge less to someone leaving at 3pm versus 530pm, chances are, you might make a little less money each week but many families might take advantage of saving a few bucks each week too and you can adjust your closing time.
Cradle2crayons 01:39 AM 10-02-2013
I'm not open set times.
I do contracted care ONLY. My days and drop off and pick up varies for each mom and varies each day and each week. I do afternoon care.
I get their schedule a week in advance and they are allowed x amount of time for travel and that is their drop off and pick up for the day.
For example. Mom has to work tomorrow from 3:00 pm until close. If they are a closer that night, according to schedule, then they would drop off at 2:00 pm and pick up no later than midnight. On fri and sat nights, their max pick up time would be 1:00 am. One of my moms typically has to be at work at 5:00pm so her son is dropped off on the bus with my kids at 3:35pm and she brings the other two siblings at 4:00 pm and then she picks up at either midnight or 1:00 am depending on what day of the week it is. She works 4-5 days a week and pays the same weekly rate every week. If she picks up past her time, she pays a late fee at pick up.
I do contracted care ONLY. My days and drop off and pick up varies for each mom and varies each day and each week. I do afternoon care.
I get their schedule a week in advance and they are allowed x amount of time for travel and that is their drop off and pick up for the day.
For example. Mom has to work tomorrow from 3:00 pm until close. If they are a closer that night, according to schedule, then they would drop off at 2:00 pm and pick up no later than midnight. On fri and sat nights, their max pick up time would be 1:00 am. One of my moms typically has to be at work at 5:00pm so her son is dropped off on the bus with my kids at 3:35pm and she brings the other two siblings at 4:00 pm and then she picks up at either midnight or 1:00 am depending on what day of the week it is. She works 4-5 days a week and pays the same weekly rate every week. If she picks up past her time, she pays a late fee at pick up.
Nebula 02:59 AM 10-02-2013
I charge a daily and weekly flat rate (full and part time rate) because I feel parents should get a discount for committing to care (I have a 6 month contract).
My daily drop in rate is a set price, for my kids who are not full time regulars.
Our State says we have to establish set operating hours, so we chose 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Anything after 7:00 PM is considered private sitting, and is either billed hourly, or overnight flat rate per child. Also, I allow my parents 1 hour of travel time per workday. SO if they work 9-5 Mon-Fri, then their drop off time is no earlier than 8 and pickup is no later than 6, this gives time for picking up a couple grocery items- or work running late etc.
My line has always been fuzzy between private sitting vs daycare sitting, so I like the established office hours (in fact, there are vinyl letters & numbers on my front door to establish that exact fact.
Anything after 7:00 PM is $7.00/hr
My daily drop in rate is a set price, for my kids who are not full time regulars.
Our State says we have to establish set operating hours, so we chose 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Anything after 7:00 PM is considered private sitting, and is either billed hourly, or overnight flat rate per child. Also, I allow my parents 1 hour of travel time per workday. SO if they work 9-5 Mon-Fri, then their drop off time is no earlier than 8 and pickup is no later than 6, this gives time for picking up a couple grocery items- or work running late etc.
My line has always been fuzzy between private sitting vs daycare sitting, so I like the established office hours (in fact, there are vinyl letters & numbers on my front door to establish that exact fact.
Anything after 7:00 PM is $7.00/hr
Play Care 03:16 AM 10-02-2013
I am open 7:30-4:45 M-F and charge one set fee depending on age. I need to make a certain amount of money each week to make ends meet, and this way I have that consistency. Plus, my hours are pretty decent for child care so I don't mind if I have kids from open to close (if I were open 7-6 and had kids from open to close that would be a different story). I do it the way I do because this was how other providers in my area were doing it when I was looking for day care. Parents understand it and it works for me. I have thought of moving to contracted hours and charging less if people used less time, but since I already close "early" there isn't much leeway - most of my parents are working until at least 4:00. And honestly, as I get older, I don't want to make less money. I want to make as much as I can now so I can retire before I'm 70
Lil'DinoEggs 04:17 AM 10-02-2013
For full time, a weekly fee that is consistent. For my after school and part time is varies but generally it is due the last day of the week. When I started, I thought about what I wanted in a daycare provider when I was working. Then I learned quickly how people walk over you and how hard it is to keep four to ten tuition payments straight. My fees itself are little less then the norm because we have a lot of exceptions. Instead of worrying about vacation, extended leave, furloughs, i charge a little less. This keeps the payments consistent and should save the families a little money.