10 days care

I have a family asking for part time care, 10 days a month. How do you calculate how much you should be charging? They didn't say how many days a week they need care.

If I give them the daily rate I give to my current part time(2 days a week) family at the end of the month family 2 pays more. But again family 2 use 10 days of the month where current family only uses between 8 to 9 days(current family comes only Monday and Tuesday). Now, do you think it is fair on my current family if I ask the same amount?

I know it is complicated. :(

Thanks in advance.
Cocoon

I have one whose father is a shift worker, so his schedule changes all the time. I asked for a guaranteed 14 days per month, and they agreed. I charged my daily rate X 14, then multiplied that by 12, and divided by 52 to give them a flat weekly rate.

Hope this helps!

I do the calculation exactly how you do. But at the end of the month it seems that my current 2 days family is paying more if I ask them the same amount. And current family come between 8 to 10 days where the new family will be coming for 10 days. And if I ask more then what I'm charging form my 2 days family then the fee goes up and I don't think family 2 will accept which I totally understand as it would be way too expensive.

Arrrgg

Alphaghetti, how do you figure out your daily fee. I have a different daily fee for full timers and part timers so I don't know which rate I should be using since I don't know how many days family 2 requires care.

Cocoon, I used my full time rate for my 14 day a month kiddo, but if I were to do it over again, I'd have used my part time rate ($10 more per day).

I am confused as to how it's possible for the two day a week family to be paying more than the 10 day a month family. At my rate, that would be:

Family A - $65 x 2 = $130 per week
Family B - $65 x 10 = 650 x12 = 7800 /52 = $150 per week

Keep in mind that some week, Family B will not send baby, but still giving you $150, and other weeks, baby could be there every day.

This is why I do not do FLEX care - cause it gets to complicated and clients end up getting trying to nickle and dime you when in fact offering them service COSTS YOU MONEY cause they are sitting in a full time spot ... I just prefer to have clients who come the same days every week and charge for the SPACE they are occupying ... in my program if you needed a Monday and Wednesday one week but maybe next week needing Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and than nothing for a week and than a full week and so forth you would be paying for the full time spot you are occupying .... mind you where I live we only charge HALF what you guys are charging in Toronto .... $65 a day for any age group other than an infant is more than CENTRES charge in our area :unsure:

I know it is complicated. Current family pays $60 X 2= $120 per week $520 per month

And if I ask more then $60 for the potential family they will wave me goodbye cause then I will be very expensive for the area I live in.

Family 2, $60 x 10 days = 600 per month and $138 per week. The difference is only $18 between current and potential family and potential family has 2 more days care compare to current family. That is why I'm saying it is not fair on my current family if I ask $60 from potential family.

I'm stuck really :(

I had a family that was rotating shifts as well and they only needed between 1 and 4 days a week.... So I just charged them my part time rate and only for the days they were there so each pay period was a different amount and I also charged them for all the stats regardless if it would have been a day they were to attend and they paid my full holidays. But I would never take a family like that again as the days were different every week and so they took up a full time spot. I have 5 full timers right now and that's how I like it.

Oh and also your contract between each family should be confidential and therefore it's no one else's business what another family pays.

cocoon - just wondering. Do all the daycare families know each others bills? If not, don't stress. Charge what you want and be done with it.

Agreed - the families have no business knowing what you charge the others, nor do you have any reason to feel guilty. The first family I signed on pays ten dollars a day less than my other families, but nobody knows that, and I would never hike their rate, as they helped me start my business. :)

Reggio, I will NEVER get myself into this type of arrangement again either. It's complicated, and the family is often confused with which days he is supposed to be here, etc. Just way too much hassle, and yeah, it has ended up costing me about $100 a week, to be honest, as my flex family never has a set schedule, and I can't take on another part timer to coincide with my free days. Ah well, lesson learned. Dck is wonderful, as is his family, so I can't really begrudge him the space or the time.

Also, $65 is my part time fee. I don't charge that for my full timers. It's the going rate in my area. I guess I could charge less, but really...why would I do that?? lol

None of them knows how much I'm charging. It just I'm feeling that it might not be fair. I want to be fair to everyone.

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Originally Posted by Alphaghetti

....Also, $65 is my part time fee. I don't charge that for my full timers. It's the going rate in my area. I guess I could charge less, but really...why would I do that?? lol

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Oh I hear ya - if that is what the market will bare in your area for sure ... just amazes me the difference across a Province!

In my area the 'average' is $150 - 160 a week for full time care which works out to $30-32 a day and than $35-38 a day for part time fees....so $65 a day just seemed huge variance to me specially when 'centres' offer care to preschool age group for $40 a day here in my home town ... it is just the infant/toddler fees which are up over the $55-70 a day.

