Payments!!

[Unregistered]

I have a fairly new family, been with us since May. They have paid on time, or nearly on-time most months since starting. So we are 10days into the month and no payments have been made. An invoice reminder was sent last night. It was opened and read. Today, mom drops lff6, doesn’t address the owed money. Typically, I have found that parents are honest and will say I can’t pay til x date and ask if that is acceptable. This parent appears to not really care that she owes money.

I am a seasoned provider and dislike asking about payments! Anyone have a good way to Segway into asking and addressing their lack of payments?

Thanks!

[Ariana]

How do you normally being up concerns or make reminders? If it is face to face you could say “did you get the payment reminder I sent you? I noticed it had been read but no payment has been made, just wondering what is going on”.

If it is text you could say “just a reminder that payment with late fee is due by end of day or X will not be welcome in care tomorrow morning”

Either way I would allude to the idea that little Jr will not be receiving care without payment.

[rosieteddy]

Parents that are always late with payment had new policy.They were to give me post dated checks for each week .I collected the checks the last Monday of previous month for the next month. By the time I retired every parent chose to pay monthly.Icollected the month tuition on last Monday of previous month for the next month it worked great.I would change how this family pays.

[Blackcat31]

I have a fairly new family, been with us since May. They have paid on time, or nearly on-time most months since starting. So we are 10days into the month and no payments have been made. An invoice reminder was sent last night. It was opened and read. Today, mom drops lff6, doesn’t address the owed money. Typically, I have found that parents are honest and will say I can’t pay til x date and ask if that is acceptable. This parent appears to not really care that she owes money.

I am a seasoned provider and dislike asking about payments! Anyone have a good way to Segway into asking and addressing their lack of payments?

Thanks!

I understand that many providers feel this way but you have to like being paid more than you dislike asking for it.

The parent that isn't paying should be the one embarrassed or uncomfortable or whatever whenever late payments are the topic of conversation.....not the provider.

I don't understand feeling bad when someone owes you for something you did (provided services).

Do you have a late fee?

I'm sure she cares that she owes money but she more than likely doesn't think you care WHEN she pays it because you've allowed late payments prior to today. By allowing her to pay late in previous instances you set the stage for how/when she is going to pay from now on.

[Cat Herder]

Anyone have a good way to Segway into asking and addressing their lack of payments?

Thanks!

"Good morning, DCP. I can't accept Billy into care today until tuition has been paid. I can accept cash or you can log in and approve online payment on your phone or my tablet right now."

[LittleExplorers]

I require payment in advance so I don't deal with this, but I would tell mom if payment isn't made at pick up, they can't return until paid with late fees. If they are 10 days behind it will be extremely hard to catch up I would think.

[Unregistered]

I changed all of my policies earlier this year because I had a hard time getting paid from a couple families. I added in late fees and I will not provide care until payment plus late fees are paid in full.

But when I had to, I always did it via text. I also have a hard time asking for payment.

"Hey! Just a friendly reminder that your payment of $XXX.XX is due today. Thanks!"

Or I guess in your case:

"Hey! Just a friendly reminder that your payment is past due. Please bring payment at pickup, including late fees (if you have any), or I will be unable to provide care until your bill is paid in full. I hope you understand."

IMO, that's the hardest part of this job. It's frustrating dealing with families like that.

[Meeko]

No pay = no stay
No exceptions

[e.j.]

Anyone have a good way to Segway into asking and addressing their lack of payments?

I know it isn't me who should feel embarrassed and uncomfortable when having to ask for payment. I wish I didn't feel that way; unfortunately, I do.

I've found that acknowledging my discomfort helps me for some reason. I would say something like, "I feel a little uncomfortable bringing this up but... since I haven't received the payment that was due at the beginning of the month, I need to remind you that if it's not paid by (date), along with the late payment fee of $xxx.xx, I won't be able to accept your child into care until it's paid. I know you understand that I can't stay in business if I don't get paid."

[Snowmom]

Do you have a written policy on non-payments?
I'm assuming you're paid in advance monthly since they are 10 days late?

At pick up today:
Mom, you're payment is now 11 days late. I will need payment by tomorrow morning or Joey will not be able to attend.

I'd also implement a written policy that says if payment is not made by the 3rd day (or whatever you choose), then their contract will terminate and their initial enrollment fee will not be refunded. If you run into this again, You tell/write up a slip to hand out/text with an overview of this portion of their contract.

As said above, why should you feel uncomfortable that they haven't paid their bills. They should be uncomfortable, they should be embarrassed and apologizing. They know they're late and do not respect you enough to even acknowledge they owe you.

[knoxmomof2]

When I was brand new, I dealt with that a lot - even from families that weren't hurting for money! It drove me crazy and made me feel very unappreciated. I went to accepting only PayPal and only in advance this year. It's awesome!!!

I make it clear at the interview that respect for my time and paying me are expected or I will not continue to provide care. I don't charge late fees - as others have said on here, I don't want their extra money I want them to show up on time and pay me on time. Payment is due by 9 p.m. each Sunday night. If I don't receive payment by then, I send a quick text to remind them and expect to be paid before they arrive the next morning. It hasn't been a problem one time this year, but they also know that I won't allow them to drop their child off if it hasn't been completed before they arrive. I would prefer to not have to send a reminder text and I usually don't have to with most of my families, but this is definitely an improvement from not being paid all week and having to ask on Friday morning.

In the past though, I always just said "umm, I haven't seen payment for this week yet".