Daycare.com Forum
rjskids 06:05 AM 04-09-2011
I know it's different in areas but just wondering HOW you do your daycare rates. What you have found works best. Do you have a full time/part time rate? Is it by hour/day/week? I thought about doing a 3-day/4-day/5-day contract and the less days you come the rates are progressively more (or I guess it sounds better to say the MORE days you come the cheaper the rates are). Can I do that? And if you do before and after school care how do you charge for that also?
kidkair 06:39 AM 04-09-2011
I do a daily rate for part-time and drop-ins and a weekly rate from full time. I haven't had anyone ask me to do before and after school care so I'm not exactly sure what I would charge for that. Probably would do something like 1/2 the full time weekly rate. I also offer a discount to parents who routinely pick up before 4:30. Their discount is based on what time they routinely pick up at.
daysofelijah 06:46 AM 04-09-2011
I go by the average rate for my county. They do a survey of all the daycare providers in the county each year. That is my full time rate. Then to get a daily rate I divide the full time rate by 4 days. So basically they pay the same rate for 4 or 5 days. I very seldom have parents who want all five days anymore. I don't take less than 3 days a week though and I don't do part days.
PeanutsGalore 06:52 AM 04-09-2011
I think it's a combination of the going rate in your area for the type of care you offer and the amount of money you need to survive.
Get a good sampling of what other places charge including all the fees (holding a spot open, supplies, wait list, deposit, etc.). Then figure out what kind of business service you want to offer (professional like a center, a school with accredited teachers, family/home daycare, special needs kids...etc.) and what type of client you want to attract (wealthy, middle class, low income...combination...) and go from there.
Part time is the same as or a bit more than full time. I consider anything over 27 hours a month full time, so if they're here more than that amount of time, it's the full time rate for them. Less than that, I prorate the days based on my full time rate and bump it up a bit to cover the hassles of part time. HTH...
Get a good sampling of what other places charge including all the fees (holding a spot open, supplies, wait list, deposit, etc.). Then figure out what kind of business service you want to offer (professional like a center, a school with accredited teachers, family/home daycare, special needs kids...etc.) and what type of client you want to attract (wealthy, middle class, low income...combination...) and go from there.
Part time is the same as or a bit more than full time. I consider anything over 27 hours a month full time, so if they're here more than that amount of time, it's the full time rate for them. Less than that, I prorate the days based on my full time rate and bump it up a bit to cover the hassles of part time. HTH...
cheerfuldom 06:58 AM 04-09-2011
I do a daily rate. I don't do any half days because it is disruptive for our group and a pain to figure out what to charge. Its not worth my time to be having all the coming and going for literally, a few dollars a day. Right now I have 3 full timers and they pay a full week at a time each Monday and its the same amount no matter what happens (if they get sick, if I get sick, etc, etc). I have one part timer that is here two full days per week and they pay for the two full days each week. I think you have to figure out what type of care works best for you and then go on to your rates. If you are open to a lot of odd hours, coming and going, then contracted hours might be best. If you want the same group every day all day then paying by the full day is best. I had one drop in that I charged by the hour but that was because it was for a friend. I do not normally do drop ins at all.
Abigail 07:31 PM 04-09-2011
Originally Posted by rjskids:
I know it's different in areas but just wondering HOW you do your daycare rates. What you have found works best. Do you have a full time/part time rate? Is it by hour/day/week? I thought about doing a 3-day/4-day/5-day contract and the less days you come the rates are progressively more (or I guess it sounds better to say the MORE days you come the cheaper the rates are). Can I do that? And if you do before and after school care how do you charge for that also?
Will you be licensed? Licensed providers in your area will be in the low/average/high rate listings available from your county or licensing agency. This is updated annually, but keep in mind that the self-declared/unlicensed providers are NOT accounted for and they will more than likely be charging less.I know it's different in areas but just wondering HOW you do your daycare rates. What you have found works best. Do you have a full time/part time rate? Is it by hour/day/week? I thought about doing a 3-day/4-day/5-day contract and the less days you come the rates are progressively more (or I guess it sounds better to say the MORE days you come the cheaper the rates are). Can I do that? And if you do before and after school care how do you charge for that also?
What hours will be available? Will you be doing 24 hour care and weekends and dropins? Would you be willing to do half-day and full-day rates meaning 0-4 hours at a certain rate and 4-9 hours at a certain rate? You can also cap or limit the number of hours to 9 or 10 before you say "no more for one day" or "the rate doubles per hour after so many hours". Lots of ways to figure out rates but when it comes down to it you should have a valid reasoning behind your figures. You can also charge by the age as well.
Lucy 08:15 PM 04-09-2011
Originally Posted by PeanutsGalore:
I consider anything over 27 hours a month full time
27 hours a month? Do you mean a week? I consider anything over 27 hours a month full time
Meeko 08:51 AM 04-10-2011
A flat weekly rate regardless of attendance.
daycare 11:04 AM 04-10-2011
ditto... I charge the same rate and you can come 1 day or all 5.
I decided my rate after my first year in biz. I kept great accounting and was able to see how much money i was spending monthly on the necessary supplies to sucessfully run my program/ other over head. I offer a preschool program, so I was slightly different than the other HDC in my area.
I then called all of the other HDC that i could find and acted as though I wanted to enroll my child. I found out what they offered and price.
I then took all of that into consideration and this is how i got my rate.
I am on the higher rate of other HDC in my area, but i am not the highest out there....
hope this helped some.
I decided my rate after my first year in biz. I kept great accounting and was able to see how much money i was spending monthly on the necessary supplies to sucessfully run my program/ other over head. I offer a preschool program, so I was slightly different than the other HDC in my area.
I then called all of the other HDC that i could find and acted as though I wanted to enroll my child. I found out what they offered and price.
I then took all of that into consideration and this is how i got my rate.
I am on the higher rate of other HDC in my area, but i am not the highest out there....
hope this helped some.
Abigail 06:00 PM 04-10-2011
daycare, were you able to get all your spots filled with being on the higher end? Most of our daycare centers are posted online with hours and rates and many home daycares that are unlicensed post on CL it seems with rates. The rest is found on our referral website.
daycare 06:15 PM 04-10-2011
Originally Posted by Abigail:
daycare, were you able to get all your spots filled with being on the higher end? Most of our daycare centers are posted online with hours and rates and many home daycares that are unlicensed post on CL it seems with rates. The rest is found on our referral website.
up until this year I have always been full. I have had one spot open since feb of this year and have not been able to fill the spot becuse it is unusual days that are being offered. Mon Tu and Friday.daycare, were you able to get all your spots filled with being on the higher end? Most of our daycare centers are posted online with hours and rates and many home daycares that are unlicensed post on CL it seems with rates. The rest is found on our referral website.
Like i said I am not the highest charging in home daycare, just higher than most..
SunflowerMama 04:25 AM 04-11-2011
I charge a full-time rate for 4 or 5 days and then a part-time daily rate for 2 or 3 days.