1 spot to fill- do you raise your price?

[Unregistered]

1 spot to fill - do you raise your rate for that family to make it worth being at cap? Or do you charge normal rate?

[Mike]

Depends on whether you want to charge a higher rate. If you wish your prices were a bit higher, new clients is a good time to adjust. Also depends on how quick you want the spot filled. A higher rate may take longer to get a client.

[laundrymom]

I enroll new families at new rate. Not many of mine pay the same. Those here longer are paying less. Right now I have one family who pays $40 less per week than the one just enrolled. I never raise a family's rate. As long as they are with me they pay the same rate per child. It evens out in the long run.

[Blackcat31]

I usually raise rates yearly but ONLY for new children that enroll that year. Other children remain at the same rate they enrolled at.

[kendallina]

I wouldn't raise their rate because you would be full.

I might raise the rate of you're wanting to transition any new family to a new rate.

I consider raising rates annually, but usually only raise every two years or so.

[BumbleBee]

I raise rates every January but it only applies to newly enrolling families for that year. Everyone else stays at the rate for the year they enrolled.

[CityGarden]

I raise rates for all annually at the beginning of the school year.

My approach was inspired by Tom Copeland:

http://tomcopelandblog.com/easiest-way-raise-rates

I would not likely raise rates just because I was down to just one spot....

I did make a few changes shortly after I opened though - I adjusted both my hours of operation and my tuition to better reflect the needs/wants of myself and my community.

[trix23]

I meant: do you raise your rate for the new family about to enroll?

[AmyKidsCo]

I usually raise rates yearly but ONLY for new children that enroll that year. Other children remain at the same rate they enrolled at.

How does that work? I raise my rates for everyone September 1, except some years if a family begins late August I won't raise their rates that year but the following year the rates go up to match everyone else's.

So if you have a child who started August 2015, one who started December 2016 and one who's starting September 2017, what would their rates be? Assuming age, schedule, etc are all the same.

[trix23]

I recently raised my part time rate for families enrolled and for prospective families. For my current clients, I gave 2 weeks notice for the rate increase. My handbook states that an annual rate increase of no more than 3% may apply each year.

[hwichlaz]

I raise my rates about every two years....but only for families that enroll after the rate increase

I have a family that's been with me for 6 years now, and they are still at their original rate. I don't decrease rates when kids age into the next bracket either....and I tell parents that it's because at that point, the infant rate they signed up at, is still lower than what new clients are paying for toddlers.

[Blackcat31]

How does that work? I raise my rates for everyone September 1, except some years if a family begins late August I won't raise their rates that year but the following year the rates go up to match everyone else's.

So if you have a child who started August 2015, one who started December 2016 and one who's starting September 2017, what would their rates be? Assuming age, schedule, etc are all the same.

I raised rates in September when my "year" begins.

New children that are enrolled to between September 2016 and September 2017 pay whatever my rate is for that year.
Children enrolled after this September (2017) will pay the new rate that I implement for the 2017-18 year.

I don't tend to enroll new kids until older kid age out so a child starting at an odd date during the year is rare.

If I had a family leave (not naturally age out) and needed to start a new child, I would start the new child at the current rate UNLESS it was during the summer. Those months are "transition" months so technically anyone enrolling during that period of time is just replacing a child heading off to Kindy.

For Example:

I raised rates last Sept (2016) but have one Kindy aged that is leaving June 1. The child replacing this Kindy child will be billed at the NEW rate (Sept 2017) even though they are starting in the summer.

If Kindy child had left in January and I had new child start then, I would heave enrolled them at eh Sept 2016 rate.

Make sense?

*disclaimer* this is PER child not family. I don't keep families at the same rate, only the individual child or spot.

[AmyKidsCo]

I raised rates in September when my "year" begins.

New children that are enrolled to between September 2016 and September 2017 pay whatever my rate is for that year.
Children enrolled after this September (2017) will pay the new rate that I implement for the 2017-18 year.

I don't tend to enroll new kids until older kid age out so a child starting at an odd date during the year is rare.

If I had a family leave (not naturally age out) and needed to start a new child, I would start the new child at the current rate UNLESS it was during the summer. Those months are "transition" months so technically anyone enrolling during that period of time is just replacing a child heading off to Kindy.

For Example:

I raised rates last Sept (2016) but have one Kindy aged that is leaving June 1. The child replacing this Kindy child will be billed at the NEW rate (Sept 2017) even though they are starting in the summer.

If Kindy child had left in January and I had new child start then, I would heave enrolled them at eh Sept 2016 rate.

Make sense?

*disclaimer* this is PER child not family. I don't keep families at the same rate, only the individual child or spot.

So it's not as confusing as it sounded, and is what I do, except a June enrollment would be billed at the current rate while a late August/early September enrollment would be billed at whatever rate it was when they interviewed.

The family thing has me confused - if you have older sibling enrolled now at the 2016 rate and younger sibling enrolls in June you'd charge the 2017 rate?

[hwichlaz]

So far new siblings have been within a year or two of the older sibling's enrollment so it just hasn't come up yet.

[Blackcat31]

The family thing has me confused - if you have older sibling enrolled now at the 2016 rate and younger sibling enrolls in June you'd charge the 2017 rate?

Yes. Not all kids in the same family pay the same rate.

I view each space as completely separate.
Regardless of the relationship between the children filling those spaces.

The reason I have June/July/August automatically at the new rate is those months are our times of transition.

I lose and gain 99% of all withdrawing and enrolling children during those months.