A Question About Rates (imagine that!)

[Momof2Boys]

So I have ANOTHER question..and guess what! It's about what to charge a potential family..

I had a lady call me about caring for her 20 month old daughter. She works at a hospital so her schedule is not consistent and neither is her husband's. She said she needs care Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6:15am-6:30pm, and Thursdays and Fridays from about 8:30 or 9:00am-2:30pm. However, she doesn't always need all 4 days, and she may even occasionally only need one day. So, my question is: How would YOU charge for this?

For all four days, it's almost 40 hours a week. I have planned on charging $150 or $175 a week for 40-45 hours of care. I am not sure if I should charge this regardless of the hours she needs each week to "hold" her spot, or if I should charge by the hour, or what..

She is coming over on Saturday to set up an interview and meet my family. I am VERY excited about it

Thank you again for your time!

[AmandasFCC]

For me, if your schedule is inconsistent (hours or days), then that means I need to keep open a full-time space for you. Therefore, they pay for a full time space. If they don't want the guarantee, they can go to drop-in care, and take the risk that you won't be able to take the kids.

[momma2girls]

I would definately charge her fulltime rate and fulltime days.

[momma2girls]

I know of many daycares around here do this- fulltime is considered over 30 or 32 hrs.
I am going to be going to this as well for the next yr. I have all fulltime now, and I also have a 3 day min.
Good luck on the interview!!!

[fctjc1979]

I have a family who has very irregular hours. I charge them hourly because parents who have irregular hours also have a hard time getting errands run and are, therefore, much more likely to drop kids off earlier than they are supposed to or pick them up later than they are supposed to. By charging them hourly, the parents are much more likely to drop off and pick up at the correct times, and if not, then I get compensated for it. I have the parents give me their schedule as far in advance as possible (usually no later than a week ahead of time) and then charge a fee if they change it - I guess you could call it an inconvenience fee. I've never had a full daycare, though (since I don't really want a full daycare) so this might not work if you're trying to keep your daycare full. In that case, charging a full time rate is probably the best way to go. If you decide to charge hourly, I would go with 4.50 per hour. If you divide the 150 you said you were planning to charge per week by 40 hours you get 3.75, if you divide the 175 you get 4.38. Charging 4.50 should help cover some of the inconvenience of charging hourly.