Help With Payment Wording

[krosey5]

I'm making changes to my policy handbook. Does this sound OK? If not, where would you make changes? Thanks!

All payments and fees are due each Friday by 5:30 PM for the following week’s tuition. I will not accept weekend payments, as I do not wish to conduct business on my days off. If your payment and/or fees are not paid when due, a late payment of $30.00 will be added to the past due amount & will be due at the time of drop-off Monday morning. Otherwise, your child will not be allowed into care & you will be accessed a $10 per day late fee (in addition to the $30) until it is paid. If the payment is not paid within 5 days of payment due (FRIDAY BY 5:30 PM), I will terminate the contract immediately and your child’s spot will be filled. To reinstate your slot, a one month deposit would be required. Thank you.

[melilley]

I'm making changes to my policy handbook. Does this sound OK? If not, where would you make changes? Thanks!

All payments and fees are due each Friday by 5:30 PM for the following week’s tuition. I will not accept weekend payments, as I do not wish to conduct business on my days off. If your payment and/or fees are not paid when due, a late payment of $30.00 will be added to the past due amount & will be due at the time of drop-off Monday morning. Otherwise, your child will not be allowed into care & you will be accessed a $10 per day late fee (in addition to the $30) until it is paid. If the payment is not paid within 5 days of payment due (FRIDAY BY 5:30 PM), I will terminate the contract immediately and your child’s spot will be filled. To reinstate your slot, a one month deposit would be required. Thank you.

I just noticed a spelling error: accessed should be assessed. Other than that I think it sounds good!

[butterfly]

sounds great to me, seems to leave no room for "interpretation".

[krosey5]

I just noticed a spelling error: accessed should be assessed. Other than that I think it sounds good!

LOL Thank you!

sounds great to me, seems to leave no room for "interpretation".

Exactly what I want! Ha! Thank you!

[Familycare71]

I really like it!!! May add something like that to my policies

[melilley]

I really like it!!! May add something like that to my policies

Me too! I already have something, but hers sounds much better than mine!

[krosey5]

I really like it!!! May add something like that to my policies

I got the idea after seeing several talk about it here & then having to spend a couple of my weekends haggling for payment & then waiting for it to be delivered. NO MORE! I am grateful to this site for helping me out! happyface

[melilley]

I really like the weekend payment part! I don't have that in mine, but may have to add it!

[butterfly]

Just something to think about or a question rather... your deposit - does that go towards anything? Or do they get this back when they no longer need care?

[Blackcat31]

I'm making changes to my policy handbook. Does this sound OK? If not, where would you make changes? Thanks!

All payments and fees are due each Friday by 5:30 PM for the following week’s tuition. I will not accept weekend payments, as I do not wish to conduct business on my days off. If your payment and/or fees are not paid when due, a late payment of $30.00 will be added to the past due amount & will be due at the time of drop-off Monday morning. Otherwise, your child will not be allowed into care & you will be accessed a $10 per day late fee (in addition to the $30) until it is paid. If the payment is not paid within 5 days of payment due (FRIDAY BY 5:30 PM), I will terminate the contract immediately and your child’s spot will be filled. To reinstate your slot, a one month deposit would be required. Thank you.

I wouldn't bother explaining that you don't want to do business on weekends. Just have a due date period. When you explain something, it gives the impression that there is negotiation room...kwim? I'd just state the facts and let it be. If parents have questions, they should definitely ask.

I'd change it to something like this:

All payments and fees are due by Friday NO LATER than 5:30 PM for the upcoming week.

ANY payment made after 5:30 P.M will automatically have a late fee of $10 per calendar day added .

NO services will be provided if there are ANY unpaid tuition/fees.

If the payment is not paid within 5 days of due date (FRIDAY BY 5:30 PM), our child care services agreement will be immediately terminated.


Personally, I don't think you need to add the info about a deposit....as should they actually ask to re-enroll, you can simply explain that due to past payment history, they are going to have to pay a late fee.

Hope that helps.

[mamac]

I wouldn't bother explaining that you don't want to do business on weekends. Just have a due date period. When you explain something, it gives the impression that there is negotiation room...kwim? I'd just state the facts and let it be. If parents have questions, they should definitely ask.

I'd change it to something like this:

All payments and fees are due by Friday NO LATER than 5:30 PM for the upcoming week.

ANY payment made after 5:30 P.M will automatically have a late fee of $10 per calendar day added .

