Contracted vs Open Hours

[permanentvacation]

Violet Cupcake,

You're welcome and good luck!

[kidkair]

Personally I love having open hours. All my families can drop off at 7 or later. I just greet them and we spend a few minutes getting the kid into the daycare and saying hi and goofing off then we slide back into whatever we were doing before the mild interruption. I ask that if they are changing their pick up times they let me know but that's really only if it's way off of routine such as picking up during nap rather than after or after nap rather than during depending on the family's usual schedule. For the most part all my families are really nice about letting me know when 'normal' is going to be off. The biggest key to my overall happiness with drop off and pick up is that it gets done at some point and that my families actually like spending time with their kids.

[Sprouts]

Honestly, I have done it all ways. I used to be open 12 hours and charged by the day and of course everyone eventually ended up here all day every day....even if they didn't start out that way, they figured they were paying for the day so they used it all up. If you go that route, then do it like Meyou said and charge a high enough fee that it is worth it.

I also tried the contracted hours and that worked out ok but when parent's work schedules change or someone's situation changed, I found myself doing so much extra calculating and rate adjusting that I felt like an accountant. If you do it that way, I think it needs to work for ALL families and you have to have a plan in place for adjustments and changes.

I now charge a weekly rate (based on an 8 hour day and double the rate for each additional hour over 8 a family needs) so my rate increases based on pick up time. It works fantastic and I feel more than compensated for my "overtime". If parents complain about the higher charge...THEY are the ones who can change it by picking up earlier so it basically leaves me sitting out of the money dance. (Basically, it is Nannyde's rate structure.)

For me personally, I think this works best because I offer the parents a rate sheet and basically they get to pick their own rate from the sliding fee scale. Once they pick a rate and time though they have to stick with it (I require advance notice if they need to change) and if they are late picking up, I charge a $1 per minute.

So far, this is the best method for me. I feel compensated for having to work more than 8 hours and I feel the families who don't work as long or as much aren't feeling like they are getting the short end of the stick when before other families used the whole day and still paid the same rate as they did. KWIM?

Hi again black cat! I am in the process of changing around my rates and fees part of my contract for new parents. I am going over the wording and fee scale because i see you use Nannys rate schedule also. Do you give parents a copy of this or hold it in case they are spys!?
Also I am writing that "rates are based on hours and are contracted with each family"
I am deciding between making my base hours 9 or 10 hours. Sme parents are commuters and don't want to scare them away too fast...50 hours weeks sounds so much too me for a baby

[Sprouts]

okay i finally figured it out and i just finished making my charts ....

[Blackcat31]

okay i finally figured it out and i just finished making my charts ....

I PM'ed you. Let me know if my copied and pasted paragraph didn't come out right. I hit send and didn't proof read to make sure it read right....