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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Tell Me About Your Early/Late Fees
ardeur 09:21 AM 09-27-2017
I have been going back and forth between charging a $1/min or a $5/min late fee (or consider something else?). $5 seems so high, but I feel like it's high enough to really deter most parents. $1 feel less exorbitant, but I feel it's low enough that parents won't care much if they're 5-10 minutes late once in a while. It's only $5 or $10.... not a big deal for families earning a double income (everyone I know).

My goal here is to protect my time so that I will have some consistency each day. I'm not out to try to make $300/hr by charging $5/min fees. haha

So what are your late pu or early do fees and why did you decide on that amount?
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Cat Herder 09:29 AM 09-27-2017
Mine is $1/minute for occasional issues without prior approval or true emergency.

If it becomes an issue I am not willing to deal with I simply refer them to a center with hours that better meet their needs with a last date of attendance assigned (read casual termination).
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CityGarden 09:32 AM 09-27-2017
I do not open early for any reason.

My current late policy is $1 per minute but I plan to changing that to something much more strict. Not sure what that will be yet. One family abused that policy and so I am going to shift to a more strict policy (either just for them or for all)
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Ariana 10:05 AM 09-27-2017
I charge $15 for each 15 minutes or less they are late. So 10 minutes late is $15 and 20 minutes late is $30. Basically each 15 minute block of time is $15 no matter when you arrive. Keeps it simple for me.

Chronic lateness means we revisit the contract and renegotiate hours and fees, or we terminate. I have a 3 strikes policy.
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CityGarden 10:12 AM 09-27-2017
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
If it becomes an issue I am not willing to deal with I simply refer them to a center with hours that better meet their needs with a last date of attendance assigned (read casual termination).
Do you have a sample of the wording you send in this case? I am feeling one of my families will need a letter like that sooner rather than later.
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Cat Herder 10:30 AM 09-27-2017
Originally Posted by CityGarden:
Do you have a sample of the wording you send in this case? I am feeling one of my families will need a letter like that sooner rather than later.
I tell them, face to face, that it has become clear that my schedule is no longer working for them and (as they know) I still have a deal with a local center to match my rates for 12 months. I give them her contact info, printed out, again. I then give them a date two weeks out, Friday, for their childs last day party.

I would have already talked to them about this possibility a few times when arrivals/departures started becoming an issue. I also refer them to this center when their child needs more supervision than I can offer. The center has more adults available to deal with behavioral issues . It has never happened that they did not have an opening, I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

My only immediate terminations have been about adult behaviors and there is no way I'd risk my deal with my local center by sending them difficult parents. I just pack up their stuff, refund current weeks tuition (I charge no deposits or fees, so no further refunds necessary) and demand immediate pick-up if they are not already here.
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DaveA 10:51 AM 09-27-2017
$1/ minute. I have in my policies 1 waived late fee at my discretion. I put it in for emergencies like severe weather or accidents. Not "oops- I fell asleep on the couch".
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Jupadia 10:59 AM 09-27-2017
I have a $1 per min late fee. If parents give me notice (at least 20min) of late arrival I will then charge $10 per 30 min. Parents are rarely laye and if they are it's cause of heavy traffic on the hiway. So far no one has abused this policy.
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storybookending 11:22 AM 09-27-2017
I have in my policies $1 per minute late but have never had to charge anyone yet. (Only in my 2nd year). My open hours are 7:00AM-5:30PM. My niece came early a few times last year and I didn't charge. Shouldn't have to happen anymore as dad now has a job in this town. SIL is a teacher and just has the occasional 2-3 times a year she needs to be at school earlier than 7:30. One of my other dcfs came early one day (prearranged) and I didn't charge but mom brought me flowers and cupcakes as a thank you. No one has ever been late. Sometimes I'm done by 5PM. Usually by 5:20PM at the latest. Each of my parents with the exception of 1 works within a 5 minute drive of here. The one that works out of town only works until 4:00 and make it here shortly after 5.
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MarinaVanessa 12:31 PM 09-27-2017
Do you want to earn extra money? Or do you want them to stop being late?

Depending on what's more important to you will depend on what you should charge. If you just want to be compensated for the time that they run late then you can charge $1 a minute or something similar. If you just want them to show up on time then charge $5 a minute so that they don't want to pay it.
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Mom2Two 01:23 PM 09-27-2017
All my families have late fees in their contract, each is a little different. The one that is supposed to pick up at 12:30 says the late fee but also that there's a $5 minimum charge for late pick up.
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HappyEverAfter 05:42 PM 09-27-2017
I don't accept early drop offs, ever, so no fees apply to that. For late pick ups it is an automatic $15 at 6:01pm, and an additional $15 at 6:15pm, an additional $15 at 6:30pm and so on. So if you pick up at 6:30pm you would have a $45 late fee.
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LysesKids 05:04 AM 09-28-2017
Originally Posted by Starrygirl:
I don't accept early drop offs, ever, so no fees apply to that. For late pick ups it is an automatic $15 at 6:01pm, and an additional $15 at 6:15pm, an additional $15 at 6:30pm and so on. So if you pick up at 6:30pm you would have a $45 late fee.
You are more hard a$$ than me and I've done daycare almost 18 years now lol... I do $10 for every 10 minutes (or part of)... I actually had a parent pay me $80 once, his wife was not happy about it, but she was out of town... they are still with me on kid #2 four years later
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Snowmom 08:37 AM 09-28-2017
My doors are locked until my open time. No fees available there.

All families are charged rates based on their pick up time.
If they are late arriving, they will be charged $1 per minute within my operating hours (basically until my last contracted family). If they arrive AFTER my closing time, it switches to $2 per minute and their contract is subject to termination.
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Blackcat31 10:19 AM 09-28-2017
I have no early fees as family's can show up before I open but I won't be here...so...

If they schedule for say 10:30 but show up at 8:00, I would simply say "I don't have you scheduled until 10:30 so I am not able to accommodate you now. Sorry."
Verbal works best for that.

My late fee for late pick up is $1 per minute and increases until termination depending on the reasons and the level of communication.

Basically don't be late.
My time is just as valuable as anyone else's time.
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