I Need Ideas on Getting Payment

[Preschool/daycare teacher]

There are a lot of Fridays where I don't have any children scheduled for the day, but in order to get paid I need to be at home because payment is due on Fridays. I had just told the parents that if I wasn't home they could slide it under the door. Well last week was the first time I didn't happen to be home when one parent came by and she wasn't able to slide it under because she pays in cash and it was too thick to fit. She text to tell me, so I suggested that she was always welcome to pay by check on her last day of attendance and I just wouldn't deposit it until Friday. She never responded to that. And today she dropped off with no money. I didn't think about it until after she'd already left since she was barely talking to me due to being mad over something else and that's all I had on my mind at the time. So anyway, do you all have any ideas on how she can bring the money over tomorrow since that's when it's due anyway? I don't have any children scheduled again so I'm looking forward to my long weekend. happyface But I want to be able to go somewhere and not be stuck at home all day

[Baby Beluga]

What about a lockable lock box? Maybe one you can attach to the front of your house with a little cutout where they can slide money in. Or you could install a mail opening in your front door. When I worked at an apartment complex we had one of those in the main door of the office so residents could slip their rent checks in when the office was closed.

To avoid this problem I changed my contract to say "payment for the following week is due no later then your contracted pick up time on your child's last day in care." So if their last day with me is Thursday, then payment is due on Thursday no later then pick up."

[Preschool/daycare teacher]

What about a lockable lock box? Maybe one you can attach to the front of your house with a little cutout where they can slide money in. Or you could install a mail opening in your front door. When I worked at an apartment complex we had one of those in the main door of the office so residents could slip their rent checks in when the office was closed.

To avoid this problem I changed my contract to say "payment for the following week is due no later then your contracted pick up time on your child's last day in care." So if their last day with me is Thursday, then payment is due on Thursday no later then pick up."

All my parents claim they can't pay before Friday because that's when they get paid. I live in an apartment so I don't think I better install anything in the door But that's a really good idea if I was able to do that. That would certainly be helpful.

[mommyneedsadayoff]

You could always say payment is due friday before 11 am or whatever time so you are able to leave after 11, or like above person said, a lockbox with a slot. The best thing would be able to have them leave it on thursday or whatever day is the last for the week. Then you actually have friday OFF and don't have to worry about people coming over to your house when you want to leave or just have time to yourself.

[daycare]

I just went through something like this and I switched it to this.

Your payment is due on the last day of the week that your child attends care.


This way there is no waiting around or other issues take place. I had a parent once say they put a check under my doormat and it must have blown away. Uh yeah right. Have had the mailbox drama too. So I cut that all out and said NO MORE...

You pay the last day of the week that your child attends. A late fee will be applied if it is not paid by closing on that day.

it has worked out very well so far.

[ChelseaB]

In your situation, if you cannot enforce cash payment on the final day of care, requesting that parents at least submit a check with the agreement not to deposit until Friday is one of the best solutions I see possible. However, if that doesn't work either, I agree with a PP -- set a time frame on Friday you see appropriate and that you require payment then. Otherwise, late fees will be tacked on, etc.

I shot myself in the foot like this early on in my first year, allowing payment On the parents' pay periods. Now, I have sporadic payments, and even though I have most parents on the schedule I desire, there are a couple I don't want to push just because they've always been good to deal with, and I don't want to push them out the door over something silly. So I understand where you're coming from! Your parents are just going to have to understand that this is your paycheck and try to put them in your shoes -- how would they feel if this were THEIR paycheck. Id say 98% might see your views then and try to cooperate more

[ChelseaB]

OH! And silly me, I forgot to mention that there are apps that do electronic transfers of debit cards and checking accounts that you could try -- I believe one is called Square Cash. You can send a notification with totals and they reply with payment

[Blackcat31]

All my parents claim they can't pay before Friday because that's when they get paid. I live in an apartment so I don't think I better install anything in the door But that's a really good idea if I was able to do that. That would certainly be helpful.

I wouldn't concern myself with whether or not they can or can't pay when it's due.

If it's due by Friday at 5PM then it's due by Friday 5PM. Or before.

I don't concern myself with parents' pay schedules since I am a business just like American Express and American Express does not care when I get paid. Their only concern is that I pay my bill by the due date. If not, they apply a late fee.

That's how I operate too.

Unless parents are paying you to sit home Friday and wait on them, I would go about my business and let them worry about getting payment to you.

[finsup]

What about having them pay Monday morning at drop off? I do like the prepay idea too but the way I have it set up is payments are due for the week (or more) Monday at drop off. If a parent doesn't have it they are turned away and can either bring it back within an hour or pay it with a late fee Tuesday morning. Very rarely do I have any issues with it. You just have to be firm enough to enforce it. It's not easy turning a parent away for care sometimes.

[MarinaVanessa]

I have so that they pay on the last day they are scheduled for the week. If and when I get the "but I don't get paid until Friday" my response is always a warm and simple "that's fine, you'll just have to plan ahead to make sure that you have payment by your last day ... Oh and you are always welcome to pay in advance as well ... so you don't forget"

My payment is when I say it is and what they signed for ... it's their responsibility to figure it all out.

I did have one mom pay a little extra each week until she was a week ahead of when her payment was due. That way she could "wait" until Monday to make her payment but technically she had already paid for that week.

[daycarediva]

I just went through something like this and I switched it to this.

Your payment is due on the last day of the week that your child attends care.


This way there is no waiting around or other issues take place. I had a parent once say they put a check under my doormat and it must have blown away. Uh yeah right. Have had the mailbox drama too. So I cut that all out and said NO MORE...

You pay the last day of the week that your child attends. A late fee will be applied if it is not paid by closing on that day.

it has worked out very well so far.

Same situation, same solution. Nobody has questioned it.

[Ariana]

Can you get her to email the money? I have all of my parents email the payments to me on specific dates so no actual money exchanges hands and it is extremely convenient for me since I don't have to go and deposit anything.

[Preschool/daycare teacher]

Can you get her to email the money? I have all of my parents email the payments to me on specific dates so no actual money exchanges hands and it is extremely convenient for me since I don't have to go and deposit anything.

How do you e-mail money? I haven't heard of that before. Do you mean they do an electronic transfer to your bank account? And if so, wouldn't they need the routing numbers? Because I'm not sure I'd want to trust anyone with that info.

[Ariana]

How do you e-mail money? I haven't heard of that before. Do you mean they do an electronic transfer to your bank account? And if so, wouldn't they need the routing numbers? Because I'm not sure I'd want to trust anyone with that info.

Yes it is called an electronic transfer. I am Canadian and people here do it all the time. It goes through their bank directly to your bank so no one needs to know anything about your account. All they need to know is an email address. Then you click on the email money transfer and select your bank and it all happens behind the scenes at the financial institutions. Do you guys have this in the USA? I know that you guys do a lot of banking stuff differently than we do so it might not be available. It is so easy to set up and very secure.

[daycare]

if you bank with bank of america, you can email it, sent it to a phone number, an account or etc.

I think it depends on what bank or service you use that will allow you to transfer money like this..