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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>What Would/Do You Charge For A Weekly Rate?
MNmamaOf4 10:10 AM 10-03-2011
I think I want to switch to a weekly rate for all my families by the first of the year and especially before I start any new families. Right now I charge a daily rate. We live in a very small town (less than 150 people) and it's in a rural area.

These are my current rates:
Full-time (40 hours+, 4 days or more)
Full-time infants-2 years $30/day
Full-time (2 years plus) $25/day

Part-time rates (min of 2 days a week)
infant 2- years $35/day
2 years and older $30/day

What would you suggest for a weekly rate?

Currently I have 1 full time family that are here Monday-Thursday. I have a part-time family, that their schedule changes weekly, and he's here 2-3 days a week, usually it's 2 half days and 1 full day. I'm being flexible with this mom for right now because we really need the income and every little bit helps. I don't know how to get her to pin down a solid schedule with me, she works at Walmart part-time and usually it's only in the mornings, I told her she had to guarantee me a minimum of $60/week, and I know I should have been more firm and said it had to be two full days or whatever. But the kid is kind of a PITA so I don't really mind the half days with him, but sometimes she thinks she can pay me for 1-1/2 days if he's only here that and I said "no, we agreed to a minimum of two days a week for him, all my full time families pay for a full time position even if they happen to only come 3 days or whatever." I also have one that's in kindergarten and she was here Mon-Thur during the summer and now she comes 5 days a week after school.

I do like working the Mon-Thur, but now this new mom throws in an occasional Friday here and there even though she told me she wasn't going to work Fridays. I'm fine with the kindergartner coming after school on Fridays because I have to be here for the bus for my DD and for my DS when he is done with preschool. I think I got spoiled since I started daycare in February having Fridays off

I'm getting ready to put an add in the paper again and think I'd like to change to a weekly rate, maybe a full time weekly rate and a part-time. Because right now, I'm flexible taking part-timers because we need the income and every bit helps, plus my DH wants me to be flexible with families because we need the income with raising four kids ourselves. Sorry for the rambling.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Etc.? I've only been doing daycare since February and I feel like I am always finding something I want to change in my handbook.

FWIW, I also require they pay the Friday before for care the following week.
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Crazy8 10:17 AM 10-03-2011
I don't do hourly at all, never have. My weekly rates are based on 3, 4, or 5 days a week - I don't even get into how many hours per day that is. They tell me what hours they need up front (in interview) and if its within my hours I will give them a rate. If you divided my weekly rate into the # of days it would be less per day for the 5 day/week than for the 3/day week. Does that make sense?? I just find this is easiest for me and my clients pay in advance so I do not want to worry about how many hours they are coming, etc. And to add an extra day is ALWAYS $45/day - no matter how many hours they are contracted for or even if their "daily rate" comes out to less.
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MNmamaOf4 10:29 AM 10-03-2011
Originally Posted by LittleDiamonds:
I don't do hourly at all, never have. My weekly rates are based on 3, 4, or 5 days a week - I don't even get into how many hours per day that is. They tell me what hours they need up front (in interview) and if its within my hours I will give them a rate. If you divided my weekly rate into the # of days it would be less per day for the 5 day/week than for the 3/day week. Does that make sense?? I just find this is easiest for me and my clients pay in advance so I do not want to worry about how many hours they are coming, etc. And to add an extra day is ALWAYS $45/day - no matter how many hours they are contracted for or even if their "daily rate" comes out to less.
This is good to know. I already have them all pay in advance. What would you suggest I charge for a 3 day, 4 day, 5 day schedule? Keeping in mind I live in a rural area, in town and our population of our town is less than 150 people. The only one my rates seem confusing to is my part-time mom, as she's never had her DS in daycare until now. I feel like I'm constantly explaining things to her. I want to get this in place before I take on new families and I want it to take place by January 1 for my current families, and I think I'd tell them December 1 that my rates are changing, do you think that's fair? Thanks in advance!
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morgan24 10:29 AM 10-03-2011
I just changed from a weekly salary to hourly. Nobody wanted to pay a salary and I was getting calls for care and no one was signing on because they wanted to pay by the hour, so I changed. I had done salary for years. Can you call you resource agency and see what the rates are in your area? You don't want to price yourself out of what you area will support. One provider near me upped her rate from $2.25 and hour to $3.00 an hour because she didn't have as many kids and 3 of her clients left her, one stayed and she couldn't get anyone else, she ended up closing. She priced her self right out of what the market would bear in our area.
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AnneCordelia 10:34 AM 10-03-2011
I charge by the week.
$175/week for 4 or 5 days
$115/week for 3 days, 3 day minimum

My hours are 7:30-4pm for two of my families. I have a family who needs me until 5:30pm too but they pay me $200/week for that bit of extra.

It's very common in my area to be paid weekly...infact, all the providers I know do it that way.
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tbutler 10:40 AM 10-03-2011
I charge by the week. Right now I only have 3 year olds, 125/week for full time. No part-timers.
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