I'm Frustrated Right Now!

[Unregistered]

I’m currently having a problem with one of my ‘teacher’ clients.

So here’s the issue.

For part time clients I require a minimum amount of days per month guaranteed. The minimum agreement with this mom is for 5 days per month. I also have in my contract that once you book a day you pay for that day regardless of if your child attends daycare or not.

In the middle of May this mom submitted her schedule for June to me through email. The email contained 7-booked days. On June 1st when mom came to make her payment she requested for an additional day to be added to the 7 existing days, I agreed. So mom now had a total of 8 booked days in June. She paid $240.00 for the month and I issued her a receipt for the $240.00.

On June 13th mom text me and asked me if I could take her daughter for yet another additional day on June 15th, she also notified me that she would no longer have to bring her daughter on June 17th (one of her previous booked days).

On June 15th I sent out an email to the mom reminding her that I would need the payment of $30.00 for the day of June 15th on her last day of care in June as she would not be with me over the summer. I never did receive this payment.

So summer comes and goes and I got over and decided to forget worrying about the $30.00 missed payment from this mother.

Last Friday her husband stopped in to give me their payment for the month of September. The check was written out for $180.00. The amount this family owed me for September daycare was $150.00, which means the check was over by $30.00.

So later that day mom emails me and asks me if she could extend her contracted hours by an extra hour. I said yes but her part time fee would go from $30/day to $35/day and that would mean she owed me an extra $25.00 for the month of September. I then brought up the extra $30.00 on the check and said I assumed that it was for the extra day not paid for last June?

Well now:

1) This mom doesn’t think she owed me the $30.00. Mom forgets asking me for the extra day in the beginning of June to bring her ‘booked’ days to 8 ($240.00). She thinks the extra day she paid for was for June 15th. And I don’t have my schedule for June anymore so other than the email from June 15th that I still have I really don’t have any records to back me up. I don’t even really care about the $30.00 to be honest I just don’t understand why she wrote the check for September out for $180.00 instead of $150.00????
2) This mom has requested to pay by check from now so she has record of her payment. I do NOT accept payment by check as it takes 5 days for personal checks to clear and I don’t want to deal with NSF’s and so on… I HAVE A ‘NO CHECK’ POLICY IN MY CONTRACT!
3) This mom wants her receipts given to her at the time of payment. I do not write receipts on a monthly basis because I find it difficult to keep track of all my receipts when I do so and forget whom I have or haven’t issued receipts to…I HAVE IN MY CONTRACT THAT RECEIPTS WILL ONLY BE GIVEN OUT BI-ANNUAL OR ANNUALLY!
4) Then I realize just now that I accepted a check from mom for the payment in September. OMG, where is my head? Why did I accept this check? I never accept checks!!

I realize that I have managed to make a mess of this whole situation, especially by accepting a check for September. What would you do in this situation? Would you break your policies for one family to keep them happy or would you stand your ground on your policies and tell her that is just how it is?

[Meeko]

I would take the checks, but make sure to change your contract to state strict check rules. (I have a $35 bounced check fee. PLUS, as the money isn't in my account, daily late fees apply until it is.)

I give a weekly/monthly receipt to anyone who asks for one. I still give annual print-outs to everyone for taxes at the end of the year.

If I was paying someone in cash, I would expect a receipt at that time. Otherwise, I would have nothing to prove I paid.

[familyschoolcare]

could you cash the check instead of deposit it.

[daycare]

sorry not trying to be mean, but let this be a lesson of leaving things be and not forcing your policy. I think we have all made mistakes like this before and they always cost you before you learn not to do it again.

Since you didnt take care of the extra $30.00 right away and keep record of it, then it's lost.

As for accepting checks, you need to stop that now and if the parent is paying cash, then they should be allowed to have proof of payment.

Do you have mmk? It's a great daycare accounting program and it is worth every penny of $60.00 a year. You can print a rcpt from it right away while balancing your books. Look into it. Otherwise you can just go and get one of those old school rcpt books that have a dup. backing on it so that you have record and so does the client. I use mmk and email everything I love it. this way there is no paper or ink to waste...

Adults act just like chlidren sometimes if you allow for them to do so. Just like kids if you allow it once, they will expect it again and again and again....

Good luck

[mismatchedsocks]

So you got your $30 but when you brought it up to mom, she had no idea what you were talking about? I would say she did remember at one time, when she wrote the check and just leave that alone.

I also accept checks, but since you dont I would offer to give a reciept when she paid cash. I got a booklet from office max for about $5 and it had 100 reciepts in it. It also has a carbon copy and is in a booklet. That wouldnt cost that much, since she pays monthly and might be easier to keep track of. That way you dont have to bend your rules.