Daily Or Weekly.....How Would You Charge?

[Alisyn]

I'm getting back into child care after being out a couple years due to my mom's terminal illness.....I was wondering which way I should go about pricing...per day attending or a flat weekly rate. When I did per day before the days were scheduled the week prior and payment was on the first day of scheduled care. That worked out pretty good. Just not sure in the long run if it would be better doing a flat weekly rate....I'm in Northeast MS, not sure what the daily or weekly rates are anymore. I'll take any advice

[MarinaVanessa]

What I do is charge a weekly fee based on the number of days they need.

FT for me is 4 or 5 days and they pay a flat weekly rate.
PT for me is either 2 or 3 days a week, same days each week. I figure how much per day they need and they pay that at a flat weekly rate as well.
I also offer drop-in at a premium rate and they have the option to pay for the full day or per hour at an even higher hourly rate.

Only my drop-in clients pay daily/hourly. Everyone else pays weekly.

[MarinaVanessa]

Weekly rates in my opinion are better since you have a concrete amount that you know you're going to bring in VS never knowing how much you're going to get each week. You also save yourself the hassle of having to save a full time spot for a client that might not use up the spot fully each week.

[lovemydaycare0912]

flat weekly rate . less hassle. require it in advance. As someone else said, you'll always know how much you get.

[Leigh]

I do a flat rate, weekly, no discounts, no refunds. I like not having to keep track of anything other than paid/not paid.

[Thriftylady]

I do a weekly rate. It seems when you do a daily rate, people think they can take kiddo to grandma's a couple days a week to save money. That makes it hard to budget. And it is hard to fill those spots for absences and still stay in ratio.

[Alisyn]

Thanks! You've all been a great help! happyface

[sharlan]

Weekly only regardless of attendance.

[ChelseaB]

To be specific with how I do my fees, I offer my clients 2 options:
1- Full time at a flat, weekly rate of $100/week. It's slightly discounted from my daily rate, no credits or refunds (unless I take a personal or sick day since I don't charge for those).
2 - Part time/drop in at $25/day. I must know scheduling as far in advance as possible. Spots are NOT guaranteed.

The majority of my clients opt for full time, the few part timers, I consider extra money. Depending on your numbers you're allowed and how flexible you can be with money can play a big part of what you allow. I wish I could do the flat rate with everyone, but in my area, it's pretty low income, so that deters a lot of people. I found by giving them the options, I still usually get what I want because people really like the thought of full time and saving money. The premium of part time can be a bonus though.

[LysesKids]

To be specific with how I do my fees, I offer my clients 2 options:
1- Full time at a flat, weekly rate of $100/week. It's slightly discounted from my daily rate, no credits or refunds (unless I take a personal or sick day since I don't charge for those).
2 - Part time/drop in at $25/day. I must know scheduling as far in advance as possible. Spots are NOT guaranteed.

The majority of my clients opt for full time, the few part timers, I consider extra money. Depending on your numbers you're allowed and how flexible you can be with money can play a big part of what you allow. I wish I could do the flat rate with everyone, but in my area, it's pretty low income, so that deters a lot of people. I found by giving them the options, I still usually get what I want because people really like the thought of full time and saving money. The premium of part time can be a bonus though.

This is how I work... I also limit my PT/Drop-in to a max of 3 days week; I have one FT that pays a premium for 60 hrs weekly (Just upped the hrs this month) - FT is usually no more than 50 hrs and ALL my FT pay monthly. My PT/Drop-in pay weekly unless they are doing the premium hourly thing which is paid in advance the day of care

[Blackcat31]

I offer a flat weekly rate based on whether they attend 3, 4 or 5 days a week.

The corresponding weekly rate is then adjusted according to whether they pick up at 3:00, 4:00 or 5:00.

I charge 52 weeks a year with no credit or refunds given unless I close unscheduled.

Rates are based on enrollment status not on attendance or time used.

[thrivingchildcarecom]

I offer daily, weekly & monthly rates. The daily is basically for back-up/drop-in care and is usually higher than the other two options. These are spots that are first-come, first-serve and based on availability. The weekly & monthly rates can be either for full or part-time and I offer a small discount for those paying monthly. I require payment the Friday before so that if anyone "forgets" for certain they will bring it Monday.

Hope that helps. If you would like to know more about how to figure out pricing, send me a PM and I can give you more suggestions.

[Unregistered]

I do weekly for private pay, daily for dhs

[Controlled Chaos]

I offer drop in rates (daily) and monthly.