Payments Are Due In The AM!

[daycaremom76]

Ok so today this is annoying more then a normal day cause my mortgage is due and I can't pay it until my dkp pay me! My contract says that payments are due Friday MORNING however it never fails that I have parents that forget and pay me in the afternoon (5pm-6pm) when they pick-up their kids. Like I said usually this isn't a huge deal however I do my banking during nap-time online (scan checks into my account) My issue is last week I had one parent forget in the AM said she would drop off in the PM but had an "issue" come up so Dcd picked up and said dcm would drop it off after she was finished where ever she was. Well she didn't drop it off until after 8pm friday night......no I didn't charge her anything ironically enough she "forgot" again this morning. So today my SA didn't pay in the AM (she never does) she said she would drop it off in the PM I get a call from her at lunch telling me that SA went home sick early and she would just drop off payment on Monday when he came back. I said that's fine just add in $30 late fee ($10 per day) she asked why and I told her cause payments are due in the AM. So she said she would be by sometime around 6pm when she got off work. Now my contract says AM however I don't have a fee if they pay later in the day but it's really starting to piss me off!!! I mean seriously these parent's would be pissed if they checked their bank accounts in the AM and their Direct Deposit wasn't there from their employer so why should it be any different for me?????? Should I start implementing a $5 late fee if it's paid in the evening?? And they have ALL done it at some point, some just more then others! It's been a while (year or more) since someone has paid after friday so I know that it will be here by the PM (hopefully) but still it keeps me from being able to do my record keeping and bill paying during a quiet time. And when it comes time for pick-up I don't always remember to remind them they forgot in the AM!!!

[Meeko]

Absolutely charge a late fee! It's late!

If they pay their credit card company past the cut off on the due date...they get charged a late fee. If you check most statements, they will say something like "payment must be received by 2PM on such-a-such day" At a second past that time, they add a fee.

You are no different. You are a business. Don't let the parents walk all over you.

[Starburst]

I agree....

If it is in your contract that means that it is legal binding. Does it say by a certain time in the AM like "by (or) no later than 12PM" or does it say at drop off/arrival. If it says at arrival I would say implement a "no pay, no play" policy. I would also look into the possibility of doing a direct deposit where they take their due amount every week on a certain day (IDK what time they take it out) from their bank account and put it directly into yours; but if you did that also mention late fees (or any other issues with that system) are subject to be paid in cash.

My mom and fiance think I should do that smart phone app-attachment thing where you type in the amount and the parents just swipe their credit card and the money is instantly in your account. The only problem is that it does charge a small fee like 2 or 3% per swipe so you may lose some money doing that (depending on what you charge about $1-$5 a week= $52- $260 a year per family)- unless you make the parents pay that fee to you in cash or see if you can use it as a tax deduction due to it being a business related expense.

[Blackcat31]

NO care without payment at drop off
Late fees when paid late...even a minute late
Too much TMI from parents.

Those are the first things I think about when reading your post. I mean why is it YOUR problem that Timmy went home sick from school or that someone's direct deposit isn't in their account???? NONE of that is your concern.

The biggest problem is that even YOU aren't following your policy regarding payments. So why should the parents? kwim?

If payment is due at drop off in the A.M., and someone doesn't have it then, why are you still watching their child?

YOU are allowing them to be this way and not really doing anything about it.

They aren't going to change until you do.

I do NOT mean that harshly or rudely....just that sometimes the obvious is right there and we still don't see it.

Start enforcing your payment policy. If you feel you can't turn someone away in the a.m for non-payment, then don't out it in your contract. Find another way to encourage timely payments.

I have a provider friend that offers pre and post pay. Rates for paying BEFORE services is $25 per day and paying AFTER services are provided is $35 per day. Guess how many of her parents pay before?

Start charging a late fee or get used to paying the ones your mortgage and or other companies will cahrge you for being late.

Write your parents a notice and let them know this late payment stuff is no longer going to be tolerated without heavy penalties and then stick to it. Since I started being firm with my payment polices, I have not received one single late payment from anyone.

You'd be surprised at the lengths a parent will go to get payment to you if they know you are serious about following through on your rules to not provide care and/or to avoid paying huge late fees.

You can do it.....stand up for yourself and for your family!

[allsmiles]

NO care without payment at drop off
Late fees when paid late...even a minute late
Too much TMI from parents.

Those are the first things I think about when reading your post. I mean why is it YOUR problem that Timmy went home sick from school or that someone's direct deposit isn't in their account???? NONE of that is your concern.

The biggest problem is that even YOU aren't following your policy regarding payments. So why should the parents? kwim?

If payment is due at drop off in the A.M., and someone doesn't have it then, why are you still watching their child?

YOU are allowing them to be this way and not really doing anything about it.

They aren't going to change until you do.

I do NOT mean that harshly or rudely....just that sometimes the obvious is right there and we still don't see it.

Start enforcing your payment policy. If you feel you can't turn someone away in the a.m for non-payment, then don't out it in your contract. Find another way to encourage timely payments.

I have a provider friend that offers pre and post pay. Rates for paying BEFORE services is $25 per day and paying AFTER services are provided is $35 per day. Guess how many of her parents pay before? Start charging a late fee or get used to paying the ones your mortgage and or other companies will cahrge you for being late.

Write your parents a notice and let them know this late payment stuff is no longer going to be tolerated without heavy penalties and then stick to it. Since I started being firm with my payment polices, I have not received one single late payment from anyone.

You'd be surprised at the lengths a parent will go to get payment to you if they know you are serious about following through on your rules to not provide care and/or to avoid paying huge late fees.

You can do it.....stand up for yourself and for your family!

i loooooooove this idea!

[daycaremom76]

All it says is that "Payments are due Friday Morning" and that's in bold it doesn't say that there will be a penalty if it's paid in the afternoon at pick-up it only says any payments made after friday will incur a $10 late fee per day. As it turns out I ended up chasing SA down cause as 8pm rolled around still no payment and she lives a block away, she dropped off payment Saturday Morning. I didn't charge her a late fee or bother with her. The other one that didn't pay ended up telling me at pick-up that was her daughters last day! I saw that coming a mile away! She left because her contract time pick-up was 5pm and when she all the sudden started picking her daughter up at 6pm (when I close) literally at like 5:57-6pm I finally said something to her cause my kids play sports and some of their games start at 6pm she snapped back at me and told me "Well then I guess I'll be giving you notice then" but instead she just left. SO LONG!