NO services will be provided if there are ANY unpaid tuition/fees.

If the payment is not paid within 5 days of due date (FRIDAY BY 5:30 PM), our child care services agreement will be immediately terminated.


Personally, I don't think you need to add the info about a deposit....as should they actually ask to re-enroll, you can simply explain that due to past payment history, they are going to have to pay a late fee.

Hope that helps.

I agree. I tried to be as straightforward and "formal" as I could with my handbook and contract. I didn't want it to be too wordy as if I needed to explain why I had my policies in place. I definitely agree that it reads more like there may be room to negotiate.

This is how my payment section is written in both my handbook and contract:

[HANDBOOK]
Payment
All full-time and part-time tuition payments are to be paid in advance of care and are to be made payable no later than pick-up on Friday (or the child’s last scheduled day of attendance that week), even if the child is not in attendance. If payment falls on a holiday, payment is due the on the weekday before. (No Sat. or Sun. payments) Tuition payments will cover the following week of childcare. Drop-in Care payments are to be made at drop-off time. No exceptions!

Parents are responsible for payment in full for the agreed-upon hours, whether or not their child is in attendance. This includes part-timers as well as full-timers. No refunds/credits will be given. Late payments will incur a $10.00 per calendar day fee. This includes Saturday and Sunday and no payments will be accepted on these days. Childcare will not be provided with outstanding fees.

[CONTRACT]
6. Tuition Payment

a. Child care tuition fees are due and payable on Friday (or the last day of attendance for the week), no later than the scheduled pick-up time which will cover the following week of child care. Payments for fees are accepted as cash, personal check or money order.
b. If payment falls on a holiday, payment is due the on the weekday before. (No Sat. or Sun. payments)
c. Fees are charged for the entire week and are based solely on enrollment, not on attendance. There are no deductions in fees regardless of whether a child is present or not.
d. Tuition is due 52 weeks per year except as listed in item Four section 3.

7. Late Payments

a. If tuition is not paid in full when due, a late payment fee of $10.00 per calendar day will be added to the amount until it is paid in full. This includes Saturday and Sunday. No payments will be accepted over the weekend.
b. If tuition is not received when due, child care services will be suspended until full payment is made including late payment fees and other fees. Tuition will still be owed for any days that the child does not attend due to failure of payment of fees.
c. A minimum of $30 in late fees will be due if payment is made on the following Monday, dependent upon the last scheduled day of care.

[MarinaVanessa]

I'd make it more straight forward ...

All payments and fees are due each Friday no later than 5:30 PM for the following week’s tuition. If payments and/or fees are not paid when due, a late payment of $30.00 will be added to your account. If child care fees and penalty fees are not paid by Monday morning child care services will be suspended and your child will not be allowed into care. Additionally a $10 per day late fee will be added to your account until your account is current. If the full payment is not received within 5 days of payment due (FRIDAY BY 5:30 PM), services may be terminated effective immediately. To reinstate your slot, a one month deposit would be required. Thank you.

[krosey5]

I wouldn't bother explaining that you don't want to do business on weekends. Just have a due date period. When you explain something, it gives the impression that there is negotiation room...kwim? I'd just state the facts and let it be. If parents have questions, they should definitely ask.

I'd change it to something like this:

All payments and fees are due by Friday NO LATER than 5:30 PM for the upcoming week.

ANY payment made after 5:30 P.M will automatically have a late fee of $10 per calendar day added .

NO services will be provided if there are ANY unpaid tuition/fees.

If the payment is not paid within 5 days of due date (FRIDAY BY 5:30 PM), our child care services agreement will be immediately terminated.


Personally, I don't think you need to add the info about a deposit....as should they actually ask to re-enroll, you can simply explain that due to past payment history, they are going to have to pay a late fee.

Hope that helps.

Thank you......This is similar to how I had it before (except I only allowed for 3 days before terming contract). With my original handbook parents assumed they could drop payment off on Sat/Sun to avoid paying any additional $10/day charge. This is why I am making changes. I need to have something saying I will not allow weekend payments. I really don't like spending my time waiting on them. Especially when they are vague about times or don't show up when they say they will.

I even had a parent argue:

1. So does the late fee run from 5:30PM to 5:30PM? (She wanted to know if she was going to be charged another $10 if she paid before 5:30 Saturday).

2. If I place payment in your mailbox on Sunday at 11:00 PM do I still get charged another $10? Seriously?! Yes, she really did want to drop it off at almost midnight!

