How Does Everyone Else Charge?

[meganyoon]

Hello, all! I am in the beginning stages of opening a daycare. I would like to know how all of you go about charging parents for your service. Do you charge by the hour? The day? The week maybe? I was planning on having a set charge per week.

Also, how many of you charge a flat rate for the whole week regardless of how many days a child attends? For instance if you charged $20 a day/$100 a week, do you charge a parent $100 a week who only brings their child three days a week?

I need some insight!

Thank you in advance for your help!

[Lovisa]

I charge by the week. Either full time or part time status. Tuition amount doesn't change based on attendance since the amount secures the child's spot in my daycare. The ONLY time I adjust the tuition amount is if I close for MY vacation or an illness with me or one of my own kids where I have to close my doors. Otherwise, they pay the full amount

[storybookending]

Everyone that’s on my new contracts pays the same amount by the week regardless on if they are full or part time. They get 10 days a year where they don’t have to pay and they can take them whenever and however they want. I just take my weekly rate and divide by 5 and have them take that much off to prorate if they are missing a partial week and want to use vacation days. I take 10ish holidays paid but if I close any other random days I currently do not charge them for that time.

[Leigh]

I give my parents my rates as yearly tuition. I figure out how much per year that I need to make per space, and let them decide how to pay (weekly, monthly, every other week, etc.). They choose pay frequency and must stick to it. I explain to them that they pay the same no matter what because my days off are already built into my yearly rate. If a parent has a problem with paying during weeks where I have time off, they have the option of paying a higher payment other weeks, but it must still total my YEARLY rate. Basically, they can pay a 10% higher rate during the weeks that they do attend so that they don't have to "pay" when I am off work. Absolutely no one has taken me up on that offer. This system has worked wonders for the "do I have to pay for XXX?" parents.

[ellen211]

I charged per week. It does not changed whether how many days my child attends.