Hourly, Weekly, Monthly

[Country Kids]

I'm toying with an idea right now of possibly changing my rates come the new school year. Just so I can roughly know how much I will average each month. I'm thinking that my part-timers are not being charged enough. Right now I charge hourly with the bill due at the beginning of the next month. All my parents pay on time and appreciate my services, fees, etc. Most everyone in my area charge on a monthly scale but with my full timers 9 -10 hours I'm making more than them. So here is my questions to everyone.

Does anyone out there still do hourly? Do you have a full time/part-time rate? Is there a higher charge for part-time and how do you decide what is part-time. Do you bill weekly or monthly?

When you charge weekly how do you termin how much to charge each week? Is it one flat rate or do you have a full time/part-time rate? Where do you cut the hours to determine the two? When is that payment due? Also, do you find more parents not paying on time because they don't have the money for a weekly bill like that. Do you print bills each week for the parents and do you find it time consuming if you do to do this each week?

For those that charge monthly how do you termin the monthly fee? Also, where do you cut the hours to determine the difference between full-time/part-time rate? When do you have the payment due? Here is my big question on monthly that I can't wrap my mind around-don't you lose out on money when there is a 5 week month? I know myself I make about 120 dollars more during those months. How do you go about billing for longer months. There are about 3-4 of those a year so I'm thinking there is like another months worth of money that should be collected. Do you just lose out on that money for those types of months.

Also, if a part-timer would happen to go over by an hour or two do you change the whole rate for that day/week/month? How does everyone determine rates if they have a client that works a retail type job-hour fluxuating?

Thanks for everyones help on this! I've only raised my rates $1.00-$1.25 slowly over the last 14-15 years so this is a new territory to be thinking a flat rate type of charge. Also I have parents that tell me I charge so much because when you break it down I'm actually making more than their previous providers because I don't do a flat-rate charge. In the end though they end up very happy because they love the things I do with their children and how much their children are learning here.

[AnneCordelia]

My billing scheme is like this:

Fulltime (more than 5 hours, M-F) $35/day
Parttime (less than 5 hours, M-F) $25/day
Parttime (more than 5 hours, varied days) $40/day
Drop-in: $40/day

My parents all pay weekly, in advance. They all know their schedules in advance and can plan accordingly. I know when all my parents will dropoff/pickup and if they passed their contracted hours then I start charging $1/minute to be paid upon drop-off the next day in cash. This works for me, but all my parents have set hours.

[wdmmom]

Fulltime: Varied depending on the total number of hours and departure time but anywhere between $27 - $33 a day
Parttime my minimum is $100 a week for up to 24 hours
Drop-in: I don't do drop in care.

I require parents to pay on the last day of attendance for the upcoming week. I offer discounts on bi-weekly or monthly payers. I only work contracted hours and I authorize their drop off and pick up times before I agree to start working for them. I also charge the $1/minute beyond closing time. Beyond their contracted hours, I charge $10 for every 15 minutes.

[mom2many]

I have several part time families. My drop/in hourly rate is $8.25/hr. I have several dcps needing 1/2 days, so I've been charging them $25/day for a 4 hr time slot. If they exceed 4 hrs, I charge them $40/day. Others come for the full day 2-3 days a week and I charge them for the days they use..ie: 2 days=$80/week. They have regular days they need and pay me on the first day of care for that week.
I know many providers who don't do p/t, but for 25 years it's worked for me! It never fails, I have a parent needing M/W & someone else needing T/Th/F. I'm almost always at capacity. I enjoy the dynamics of having different children each day
I do a preschool curriculum in the A.M. so this allows those using the 4 hr time slot to take advantage of this.
I have never had dcps pay me a flat monthly rate. If they do choose to pay me at the beginning of the month, they pay for the number of days in that particular month.

[SandeeAR]

My hours are flat hours: 7:30-5:30 They can come anytime and leave anytime except 1-3 naptime.

Full time 4-5 days week: $25

Part time 3 day min: $30

Drop in /hourly: Don't do it.

I don't bill. My parents pay me on Monday morning before care. In two years, I've had maybe 2 forget and bring it by at lunch or pick up.

[Country Kids]

My hours are flat hours: 7:30-5:30 They can come anytime and leave anytime except 1-3 naptime.

Full time 4-5 days week: $25

Part time 3 day min: $30

Drop in /hourly: Don't do it.

I don't bill. My parents pay me on Monday morning before care. In two years, I've had maybe 2 forget and bring it by at lunch or pick up.