I agree. I tried to be as straightforward and "formal" as I could with my handbook and contract. I didn't want it to be too wordy as if I needed to explain why I had my policies in place. I definitely agree that it reads more like there may be room to negotiate.

This is how my payment section is written in both my handbook and contract:

[HANDBOOK]
Payment
All full-time and part-time tuition payments are to be paid in advance of care and are to be made payable no later than pick-up on Friday (or the child’s last scheduled day of attendance that week), even if the child is not in attendance. If payment falls on a holiday, payment is due the on the weekday before. (No Sat. or Sun. payments) Tuition payments will cover the following week of childcare. Drop-in Care payments are to be made at drop-off time. No exceptions!

Parents are responsible for payment in full for the agreed-upon hours, whether or not their child is in attendance. This includes part-timers as well as full-timers. No refunds/credits will be given. Late payments will incur a $10.00 per calendar day fee. This includes Saturday and Sunday and no payments will be accepted on these days. Childcare will not be provided with outstanding fees.

[CONTRACT]
6. Tuition Payment

a. Child care tuition fees are due and payable on Friday (or the last day of attendance for the week), no later than the scheduled pick-up time which will cover the following week of child care. Payments for fees are accepted as cash, personal check or money order.
b. If payment falls on a holiday, payment is due the on the weekday before. (No Sat. or Sun. payments)
c. Fees are charged for the entire week and are based solely on enrollment, not on attendance. There are no deductions in fees regardless of whether a child is present or not.
d. Tuition is due 52 weeks per year except as listed in item Four section 3.

7. Late Payments

a. If tuition is not paid in full when due, a late payment fee of $10.00 per calendar day will be added to the amount until it is paid in full. This includes Saturday and Sunday. No payments will be accepted over the weekend.
b. If tuition is not received when due, child care services will be suspended until full payment is made including late payment fees and other fees. Tuition will still be owed for any days that the child does not attend due to failure of payment of fees.
c. A minimum of $30 in late fees will be due if payment is made on the following Monday, dependent upon the last scheduled day of care.

Thank you....Looks like back to the drawing board.

[Blackcat31]

Thank you......This is similar to how I had it before (except I only allowed for 3 days before terming contract). With my original handbook parents assumed they could drop payment off on Sat/Sun to avoid paying any additional $10/day charge. This is why I am making changes. I need to have something saying I will not allow weekend payments. I really don't like spending my time waiting on them. Especially when they are vague about times or don't show up when they say they will.

I even had a parent argue:

1. So does the late fee run from 5:30PM to 5:30PM? (She wanted to know if she was going to be charged another $10 if she paid before 5:30 Saturday).

2. If I place payment in your mailbox on Sunday at 11:00 PM do I still get charged another $10? Seriously?! Yes, she really did want to drop it off at almost midnight!

Ok, I understand now about the weekend thing. That would make me mad too!

Maybe you should just make a blanket announcement about payments letting parents know that NO business will be conducted on the weekends.

As far as the issues above, I'd explain late fees to the parent by stating that ANY payment NOT made by 5:30 P.M. is considered late and have late fees added for Saturday, Sunday AND Monday.

Maybe change your wording to something like this:

PAYMENTS

ALL payments for the upcoming week will be due NO LATER than 5:30 on Friday. A $10 per calendar day late fee will be added to ALL late payments.

NO PAYMENTS will be excepted on weekends. NO EXCEPTIONS.

NO services will be provided until ALL payments (including late fees) are paid in FULL. Termination will occur after 3 days.




Does that sound better? Closer to what you were trying to say?

[krosey5]

Ok, I understand now about the weekend thing. That would make me mad too!

Maybe you should just make a blanket announcement about payments letting parents know that NO business will be conducted on the weekends.

As far as the issues above, I'd explain late fees to the parent by stating that ANY payment NOT made by 5:30 P.M. is considered late and have late fees added for Saturday, Sunday AND Monday.

Maybe change your wording to something like this:

PAYMENTS

ALL payments for the upcoming week will be due NO LATER than 5:30 on Friday. A $10 per calendar day late fee will be added to ALL late payments.

NO PAYMENTS will be excepted on weekends. NO EXCEPTIONS.

NO services will be provided until ALL payments (including late fees) are paid in FULL. Termination will occur after 3 days.




Does that sound better? Closer to what you were trying to say?

Yes! Very direct & to the point. Thank you!!

I get wordy when I let my emotions take run the show! Ha!