Toron

I bet I pay more for most everything though...Toronto is expensive! :ohmy: I also have only infants and toddlers in my care, but I'd charge the same for a preschooler.

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Originally Posted by Alphaghetti

I bet I pay more for most everything though...Toronto is expensive! :ohmy: I also have only infants and toddlers in my care, but I'd charge the same for a preschooler.

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Oh do not get me wrong I am so not begrudging you your fee - I often think we should be able to charge MORE than CENTRES do because IMO we offer a superior service and well it is not OUR fault that the cost of centre based care is driven up by the many many salaries that do not provide directly to the service - however the market likely not going to bare that hike ;)

Your other option to address the 10 vice 8 days is to charge for 8 days as in the same as the other family at 2 days per week guaranteed whether they come for two or not - that just holds the space for them. Any day over that they pay an additional fee. In theory if in a two week period they came only one day one week they would still pay for two and if the next week they came for 4 days they would pay the two day rate plus for two additional days. What you charge for the additional days will be up to you - as in as close to another daily rate as you can go without the family bailing on you. At least no matter what the family does attendance wise you know your basic income for the week that you can budget with.

I charge $40 per day if they are in care less than 5 days per week. I have a casual family right now and they have two girls and they pay $75 per day. I also have a little one that comes two days per week and she pays $80 a week.

I have a couple of fee arrangements.

A) full time is paid for monthly and in advance. I will also accept payment twice a month by dividing the monthly fee in half. But still paid in advance!

B) part time, guaranteed. I charge a slightly higher daily amount for p/t than what it works out to for full timers. This is because they are taking up a spot, and yes, it can be irritating to have rotating/changing schedules. For example: a family knows they need at least 6 days of care every month. 6 x my daily p/t rate= what they pay me, in advance, monthly. Should they require extra days, they just pay the daily fee that day. Should they require less days, too bad. This way they are guaranteed care when they need, and I am guaranteed a specific amount, sometimes more. Let me tell ya, they almost always use all 6 days. Even if they don't "need" them. But I don't begrudge that.
I normally keep one "space" for this type of arrangement, but would not do this if I needed all f/t placement.

C) part time, drop-in, is subject to availability. I ask for 24 hrs notice, and reserve the right to refuse if I can not accomodate. The daily payment is expected by the end of that day, or you will not be welcome back.

I also don't know why one family would be mad, since they DO NOT need to know what others are paying. It's not any of their business, frankly. It's YOURS! Why is it unfair? P/T care is pretty much universally more expensive on a daily rate than full time care. Due to all the reasons I listed above, and more!!

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Originally Posted by Inspired by Reggio

This is why I do not do FLEX care - cause it gets to complicated and clients end up getting trying to nickle and dime you when in fact offering them service COSTS YOU MONEY cause they are sitting in a full time spot ... I just prefer to have clients who come the same days every week and charge for the SPACE they are occupying ... in my program if you needed a Monday and Wednesday one week but maybe next week needing Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and than nothing for a week and than a full week and so forth you would be paying for the full time spot you are occupying .... mind you where I live we only charge HALF what you guys are charging in Toronto .... $65 a day for any age group other than an infant is more than CENTRES charge in our area :unsure:

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I started my business on the premise of flexible care. Two of my kids still have varying schedules but most other have developed solid days or gone full time. I have never really had any problems you guys are talking about here but I also don't charge the same way. I do no do a daily rate. I have a base rate for four hours or less and then charge $5 per hour for each additional hour. This way parents are paying for what they need. I take on two flexible families to take care of one full time spot. If one day seems crazy with bookings I just bring in my assistant.

It does seem complicated the way you guys are talking about it.

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Originally Posted by FlexFunCare

.... If one day seems crazy with bookings I just bring in my assistant.

It does seem complicated the way you guys are talking about it.

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I am confused - do you bring in an assistant because you are than over 5 kids on those 'crazy booking days' ... cause we are not allowed to do that in Ontario - according to the DNA it does not matter how many adults we have on the premise the MAX kids we can have is the 5 kids unless we are licensed as a day nursery?

OK. It is confirmed that they need flexible care. Which means if I take them I will be loosing my full time spot for a part time(10 days) family.

Also just to clarify, no one is telling me that it is not fair. It's me thinking. I know it is my business and I can run it however I want. I was just thinking would it be unfair that's all. :)

As I said I had one of those in the past and I was ok with it at the time but I wasn't full and I figured something was better then nothing but they are gone now and I filled up so now I wouldn't take something like that again because it does take up a full time spot and most peoPle don't want to pay for full time if they are using less then part time .... I understand the "paying by enrollment and not for time or days used" but most parents I've come across won't go for that ... They just keep looking and eventually they find someone who will only make them pay for days used.

