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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Payment Arrangements For Deposits
thatdivalady 10:24 AM 09-13-2012
So....I tried to be nice and that is sooooo far out of my comfort zone because I have heard stories of providers being taken advantage of. I usually require a last week deposit + first week of care + $50 registration fee per child. I also actually give a decent sibling discount. A mother came to enroll her two children and did not have any way to get all of the money upfront so I offered her the ability to pay a little bit each week for about 4-6 weeks until her deposit was paid up. She was, however, responsible for paying the registration fee and the first week of care prior to their first day. We had a conversation during the paperwork process where I explained 2-3 times that she still was responsible for the tuition every Friday because all parents pay prior to the week of care. We also reviewed the policy of tuition payments being due each and every week regardless of attendance. She gave an additional payment last week Tuesday for 1/8th of the deposit she owes.

Go figure that she sends the grandfather to pick the children up last Friday and when questioned about the tuition stated to the staff that she does not get paid until the 14th, "I" was aware of her situation and we had arrangements. She also claimed that she only owed a lesser amount because she gave us some money. But that money was applied towards her last week deposit and she did know that. Well my staff reminded her that there is a late fee per day for late payments and the children cannot return until the tuition and late fee payments are made.

Now, we have not heard back from her and she hasn't tried to bring the children. We are happy about that because it saved us from an awkward conversation. We are betting that if she shows up at all, she shows up with just one week of payment and we'll still have to have a conversation...
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Blackcat31 11:21 AM 09-13-2012
Sorry yo are going through this. It does get hard having to explain things and then having to explain them again.

Oneof the things I have implemented recently is a payment calendar.

When a new family enrolls and chooses a plan for payments (weekly, bi-weekly monthly ect) I will print off a blank calendar with the days highlighted in green in which their payments are due. I also think this helps because there are often closures or holidays that make effect the payment schedules so highlighting which days payments are due helps parents know and keep track.

Are you out any money now if she doesn't show back up or has she paid enough of a deposit to cover the notice period?
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thatdivalady 11:28 AM 09-13-2012
Oh no, I always make it so no money is owed. If she shows up she must pay for this week and next week if she wants care for her children. We're thinking she may call or show up because she did pay some extra. It's just going to be interesting with her having to pay for this week and not having the children. I've seriously considered allowing her to pay half for this week but then I'm thinking it will cause problems later on down the line.

I love your idea of the payment calendar! I'm going to implement it : )
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DaisyMamma 12:03 PM 09-13-2012
That is so frustrating. I'm sorry you have to deal with that.
I allow parents to divide up their deposits but haven't ever had a problem. I let them ddivide it into two or four payments. There has never been a question as to how much they are paying each week towards the deposit.
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