If you don't bill how do you prove your income to the IRS? We have to give our parents a end of the year receipt showing how much they paid and what happens if your numbers don't match theirs?

[SandeeAR]

If you don't bill how do you prove your income to the IRS? We have to give our parents a end of the year receipt showing how much they paid and what happens if your numbers don't match theirs?

I do give an end of the year receipt. I just don't give a bill each week. I copy each check, and even the cash for the ones that pay that way. I keep an excel file of how much they paid, when and Check number. I supply that in early January. I have it in their hands long before they begin getting their tax stuff together.

[mom2many]

If you don't bill how do you prove your income to the IRS? We have to give our parents a end of the year receipt showing how much they paid and what happens if your numbers don't match theirs?

I don't bill either. The parents know how much they owe me each week and I give them each a receipt of what they paid at the end of the year. I keep track of it weekly and total it up monthly for my records. I've never had any issues with numbers not matching. It's always worked out great!

[nannyde]

Our rates are calculated differently than most child care homes and Centers. The rates are based upon the total number of hours per day and the departure time. The published rates are based on a maximum of a nine hour day. If you need more than nine hours per please add $5.00/hour to our base rates.

We have a different rate structure for part time. Part time is a minimum of three full working days per week. We do not provide drop in care. We do not offer half day rates.

Full Time Rates (2011) based upon a maximum of nine hours a day and time your child departs from day care:

3:00 p.m. departure $140.00 per week

3:15 p.m. departure $145.00 per week

3:30 p.m. departure $150.00 per week

3:45 p.m. departure $155.00 per week

4:00 p.m. departure $160.00 per week

4:15 p.m. departure $165.00 per week

4:30 p.m. departure $170.00 per week

4:45 p.m. departure $175.00 per week

5:00 p.m. departure $180.00 per week

5:15 p.m. departure $185.00 per week

5:30 p.m. departure $190.00 per week

5:45 p.m. departure $195.00 per week

6:00 p.m. departure $200.00 per week


Part Time Rates

3:00 p.m. departure $34.00 per day

3:15 p.m. departure $35.00 per day

3:30 p.m. departure $36.00 per day

3:45 p.m. departure $37.00 per day

4:00 p.m. departure $38.00 per day

4:15 p.m. departure $39.00 per day

4:30 p.m. departure $40.00 per day

4:45 p.m. departure $41.00 per day

5:00 p.m. departure $42.00 per day

5:15 p.m. departure $43.00 per day

5:30 p.m. departure $44.00 per day

5:45 p.m. departure $45.00 per day

Additional hours beyond nine hours per day billed at $5.00 per hour.

Overtime must be pre-arranged and approved.

We do not raise rates on current attending children at any time unless the child's schedule changes to a higher number of hours per day or a later departure.

Discounts: We do not currently offer discounts for sibling groups.

State Funded Clients: We do not accept State Funding at this time.

[Country Kids]

Nan,

I guess I'm not seeing why you charge the way you do. If all kids are charged on a nine hour day why do you charge more for the later in the day they are there? Hope that sounds right. Do you have to bring in more staff, is there less children there later? Wow, on what you get a week. Most people here are lucky to get 120-125 a week! Our one big center get $700 a month for full time infants and I when I talked to them they said they only had 4 infants and that was a month ago. This center has been operating for about 20 years.

[Live and Learn]

I haven't provided childcare since school let out but this is how my payment schedule worked:

I would be paid on the first of the month before providing care.

My full-time hours were 8-4. $43

My part time hours were 8-12 $27

I worked mostly for teachers. So there are lots of random days that I was closed without pay. Example: summer, winter, and spring break, federal holidays and more.

I would count the number of school days for the upcoming month and provide a statement detailing the number of days I would be open and any days I was taking off. On the average that would be about 20 days month so $860.

This system worked great for me because it made the dc parents provide me with their vacation days well in advance. I provided the dc parents with up to five unpaid days per school year.

[nannyde]

Nan,

I guess I'm not seeing why you charge the way you do. If all kids are charged on a nine hour day why do you charge more for the later in the day they are there? Hope that sounds right. Do you have to bring in more staff, is there less children there later? Wow, on what you get a week. Most people here are lucky to get 120-125 a week! Our one big center get $700 a month for full time infants and I when I talked to them they said they only had 4 infants and that was a month ago. This center has been operating for about 20 years.

I described it in this thread

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14481&highlight=overtime

[Country Kids]

I described it in this thread

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showth...light=overtime

Thank you! Will look it up after dinner. The natives are screaming how hungry they are (my own family). You would think I never fed them.