Long story short a dcm text me an hour ago and asked could she pay me on Monday. I informd her that she could along with the $10 per day late fees added to it and that it has to be paid at drop off or dcb could not stay. Soooooo she text me back I'm trying to get it but he probably won't be back after today I told her okay well instead of you paying his rate of $80 today you have to pay $240 because you are required to give a 2 weeks notice with pay.

Then she come over here all crying and stuff giving me her sob story saying she don't understand why I said he couldn't come back I didn't say he couldn't come back, she said he wasn't coming back all because she is mad that I stuck to my policy! Needless to say she left here crying worse than she did when she came and I don't care!

I have had it with dcps who want to pay when it is convienent for them, if they pay at all. I'm also tired of dcps jumping up and pulling their child out because they are mad...

I know, I know, you'll have told me to start making them pay in advance so I wouldn't have to deal with this kind of bull crap. I am furious

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I wasn't going to say make them pay up front.... Ok... Yes I was....

But sorry I've had a few like that before too... Before I started making them pay up front....

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I may lose everyone I got, but I'm going for it. Anyone willing to help me write up a letter to the parents?? PRETTY PLEASE!!!!!!!!

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I'm sorry you have to deal with people like that.
I work through an agency for this very reason. The extra rules and regulations drive me nuts sometimes, but I never have to deal with the money issue. I don't think I could even pretend to respect someone who behaved the way your DCM is behaving. After a long week of dealing with all we have to deal with, you sure don't need that nonsense to kick off your weekend

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Maybe she's trying to turn the tables on you? Saying you termed him so she can say she doesn't owe?

I don't trust anyone anymore and I take everything I hear with a grain of salt because of my experiences in this business.

Hope this mom gets you paid!

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You need a late payment agreement or a demand for payment letter???

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Or a policy for payment up front??

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BC usually has some pretty great letters, I've borrowed a few

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I need something stating that payments are due on Mondays at the beginning on the week instead of Fridays at the end of the week.

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Yes this!!

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She would still owe me for this week plus late fees....I'm so sick of having to run people down for my darn money...Another dcp didn't show up to payWTH

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I am not at my PC at the moment but if you want I will PM you the letter I used when I converted all my DCP's over to pre-pay.

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I am sorry to hear this has happened to you! It's hard sometimes to get the guts to ask the parents for payment upfront, but it needs to be done.

I require payment for the following week on Fridays. I ALSO require the final 2 weeks payment to be paid upfront, and I NEVER refer to it as a deposit. Deposits are refundable, this money is not. I let parents know that this money will pay for the last 2 weeks in care, that I can draw from this money to cover damages caused by their child (and I expect to be repaid for this), and that ONE week could be used as a cushion if they have trouble paying (that DOES need to be replenished). I will never refund this money. I let them know that many OTHER parents take off without paying and that I need to treat everyone the same, so now ALL parents have to pay upfront.

The one week cushion does help BOTH of us-when a parent has an unexpected bill, I don't have to lose a client over it. I give parents up to 8 weeks to pay the 2 weeks final pay when they start-this way they don't have to come up with all of it at once. I find that DCP's are much more compliant in the first few months then the final, and don't have a problem with payment at first. And I DON'T spend this money. I keep it in cash in a safe. Then, if a parent does bail, I can still pay myself.

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Dear Daycare Parents,

This letter is to inform you that I am changing my tuition policy starting on (insert date).

Tuition will now be due on Monday for the week coming up. In other words, tuition will be due in advance of care rather than after care is given.

Your child's tuition will be due on Monday morning at drop off. A late fee of $___ will be assessed if payment is made later than 1 hour after arrival time. If payment is not made by closing time on Monday, including the late fee, your child will not be accepted into care on Tuesday without payment and late fee in hand. No exceptions.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,
Your Daycare Provider

(of course you can change anything, just an example)

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Short and sweet... Pretty similar to mine

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Yep, I figure I'll give them to the end of the day since occasionally someone could forget it. They have an hour to run back home and get it without a late fee.

Laurel

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I would be pissed. I don't work for free. If I am not paid by my clients I do not lift a finger. Yes to being paid in advance

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I am on Facebook too much! I was trying to find the like button!

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BTDT! Way too many times, I feel your pain! Hope you get some good clients in care! That's what really turned my daycare around. Well that and I had to grow a backbone a couple years ago lol

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Yes, I would love for you to PM it to me! Thanks!

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Thank you!!I may clear the daycare after passing out this notice, but I'm sick of the BS!

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Maybe you could make some kind of payment plan by increasing current rate a certain amount until they are paid in advance...that's what I did when I changed my current clients from post pay to pre pay. I added 20.00 per week onto their regular fees each week until they were caught up and paid in advance...otherwise they are making a double payment in one week.

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Omg, this is going around like an illness!

One of my families just texted me to try and guilt trip me this morning! This is how it went:

dcm: "As you are aware, we don't get paid until wed so DCKs tuition will have to be paid then. Plus late fees I guess. Thanks."

Me: "okay."

My bill collectors don't give a hoot when I get paid, there is a payment date that it is due or else I incur late fees. Same goes for them. Why should I make it my problem that they can't manage their money?

Ugh!

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If their child were in mine, the child wouldn't be able to attend until the tuition AND late fee was paid in full.

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I so wish I had enough back bone for that! I'm hoping that will get better with more experience.

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What worked for me was to take the family that gives you the MOST trouble and give them a written warning/probation notice. Then hand ALL families a notice with reminders about your policies and a reminder that they MUST be followed and that you will be strict in enforcing them. Put the policies that are most important to you at the top of that list (payments etc).

