Change Rates??

[pfund2233]

Currently I charge by the hour. ($2.75 per hour per child) And I only charge for the time they are here. I currently have 4 kids that I care for. 2 boys and 2 girls.

DCB1 is 2 and here Monday-Friday 530-300 (roughly $130 a week)

DCB2 is 18mo here every other Monday 900-300 Tuesday-Friday 830-5 (roughly $110 for the week with Mondays and roughly $93.50 for the week with no Monday)

DCG1 is 15mo and here Monday-Thursday 800-500 (roughly $99 a week)

DCG2 is 5mo and here Monday-Wednesday 730-530 and Fridays 730-100 (roughly $97 a week)

I'm thinking about changing how I charge. Instead of by the hour do it by the day. The reason for this is because some times parents come 15min early or 15min late. Then I have to try to remember what time it was that they dropped off or picked up and it's getting really hard to remember and I don't want to screw myself. I mean think about it... If say DCG1 comes 15min early and leaves 15min late every day that's 2hrs for the week I may not charge for because I for got that they dropped off early or picked up late.

I'm thinking of charging $25 per day up to 10 hrs. And any day less than 6 hrs I would charge $15.

DCB1 would go from roughly $130 to $125 SAVINGS OF $5 A WEEK
DCB2 would go from roughly $110/$93.5 to $115/$100 RISE OF $5/$6.50 A WEEK
DCG1 would go from roughly $99 to $100 RISE OF $1 A WEEK
DCG2 would go from roughly $97 to $90 SAVINGS OF $7 A WEEK

I don't get paid for holidays or my vacation either. I do offer breakfast, lunch and snack. And supply everything for fun stuff like crafts or trips.

So what do you think I should do??? Do those rates sound reasonable? Thanks for the input in advance!!!

[daycare]

I could never work by the hour. I charge weekly only. It breaks down to $50 per day (mind you I am in the SF bay area, super expeisive place) I only allow full time. I do have a two kids who are part time that have been here forever, so they are $50.00 per day x the number of days that they are here.

I think that you would be better of just charging by the day. It's way too much work in my eyes to have to figure out how much each family owe every day.

Make things eaiser on yourself.....go weekly or daily!!

[Country Kids]

Have you thought about having a sign in/sign out sheet? That the parents would have to fill out and then you could figure it up from there and probably actually gain money.

From what I see on your current rates you are probably going to lose money or possibly just break even from your current rates.

DCB 1 would save about 20 dollars a month/25 on a 5 week month
DCB 2 would pay about 25 dollars more a month/30 on a 5 week month
DCG 1 would pay about 4 dollars more a month/5 on a 5 week month
DCG 2 would save about 28 dollars a month/35 on a 5 week month

So how I see it you would be losing about 18 dollars a month (average) or 216 dollars for the year.

I charge the same rate as you and actually make more than most people in my area because I charge hourly because they can use my hours the whole time I'm open. Late fees start at my closing time. Now the going rate is about 400-450 in my area for full time. If I have a child 9 hours a day I'm making almost 50-100 dollars more a month than most people. The catch is you have to be very diligent about getting the correct hours recorded.

Rates are never easy and I've toyed with the idea of changing mine but can never come up with something that keeps me where I'm at without scaring my parent off. By the hour to me always sounds cheaper than daily, weekly, monthly. My rates though are very fair for what I do with the children and the program I offer.

[cheerfuldom]

I keep it simple. Full timers are $150 a week. Part timers are charged by the day at $30 per day. Anybody trying to get by the hour to pay less and that sort of thing just doesn't belong here. Doesn't work for me and its a pain to keep track of. Each kid is welcome to be here the full 10 hours a day but even if they are here less, I still get paid a full days rate.

[MN Mom]

If you are doing hourly have you considered getting a time-clock that they are required to "punch in/out" their children? Something like:

http://www.timeclockdeals.com/uattend-cb1500.cfm