When it comes down to it, Cocoon, you are the boss! :)
Charge what you think is right, and what the market will uphold.
Let us know what you decide.

I know a few providers in my community who LIKE to offer flex care because they do not want to be full everyday ... that this service is out there for clients who need those flex options is AWESOME however for those of us who NEED or WANT to be full everyday to make our optimum income available to us we should not feel guilty because we put fee payment practices in place to attract what we need - full time clients!

I also worry about people who NEED the full time income and take on those 'flex care' people out of desperation because eventually not having your needs met will weigh on your relationship with that client and resentment seeps into it and affects your program in subtle ways and that is no good for anyone - IMO it is better to tighten the family budgets belt and hold out for the BEST match than accept the 'do in a pinch match' and regret it for the next 3 plus years.

Unless you can truly afford to offer this service and being 'low' on some days is something you prefer to be nothing wrong with telling potential clients 'sorry but offering this sort of care is not in my business plan - I will have to keep interviewing for someone who either needs full time care or who is willing to pay for it even if they do not need everyday.'

I have giving them a rate which is more then my part time and less then my full time. This family is looking to find a day home where there are only couple of kids and not crowded. I only take care of two kids right now and looking to take 1 one child to make it 3 maximum. And if a family looking for a low ratio day home plus flexible care then I'm afraid they need to pay my full time fee. I gave them a rate where I loose $233 every month if I was to take full time kid. So I think I did my share:)

Aside from the income considerations, I wouldn't offer flexible care like this because it will be much harder for the child to adjust and take a lot longer, especially if the days are not regular. I have two part-timers sharing a space right now and although they are regular, I find that one of them gives me a hard time at nap-time because she doesn't nap at home and also she sometimes cries for her mom even though I had her for a year full-time before she went part-time. I don't think I will do part-time care again for this reason. Just my two cents worth!

I agree kangaroomama - your reasons are another reason why I prefer full time care in general - I do not offer part time care to children under the age of two because I find that the adjustment between inconsistent routines or expectations between home and daycare on that age group is particularly a challenge ... over two years they have a little more cognitive understanding that rules at one place might be different are a little more resilient about that.

I'm one who likes a few easy days every week but I sincerely don't think I would even consider 10 days per month. First of all, I don't think the child would settle into the daycare and you would be transitioning from the day they started until the day they left. Children need more consistency which is why my flex care is 3 days/week minimum and I wouldn't even consider any less. Too much stress and trouble for the caregiver and the child.

Only a home daycare provider says that an easy day is one with 4 children instead of 5!:laugh:

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Originally Posted by Momof4

Only a home daycare provider says that an easy day is one with 4 children instead of 5!:laugh:

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Hehe.... so true.

I would take the daily rate you have for part time and multiply that by 10 then divide it by 4 to get a weekly rate. And explain to family #2 that if they need to exceed the 10 days in the month they will need to pay the extra for that number of days.

Also I have a question n the math for family #1...60x2=120x4=480 for 8 days per month...not 520...so at $60/day for both families should be fair.

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Originally Posted by Inspired by Reggio

Oh do not get me wrong I am so not begrudging you your fee - I often think we should be able to charge MORE than CENTRES do because IMO we offer a superior service and well it is not OUR fault that the cost of centre based care is driven up by the many many salaries that do not provide directly to the service - however the market likely not going to bare that hike ;)

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Actually, you are totally right Reggio, and the market will bare it, just give it a try with the next child you try to take on.You seem to be a really good provider so there are people willing to pay for much more when it comes to the quality of care and they see that you offer a high quality service. That is how I explain it to people because I have started to charge more ($60/day from $45) I compare us to a daycare where you would be paying around $900+ for your child to be in care amongst 25-30 kids, where the staff are running to take care of just their basic needs such as diaper changes, naps, eating, and with us, we provide a smaller more intimate group setting that is more quality and detail oriented in regards to food, toys, activities, and general stimulation/development of each child. So yeah, we're gonna cost more. I was charging $960 up to this point, which is typical for daycare here, and now decided to raise my prices to $1200 and i had 2 people fighting for the spot the first week I posted it. I just wish I had thought of it sooner and had friends tell me I should be in the $1260 range but I was always trying to view it from a parents perspective and wanting to be "Affordable enough". Now I realize that not everyone is going to be able to come and use my services, but i know there are ones that are, and we are totally worth it. I have two assistants that work with me, so between 6/7 children there are 2 of us to care for them, we have a brand new quadruple stroller that the kids get taken out for walks each day, we try to bring in something new to the play area each month and use a portion of the money to add to it whenever we can, we have a stack of new library books for the kids every two weeks, home cooked healthy food, and friendly/patient caregivers, etc. I think if you put in the time and effort to make it outstanding, which from the sounds of it you have, then people will pay.