Basic Rates ?

[rhondawarren]

What do you typically charge for a kiddo? I currently charge $15 per day, flat rate and am open 7p-5:30p. I have been told this is really low. I also only charge when kids actually attend. A few of my families are GREAT about this and pay for all 5 days regardless (even if I was closed because of sickness!). Others have become a pain because they'll tell me they are coming 3 days but only come 1, bounce checks etc. Has anyone increased rates? I am opn 7p-5:30p.

We just finished building our new house so I am working on my new rates for my new area that we live in. This is what I will be charging ...

I don't charge by the day, I charge by the week simply because they are taking up a space.

FT first child $100/Wk each additional child is $75/Wk each. Full Time is 4 days or more per week.

PT $60/Wk per child. Part Time is 3 days or less per week.

I am thinking about being open 12 hours a day from 6 am to 6 pm. But only allowing each family 10 hours a day during those hours.

I also will be providing breakfast, lunch, PM snack and drinks!

HTH ...

But I do believe $15 a day is really low!

[Brustkt]

I know I am low...but I base my rates with what the State pays for our area. Granted, if I lived 20 minutes south or 60 minutes north, I would be charging a lot more!!!
I charge $21.00 per day for potty trained children. It goes up from there.

[originalkat]

I charge by the month $525 which is about $25 per day. They pay for the month whether they are here or not.

[katzan]

I'm not licensed yet but since I am only watching one child that is not related to me right now, I don't need to be. I plan on adding another kid to the mix though and will need to be licensed by then.

Anyway, I charge $25 a day for 6-8 hours and $15 a day for 3-5 hours. Anything above 8 hours is an additional $5 an hour. I definitely do it a bit different than most people but I'm not relying on it for a steady income. The money I make from this is our "extra income."

[LeslieG]

Wow!! I think you should definitely raise your rates! You deserve to be making much more for what you do.

My mom did daycare for 20 years, so I always call her up when I have questions or need advice (and I also come on the forum of course!), and one of the things she told me about rates was that if you charge WAY under the going rate for your area then you will likely attract difficult families... i.e. families that don't pay on time, have bounced checks, abuse your hours, etc.

I charge slightly higher that the average rate around here, and while I have never had a full daycare in the 2 years that I have lived here, I have always had wonderful families!!! Actually the reason that I have not been completely full may not even be related to money.. it could just be that it has taken some time to get me name out.

Anyway, I agree with what others have said... Charge at least $25/day.

[TaylorTots]

I feel that $15 is very low regardless of location. Have you looked into what other providers are charging around you?

[Texasjeepgirl]

I agree that rates can vary from one town to the next...
The further you are from a big city... the lower the rates drop...

I am in North Texas...about 70 miles North of DALLAS/FT. WORTH area.....the rates are much higher in the metroplex area than they are here in my town.
The rates are all basically the same for about a 30 mile radius around me... but.. if you go 50 miles.. toward Dallas... the rate goes up quickly.

I am a TEXAS RISING STAR provider through the WORKFORCE TEXOMA program... which means I have more required of me regarding training and inspections... which results in recieving the highest rate they pay per day for LICENSED HOME PROVIDERS.

I base my rates upon the amount I receive from Workforce Texoma...and charge the same amount to all clients whether they receive assistance or are self pay clients.

Although I charge all clients a FULL time rate... Workforce pays a PER DAY amount....
For an infant that rate is $27.88 per day so I multiply that by 5 and charge a rate of $139.40 per week.
When a child turns 18 months this amount reduces to $25.28 per day...
At 3 years it drops to $23.29 per day

I will not take random drop ins... However.. I do have an arrangement with 1 family for their children to attend 1 day per week...
I charge $30 for the 2 year old... and $20 for the 5 year old that arrives at lunch. If the 5 year old attends all day.. then I charge $30 ...

I can't imagine only charging $15 per day... that almost sounds like FREE....... but I don't know the area you live in...

I'm sure those that charge $40- $45 per day are shocked at my low rates...but... as many have stated here,
You need to check with other area providers.....to see what the average rate for your specific area is... This job is much too challenging and potentially stressful to undercharge for the care you provide.

[Unregistered]

I charge $35 a day for PT and $140 a week for FT. Out of Orlando, FL.

[sarah33]

I live in Columbia, MD, (between D.C. and Baltimore) and the infant/toddler rates are $300 a week for family daycares and about $200-250 for older kiddos. I do an hourly/part-time daycare where I charge $12 for infants/toddlers and $10 for pre-k kids every hour. (I set it up that way so I could try and have more flexibility in my own life with kids and husband, but I still end up working about 35 hours a week.) I try to get as many as possible into one day so some days I make $30-45 an hour, but most days I am making $12-22 an hour. I also offer a 10% military discount as I am a veteran and we live near some bases. I have found that the more education/professional experience you have, the higher you can charge. If your decor/toys are a bit higher end, it also sends the message that you are worth the extra money. Some parents here are really all about the image. It really just depends on the area. Some of the home daycare summer programs charge $30 a day for a 9-3.

[MCC]

I live in Columbia, MD, (between D.C. and Baltimore) and the infant/toddler rates are $300 a week for family daycares and about $200-250 for older kiddos. I do an hourly/part-time daycare where I charge $12 for infants/toddlers and $10 for pre-k kids every hour. (I set it up that way so I could try and have more flexibility in my own life with kids and husband, but I still end up working about 35 hours a week.) I try to get as many as possible into one day so some days I make $30-45 an hour, but most days I am making $12-22 an hour. I also offer a 10% military discount as I am a veteran and we live near some bases. I have found that the more education/professional experience you have, the higher you can charge. If your decor/toys are a bit higher end, it also sends the message that you are worth the extra money. Some parents here are really all about the image. It really just depends on the area. Some of the home daycare summer programs charge $30 a day for a 9-3.

I'm on the other side of DC from you (in Northern VA) and I agree with everything you said.

I'm in a planned community, and the average home here is mid 500k (that's for a 1800-2500 sq foot home) I charge $290/week with no part time care option, and 52 weeks of pay.
There are plenty of home daycare around me charging $200-220, but in this area, image is everything. Most of my toys are high end, my cribs all match, the room is bright and airy, in a separate section of my house. I don't have any characters on the walls, or ABC pictures etc. In this area, that is very pleasing to parents.

However, I have been looking at moving to Virginia Beach, and it seems like parents want the Big ABC posters, and Elmo stickers on the wall, and the average cost for care there seems to be around $190-250.

Rates are so dramatically based on cost of living and culture of the area as well.