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Growing1atime 03:18 PM 09-22-2011
Would you charge for the whole day if grandma came to pick up the child after just an hour of care?

I am not sure how to handle this. I picked up this dck from a neighbor's daycare who went back to work at a preschool. When she had the family they only paid when the dck was actually at care because she is only 2-3 days per week and the mom's schedule changes. It works for me right now because she is usually here at a min of 2 days. But today Grandma came and picked her up after she had only been here for an hour.

I am not a greedy person, but I have a feeling that they think that because she was only here for an hour they don't have to pay for it.

They would be wrong. Now I just have to figure out if I should charge my drop in rate, $8 per hour, or half day rate $25.

What would you do?
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sharlan 03:24 PM 09-22-2011
How do you normally charge for the child - hourly or daily?

I charge a flat rate so it doesn't matter if the child is here for 1 hour or 8, it's the same.
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Growing1atime 03:30 PM 09-22-2011
Originally Posted by sharlan:
How do you normally charge for the child - hourly or daily?

I charge a flat rate so it doesn't matter if the child is here for 1 hour or 8, it's the same.
I have different charges for different things.

Full Day, 5 - 10 hours, $35
Half Day, 1-5 hours, $25
Drop in Care, unscheduled $8 per hour

She was scheduled for a full day of care but left after an hour. So I could be "cool" about it and charge just the $8, or I could say hey you owe me for the full day since she was scheduled to be here.

All of this part time, flexible scheduling is starting to get to me!!!!
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AnneCordelia 03:30 PM 09-22-2011
I also have a flat rate for half days or full days that I charge. Makes it easier for times like this exactly. Also, if the child was scheduled to attend, IMO, they should pay for the whole day regardless of if she was picked up after only an hour. YOU probably planned a craft, activity and food for her while she was there and need to be compensated for that time/thought/cost.
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daycare 03:59 PM 09-22-2011
Originally Posted by Growing1atime:
Would you charge for the whole day if grandma came to pick up the child after just an hour of care?

I am not sure how to handle this. I picked up this dck from a neighbor's daycare who went back to work at a preschool. When she had the family they only paid when the dck was actually at care because she is only 2-3 days per week and the mom's schedule changes. It works for me right now because she is usually here at a min of 2 days. But today Grandma came and picked her up after she had only been here for an hour.

I am not a greedy person, but I have a feeling that they think that because she was only here for an hour they don't have to pay for it.

They would be wrong. Now I just have to figure out if I should charge my drop in rate, $8 per hour, or half day rate $25.

What would you do?
I would let it pass just this once as a favor...BUT I would let them know that in the future you will not let it go. That if they book for a full day, then they pay a full days rate. I would also let them know that if they want that spot then they should have to pay for it in advance and pay for it every week.

I used to do drop in years ago, but don't any more. When I did, I made the parents put a minimum of a $250.00 deposit retainer. Then I would give them a schedule to fill out on wednesday that was due by Friday. Whatever days they gave me, I pulled that money out of their retainer. I never let the retainer get lower than $40.00 and would inform them when it was low. They had to replenish it every Friday or I would not accept their schedule...

maybe you can try getting paid in advance...???
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Preschool/daycare teacher 04:41 PM 09-22-2011
Originally Posted by Growing1atime:
I have different charges for different things.

Full Day, 5 - 10 hours, $35
Half Day, 1-5 hours, $25
Drop in Care, unscheduled $8 per hour

She was scheduled for a full day of care but left after an hour. So I could be "cool" about it and charge just the $8, or I could say hey you owe me for the full day since she was scheduled to be here.

All of this part time, flexible scheduling is starting to get to me!!!!
How do they normally pay? What is their contract? Do they pay by the hour as a drop in, or by the full day, like child was scheduled that day? If they normally pay full days, I would definitely charge for the full day. But if they normally pay by the hour, and just end up staying 5-10 hours each time, I would charge the hourly rate.

We had a part time child one time, and had to call parents one morning to come right back and get their child (sick), so Grandma ended up coming to get him after he was only here for about 1 1/2 hrs. Then the parents decided that they should be reimbursed for that day since he was there for such a short period of time. They were told no, so they decided they'd bring him an extra day to make up for it, without paying for it. They got by with it because the policy didn't specifically say "part timers pay for their scheduled days regardless of attendance". We soon changed the wording so now it's clear to full or part timers (we also require 3 day/week minimum for part timers), that EVERYONE pays regardless. They also pay in advance like always. My whole point is that without a clear contract with consistant hours regardless of attendance, parents will take you on a messy, wild ride. Since they normally attend 2 days a week, I'd have them sign a contract saying they'll pay for 2 days a week, regardless of attendance, and paid in advance. If they end up needing an extra day beyond the 2 scheduled that week, they can add the day's payment to next week's payment, if that makes sense. Hope that helps...
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Growing1atime 08:22 PM 09-22-2011
Sorry I couldn't answer all the questions posted. I was busy with my kids

I really like the idea about the retainer. I don't know how it would work for me but I am going to keep it in mind.

All of my families have to pay in advance of care. Except this one. Because they were a client of my neighbor/friend whom closed her daycare at the end of summer, I have let them continue to pay at the end of the week like they did with her. Only because they never failed to pay her even once in two years.

I just wasn't sure how to handle this one situation with them. So I called her up and asked what she used to do with them. She always charged them for half day rate. So that is what I did.

DCM called me this evening to ask how much she owes for the week cause dad wasn't going to be picking up tomorrow and he always pays on Friday pickup.

I gave her the rate with the half day in and she said "Cool, see you tomorrow".

Whew. That went well.

Thanks everyone!!
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Doodlebug 12:48 PM 09-23-2011
If you let them get by with it once, then it will happen again.

If you want to be paid next time, bill them this time.
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