Question about cheques

[ashott]

I will be starting my daycare in the fall and have families lined up. I went ahead and registered my business name so that I can provide the families with my BIN instead of my SIN. I am now wondering whether I should have cheques made out to my personal name or my business name and if they should be to my business name, I am guessing I would need to open a bank account under that name.? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[dodge__driver11]

Yes you do, and frankly they are not wortth it for a business this size. My business is registered also.

[playfelt]

I rarely use a cheque for anything in the business. It is usually my credit card or cash and it is a personal card not business.

[ashott]

Oh to clarify I mean when the parents pay me by cheque - not me actually using cheques.

Thanks for your response dodge-driver11.

[dodge__driver11]

no prob ..Just to clarify as well if you go to the bank with your bus. name on a cheq. they will tell you it needs to be re written, or that you need to open a business account.

[Crayola kiddies]

I don't accept cheques .... My families pay by cash or EMT (email money transfer)

[Play and Learn]

For cheques, they used my full name, not my business name as I'm not registered for the daycare. For my dance school as I am registered, I still ask parents to use my full name as my bank account is NOT for business!

[playfelt]

Parents need to make the cheque out to you as yes you will not be able to cash it at the bank because the account is in your name not the name of the business. I run into that with my felt sometimes as a customer wants to put Story Time Felt on it but I have to try and explain that is the company not me so it is like writing Tupperware on a cheque and expecting your consultant to cash it.

Opening a business account will allow the parents to then put the daycare name on their cheque but to open a business account also costs you more per month in services and comes with services you will never use. Really not worth the expense or hassles.

On your contracts make sure that it says this is an agreement between parentsXXXX and provider or caregiver PPPPP as in your name and not the name of the daycare. It is a personal contract. Everything you have is goign to be personal such as your house insurance which will include the daycare. If you are going to use the business name you will also need insurance in the business name and that is where municipal zoning for businesses and such comes into play.

[ashott]

Thanks Ladies!

Playfelt - is your business name registered? Dodge Driver - so do you have a business account then?

[Inspired by Reggio]

My business name is registered so that I have a BIN number for tax purposes however I use a personal bank account and have cheques made out to my own name as a result so they can be deposited and cashed and in the memo part I have the parents write 'for daycare between X and Y' for their records as well

I have never had an issue with my personal bank questioning the amount of cheques I deposit and if they do not REQUIRE you to have a business account I would not 'volunteer' for one ;)

IMO it is CHEAPER to keep your personal account or open up a seperate 'personal account' that you use only for business if need be .... because when you open a business account they ASSUME you will be making huge transfers of money as a 'business' regardless that you are just a teeny tiny home childcare operator and they set their service charges and so forth accordingly - I prefer to do 'no fee banking' and honestly my clients pay bi-weekly ... the 10 deposits I make a month would hardly be worth the 'business account' and as i said my bank has never questioned that I am using a personal account for 'business' so I am happy to just keep doing so ;)

[playfelt]

My felt business is registered because the BIN is also my GST/HST number for collecting and remitting taxes. My daycare is not registered since Revenue Canada has not been as open about home based businesses in the past. Now it is much more commonplace rather than the exception and things have been opened up to us too such as registering without all of the other options being a necessity. Will I bother for the 5-6 more years I am likely to be doing this not sure. That is about how long the license would last. Again using a SIN number wasn't something that was considered an issue years ago either and it was asked for by many places that are no longer allowed to use it which is pretty much everyone. It was what we used for ID.

[Momof4]

Congrats on getting clients lined up. It looks like you are going to be a great success.

All my daycare parents pay in cash and I make up receipts for them. At the end of the year I give them their receipts and nobody has ever asked me for my SIN. You don't have to worry about a special bank account at all and if parents want to write a cheque they can write it to your name. As long as you are making up the receipts and claiming your income that's all you have to do. Keep all your receipts for all your expenses, including all the things you buy at yard sales, etc. because they are all deductions.

[dodge__driver11]

no I do not parents write a memo on thier cheques for daycare cost, and as reggio said it is just not worth it.

[michellesmunchkins]

I don't even accept cheques for payments anymore (except for one family who refuses to follow what I have laid out in my policies, ugh). For me, by the time they 'get around' to actually giving me the cheque its a few days into the week, then by the time I can get to the bank its the end of the week, followed by a 5-10 day business hold on the cheque. By the time I find out if its bounced or not its 3 weeks later, and a costly hassle to get the payment out of the parents by then. It was too frustrating..so I changed my policies to cash or email money transfer only for payments. So far, all my families are good about that (again, except the one). This was also before I started taking a weeks deposit too so families were always behind in payments while waiting for cheques to clear.

[kidlove]

Although I am in the US I'm sure your banking works similar. I was "stupid" and when a parent asked if they could write out their checks to my day care...I said yes. Here's why I felt it wasn't a good choice. I do not do all my bill paying and purchasing separately (business/personal) as the others have said, this business is too small...so when i shop, it all goes together, bus. and personal. therefore I use my personal checking/debit acct. soooo, when parents pay my day care....(check made out to business rather than my name) I have to deposit it into my business acct first then immediately transfer to my personal acct. pain in the butt. If I were you, I would ask parents (if writing a check) to make it out to you rather than your business, and save the hassle. just my opinion.

[MonkeyPrincess]

I don't accept cheques. I deal in cash only. I also strictly request payment weekly, paid on the last day that the child attends. There are clauses in my contract that state such. I can't be bothered to go to the bank every week and i don't want to deal with NSF and post dated cheques. I tell them cash only and thats that.