This has not happened yet, but I was just thinking, what if a parent calls in the morning of the child's first day of attendance that week saying their child is sick and won't be coming? And that is when their weekly payment is due? I changed my policy to paying at drop off on child's first scheduled day of each week (this seems to be working the best for my program as paying on their last day of attendance of each week for the next week just wasn't working). But if the child doesn't end up attending on their first scheduled day, do you start applying late fees until the payment is made? And do you mention that while you're talking to the parent about their child being sick, that they still need to bring the money or pay the late fee? I'm afraid it would sound like I didn't even care that the child was sick as long as I got my money. And if they're sick, is the parent just supposed to get the child out in the cold weather to bring the payment to me? I'd feel like an awful person doing that, but if I'm nice and say to just bring it on the child's next day here, I can see parents taking advantage of this (especially the part time ones who are only scheduled two days a week), and let's say the child can't come the next day they're scheduled either because of the 24 hours rule, so they end up not bringing payment for that week at all. When would late fees begin in a situation like that?

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I just look at it like this..

I run a business. My rules are that you pay if your child is in attendance or not. I know it may sound harsh, but trust me when I tell you do you think any of the companies that provide my services care about my personal issues when my bills are due. No, they don't.

I would make a payment due date and stick with it. If it is not paid when due, then it is late and attach a late fee.

If you were to run this business based on everyones personal issues, you would be out of business soon.

just my perspective.

also, if parents have communicated with me, hey my child is sick, would it be ok that I pay you tomorrow, I more than likely won't have a problem with that.

BUT if they don't talk to me about it, then I require them to still make their payment, if the child is in attendance or not.

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I expect pay regardless. I charge late fees, too. It is in my handbook that regardless of illness, holiday, day off, etc, this is when pay is due and at this time. There are many methods of online payment that would work if a child is ill and not in attendance on pay day.

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Oh yeah, that's something else I changed in my policies, that pay is due regardless of attendance. I'm just wondering, if the child is sick say both days they were scheduled, do I mention the payment when they say child won't be coming because they are sick, or do I just start adding the late fees if they mention nothing about payment and get their payment from them when they do bring the child back, even if it's the next week? I feel like childcare is a little more personal than a regular bill parents pay, so I should maybe give a heads up about the late fee before being like, "Oh yeah, since little Johnny wasn't here last week, and you didn't bring the payment, you now owe $70 in late fees, on top of two week's pay". But I'm also like you in that it's a business, and I can't be reminding them all the time to pay, and adding late fees if they don't pay on time, even if the child was sick when they had planned to bring the payment.

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If they are in attendance, I have a late fee slip that goes in their envelope. If they were not in attendance, I would send an email notice that payment was due on this date at this time. If received today, late fees are x amt. If paid tomorrow, x amt. Etc. Childcare services will be halted until payments are received in full.

Or something like that

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Automatic payments stop this issue completely.

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Exactly. Post dated checks for 3-4 month intervals solve this problem right away.if they are paying by check. OR get them to pay you online somehow.

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I have considered online payments. I'm not very internet savvy, though and I also don't know how to go about online payments. It would make things so much easier though if I knew how to do it and how it would work. Most of my families only want to pay in cash so far. They say they never write checks and when I mentioned a post dated check to one dcm, for the day it was due since the child wouldn't be there that day, she said no. She ended up going to the bank and getting cash out and bringing it to me the day it was due, even though dcg wasn't scheduled that day.

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The options for online payment vary based on where you live (what the local banks offer) and there are some that seem to be available everywhere. For example, I purchased minute menu kids pro. It was $67 for an annual subscription an it allows me to invoice my parents and offer an online payment option. The only thing I had to do was enter my bank account number on the payment portion of the program and set it up to bill my families weekly. Most of my families are signed up for automatic payments so I don't have to worry about collecting money and taking it to the bank.

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All of my parents do online banking. Some set me up as a bill. Some pay me through a service called POP Money. It's very easy, and they do not get access to your account info. The parent fills out the info and it sends you an email. Then you register and the company holds your account info. I can also do it the other way, sending the parents a request to sign up.

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My contract was worded that "payment is due on the first day of attendance for the week". So, if they were absent Monday, they'd pay Tuesday. Kind of inconvenient for me sometimes, but since I live in the country, and some of my families traveled 10 miles to get here (for one, it was also several miles out of the way to work), I did not expect them to make a special trip over.

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I hope it's okay to just quote what I got in the parent handbook from our center (not FCC, but not a huge one, either).

Payments are to be made on Monday mornings in advance each week or on the first day of the week that your child attends. There will be a late fee of XX for all payments that are not received in full by this time. If fees are not paid by Wednesday we ask that you keep your child out of the center until your financial situation has improved. (and then there is a part about not paying by Friday and having to re-enroll)

we are not taking her there tomorrow (pinkeye), so we'll pay Tuesday morning when we return, with no late fee (I will text the director tomorrow morning to let her know we're not coming). if we show up Tuesday with no money, we'll have a late fee to pay.
hope it makes sense.

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That's what I'm wrestling with because I don't have children who actually live in the same town as me. One actually lives 30 minutes away. She goes a little out of her way to bring her daughter to me, so I really can't see myself asking her to make a thirty minute trip to pay. I'm thinking I need to figure out an online payment system, or just let them pay on the first day they attend instead of their first scheduled day, if the situation was to come up. And hope no one takes advantage of it

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