Hourly Rates Question

[DancingQueen]

For those that charge hourly rates - do you charge to the minute?

How do you handle people that drop off at 7:10 and pick up at about 3:50?

that sort of thing?

[AfterSchoolMom]

If you want to charge hourly, you could just make it "by the hour or portion of the hour". Though I don't know if I'd charge for a full hour if they picked up by, say, 3:01.

[TGT09]

I charge hourly for anything under 6 hours a day. I would consider 7:10 to be 7 and 3:50 to be 4 so I would charge for both full hours. I don't change that unless it's 7:30 or 3:30 and then I would charge half of my hourly rate.

[DancingQueen]

I'm so torn with this.

I have a part time job and I punch a clock and I get paid hourly
if I work 8:05 - 3:40 I get paid for my exact time worked.
I'm thinking if I do a sign in log I will have exact times an I have a time card calculator and I just might do that for this one parent who is nickel and diming me on my end.

[Childminder]

I round up to the nearest 15 minutes and multiply times the rate. So 7:10 -3:50 would be 8.75 X $4.00 = $35

[MarinaVanessa]

I'm so torn with this.

I have a part time job and I punch a clock and I get paid hourly
if I work 8:05 - 3:40 I get paid for my exact time worked.
I'm thinking if I do a sign in log I will have exact times an I have a time card calculator and I just might do that for this one parent who is nickel and diming me on my end.

This is why I don't like to do hourly . I do offer it (drop-in care) but like your said sometimes they "nickel and dime" you to death. If the time-calculator thing will work for you for this client that would be great. I know they have some online that are super easy to use. You just plug in the times that they arrive and leave and it calculates the time to the minute.

Otherwise for my others that are full time or part time that go over their weekly hours I charge for the extra part of the hour. I have a "late drop-offs do not allow for late pick-ups" policy. If your pick-up time is 4pm then you pick-up at 4pm even if you dropped off 2 hours later that day. I do have a 15 minute grace period at pick-up but then charge $5 for every 15 minutes that you are late in picking up (or part of). Once you go over that 15 minutes I charge for that initially 15 minutes and any other time in 15 minutes incriments so if you want that "free" grace period you have to pick up your child within the first 15 minutes, otherwise I charge you.

For example, Pick-up is at 4pm and you pick up at 4:15 then I don't charge the late pick-up fee. If you pick up at 4:20 however then I charge you for the first 15 minutes plus another 15 minutes because you are now into the next 15 minute incriment.

[DCMomOf3]

I round up to the nearest 15 minutes and multiply times the rate. So 7:10 -3:50 would be 8.75 X $4.00 = $35

I do something similar for my SA. I round to the nearest 15 minutes, sometimes its back, sometimes it's forward but it evens out.

[legomom922]

I would never even dream of doing hrly!! I dont think you make as much! Like I have a PT here from 645-1145. I get $35/day for this, but if I charged $4/hr, I would only get $24...no thank you!

[misol]

Mmk.

This is why I don't like to do hourly . I do offer it (drop-in care) but like your said sometimes they "nickel and dime" you to death. If the time-calculator thing will work for you for this client that would be great. I know they have some online that are super easy to use. You just plug in the times that they arrive and leave and it calculates the time to the minute.

FYI, Minute Menu will allow you to calculate exact times as well.

I do hourly for drop-ins and my contract says "per hour or any part thereof" so I always just round up to the nearest hour.

[legomom922]

Oh I forgot, I do offer drop in care for a flat fee of $20 up to a max of 3 hrs, so again, if I charged $4/hr, I would be cutting myself short again.

[QualiTcare]

I do something similar for my SA. I round to the nearest 15 minutes, sometimes its back, sometimes it's forward but it evens out.

When I had an hourly position at a school and again at a daycare, I was told to round my time UP to the nearest 15 minutes if i left at an odd time.

So, I'd say if you charged maybe $5 an hour - that would be $1.25 every 15 minutes. If they picked up at 3:07 - you'd round it to 3:15 and get the full $1.25. I can't imagine someone complaining over .25 or whatever, but if they do, you can tell them they can wait in their car until 3:15 ::