How Much to Charge?

[QualiTcare]

i charge $175 per week for full time care which equals out to $35 per day. i have a mother who is a nurse and she works 3 twelve hour shifts. she pays me $175 because it's 36 hours crammed into 3 days vs. 40 hours spread over five days. also, she sometimes wants to bring her son on another day so she can get chores/errands done - so she pays $200 weekly based on that.

i have to say - the parents i serve are willing to pay a little more than normal (for where we live) because i have a degree in early childhood and i only keep four kids.

but that's how i do it...

[TGT09]

Just a thought to consider.....
Sometime in the future should you decide to offer daycare to other families that may have more traditional work hours in addition to this family..those 13 hour days are going to be very, very challenging - not only for you, but for your family as well.

It's too easy to burn-out in this profession by over-extending yourself. I truly encourage you to thoughtfully consider the impact on yourself and your own kids by just starting out in the world of daycare and for your kids to have to share their mom for so much over-time.

I commend all providers that can and do offer "overtime" care. I personally couldn't do it, and I know when my kids were younger, they really enjoyed their own time with mom after all of the daycare kids left for the day.

Just my very most humble opinion

I comletely agree on the burning out part. I'm open 10.5 hours, 4 days a week and then open for 16 hours on Wednesday's. Wednesday is seriously the longest day EVER! Every week, I kick myself for volunteering to a friend that I would watch her girls while she goes to school from 5-10:30. Luckily, she graduates next March so I will not be taking anymore kids what I guess would be considered 2nd shift after working 1st shift too.

Unlike some of the other ladies if I were only working 3 long days rather than 5....I would be ok with that. But, I do agree that she gets charged for a whole week and not part-time. I charge $160 a week for newborn to pre-k. I don't know however, if I'd feel comfortable charging this lady $320 so I might go through "offering a deal". You could also do a "trial" period so you could see how it's like to have the kids and it should definitely go off of how "good" the girls are. If I had 2 kids that didn't fit in well to my home and had to have them for 3 long days, I would think twice about it.

[nannyde]

I want to thank you all so much for the responses! It never occured to me that it would be a full work week in only three days, or that she would be getting a day and a half pay. We are currently emailing back and forth, and the last one I sent her said that I would be willing to do $80 a day. The reason I said this amount, is because her girls would be dropped off around 5:45am, but they could be picked up anywhere between 6:00pm and 7:30pm, so I thought it would be a fair price regardless of pick up time. I will see what she says...

I do have one more question. She mentioned that she would need care 2 OR 3 days a week, so I am now wondering if I should charge a minimum weekly rate in case she only brings them 2 days one week, so that I can still count on a certain amount of income each week. How would you go about this?

I wouldn't plan on taking on any more kids unless they happen to need the same days as this family because I would want the rest of the week with just my family. Anyway, for this reason, I can't exactly charge her a "holding fee" for those spots in my "day care" because she would be the only family I'd be caring for.

You guys are great, and I appreciate your tips and info

her girls would be dropped off around 5:45am, but they could be picked up anywhere between 6:00pm and 7:30pm, so I thought it would be a fair price regardless of pick up time. I will see what she says...

Always base your rate on the last possible time they are contracted to pick up and don't give a discount if they do come early. Most parents who give you a big window (this is 1.5 hour windown daily times 3 days = 4.5 a week of AWAKE time with the kids) but then have pick up time be the last possible minute EVERY day. In fact, you have a greater chance of her actually being late if she does get off that early (6) because she will know she can leave the kids with you for no additional money and go run errands or have some me time. Once they get into having "me" time they often come late. That would really **** after such a long day so make SURE you base their rates on 7:30 and have a very steep per minute late fee.

Her being a nurse could really land you into overtime. Make sure you have a very steep after 7:30 rate. If she's doing more than twelve hours she will get a big overtime rate so you should too.

I would not do the 2-3 days a week thing. It needs to be three to make it worth it and to have the kids settle into your care. What she is saying is she MIGHT be able to find someone for free on one of the days so she doesn't want to pay you if she HAPPENS to find someone. You will not have a stable income if you allow this. If you do allow only 2 days then you need to have the daily rate be at least 20 percent higher. So if you are doing 80 dollars a day for three days it needs to go to 96 dollars a day if it's only two days a week. The lower you go down in days the more expensive the daily rate is.

She needs to give you a set schedule that can NOT be changed. At the minimum it needs to be given to you by Friday for the upcoming week. If she misses a day she still pays. She can't have a "make up" day. Any care on unsheduled days is MORE money. If you don't do that she will just pick and choose the days and you will never know when you work. She will end up finding free people to do it and then want you for a day so she can have some me time.

You need to know WELL in advance.. make her PAY in advance... and stick TO the schedule every week.

I doubt she will hire you because your rates are too reflective of current rates. My guess is she's looking for a deal and that deal would be really long hours for just a regular daily rate for a couple of flexible days per week. It's all good for her but TERRIBLE for the provider.

Nan

[MarinaVanessa]

I would charge a flat fee as well. I would think about having a max weekly cap (mine is 50 hours a week for full-time and 30 hours a week for part-time). Charging a flat weekly rate for each is a smart idea because by charging by enrollment instead of by attendance you guarantee your income. Anytime that your clients go over these hours you can charge overtime. Personally I also have a daily time cap of 10 hours per day per child even though I am open 12 hours a day but you can opt differently. Do what will work for you and what you are comfortable with.