If you want to change anything in your policies this is the right time to do it. Add changes to your policies along with this notice or write up a new notice and hand them both notices at the same time. Give them a 2 week deadline before the policies go into effect (or whatever it says in your policies).

Then watch that "trouble" family like a hawk and keep the others in check too. Charge and enforce penalty fees. If "trouble" family makes even one mistake give them notice of termination. Other families will notice a family is gone and may ask, just say that your policies weren't a good fit for their needs and if you want you can say that because of this you had to let them go but wish them well (all said with a cheerful smile). They'll get the hint ... don't follow the policies and you'll get booted.

They'll either shape up or continue to break policies. Keep enforcing them. Once one family is gone then figure out which other family is giving you the most trouble and do the same with them too.

I did this once when I was TIRED of clients thinking they could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. I let one family go and warned another family. I advertised and when I found a family that I wanted I told them that the opening would be available in 2 weeks and then I gave a trouble family a 2 week notice. One by one I cleaned house. I have great families now and don't let issues I think are big slide anymore. It's GREAT!.

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I charge on Friday for the upcoming week. Payments not made in full by Monday morning at drop off aren't allowed to attend. I also charge a $10 per day late fee. They pay $30 extra by not paying on Friday. (I charge for Saturday and Sunday too.)

As for the family that only gets paid on Wednesday...they need to pay you the Wednesday before Monday, not the Wednesday after Monday. I would tell them. No pay, no stay. Pay early, don't pay late. The first time they try it, I wouldn't permit them to attend on Tuesday.

Get ready for a fight!

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I had a horrible time trying to help them out with their payment issue. They get paid on the 1st and the 15th and decided after they signed my contract that they wanted to pay on those days. It did not work out well!

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No way would I make their payday schedule my problem. If they want to pay me on those days only fine ... pay me on the 1st and the 15th for the next two weeks in ADVANCE or budget your money wisely and pay me on my payment dates. No way would this payment schedule work for me. My bills don't come in on the 1st and the 15th.

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hey williams!

i had to woman up and give a "reminder" of policies and had the parents sign.. i was too lenient as well because i understand how things get hard.. i have been in position myself to have to pay some bills late so i tried to help but its just too confusing to them and too stressful for me. the final straw was a parent that was not looking at her receipts and didnt realize she was as behind as she was and i had to sit with her and break out my records.. smh
so after i sent the letters explaining i would be enforcing late fees after due date and no pay no stay for the first mnth of care, i lost 3 families who said they just couldnt pay at the time , all at differnt times thankfully
but im still happy i did it.. i love knowing when im gonna get the monies necessary for running my daycare, not having to ask or remind anymore..well thats not totally true.. i still have to text one lady ever so often but she ends up paying late fee the next day..
i do wonder sometimes IF I HAD been flexible, maybe i would have that income now, one of the ladies actually had never been late before but told me she had something come up.. BUT she was on her last week of the trial mnth.. so i didnt feel comfortable trusting her yet and being a week in the hole..
said all that to say..i agree its not easy for some of us to be as hard with 3 homecares in my same neighborhood LOL, yes you might lose clients, its okay to be scared of that.. BUT in the long run those polices are needed to establish a good financial system with your business.. if those parents cant abide, your business cant suffer, God will bless you with new clients..good luck..you can do it!!!

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I just do not understand this rationale. I don't CARE when you're paid, the payment is due when the payments are due. You would think people would ensure that their daycare provider was PAID especially if they NEEDED the care. Paying your provider for many families is like paying rent -- it is a NECESSARY expense. I just don't get people like this.

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I have a no pay no stay policy!! That is one thing that I'm very strict on, I have bills to pay just like they do! I do not have a problem turning them around at the door.

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YES this!!!!

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exactly why I am getting my teacher cert and bustin out! I like getting paid without having to ask

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I didn't do a separate letter, I just included it in my annual policy revision.

Every fall I revise my policies and give the parents the newest edition of the parent handbook. I also write them a letter listing the changes in "quick reference" fashion.

If you have other policies to update I would do it all at once so the parents have more than the one policy to focus on, and hopefully won't be upset by the date change. I'd also have the policy take effect in 2 weeks and offer parents the option of paying 1 1/2 their normal fee for those two weeks, so by the time the policy takes effect they will have already made the transition, instead of having to pay twice in one week. (I hope that makes sense!)

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When I made the transition, I enrolled new families under prepay only (due Friday for the following week) and gave existing families one month. I allowed them to pay an additional 25% toward the new payment rate each week until they were paid ahead. Only one family had an issue, and they used the 25%. The rest were just able to write me an additional check that week.

If you think about it, most parents get paid on Thursday or Friday, and then they pay us on Monday. If they pay you Monday 5/13 that is from their pay (Friday 5/10). If they pay you Friday 5/17, the only difference is they aren't waiting through the weekend to pay you. I found that I had a LOT of payment issues, because MY money wasn't budgeted in, and SPENT by the time Monday came around. Kwim?

At the same time, I upped my late fee ($20/day for the first incident) AND instituted no pay, no stay. If I am not paid by Friday at 6pm, come Monday morning, they will owe me an additional $60 (in cash only-no checks at that point) or they don't have care. I email everyone who hasn't paid by 3pm Friday an invoice detailing that. I have had ONE late payment in 6 months, and I NEVER have to ask for my pay.

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It IS a necessary expense, but unfortunately, it is one of the FIRST things some (not all) families try to skip on

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I would do exactly this^

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