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When you terminate a client or they choose to leave, do you give them their receipts then or wait until you do everyones for tax season? I have a dcm who after I caught her in some lies mutually terminated her relationship. I told her I would send her receipts next tax season. I just got a text saying that's not good enough and she wants them now. So annoying.
I try and give them right away! That way you are totally done with them.
If they want it right away, I give it...otherwise I wait and send it out with the others at the end of the year. I find it doesn't take long to write up a receipt and then you are done with them. However, technically, you do have until end of February to issue it.
I give weekly receipts with payment and that is all any family gets till I give the annual receipt in Feb. If you have been terminated you are sent an email to come and pick up the receipt and sign for it. I do not mail it unless your reason for terminating was moving out of town.
If you don't give anything to the parents to prove that you were paid each time then I think I would probably give her a statement now but make her sign your copy of the document and include a hefty fee for a replacement copy. Then her responsibility to save it till tax time. I can understand her reasoning in the sense that in the next 8 months you could close, move, etc. and she would not have anything to prove what she has paid. In that sense I agree that she feels owed. However.... a receipt at this point simply needs to be a statement of fees paid and does not need to include any of the info needed at tax time - ie she should still be given the annual statement like everyone else.
I give receipts monthly. If I have a termination that's going to go bad I sent the last receipt with the term letter. ( I rarely term without having payment first )
If I have to send them a receipt after the fact I make sure I mail it to them right away.
It gets it over and done with.
I make up all the receipts at the end of the year and give them out all at once so nobody loses any. I'm NOT making them again! I had 2 clients leave early this year and there were only a few receipts so I finished them and mailed them already. As Skysue said, I wanted to be done with them.
I also do them only at tax time. I only want to write them once, and I've had people lose them. I've also had people who when mailed to never get their reciepts (or so they say) so what I now tell everyone, is that since I didn't move that if you need to have your reciept that they can come and get it. I do everyones reciept, put it in the envelope and all I have to do is hand it to them.
I have one family who's reciept is still sitting here, they pass my house every day, but 2 years ago she wanted the reciepts from the year before, so I had to dig thru all my stuff and find it (oh she asked in may so it was way after tax season) so I also have a new rule in my contract that if you lose your tax reciept or ask for the years before then I will now charge you 5 dollars, just like my tax guy does.
I only issue one receipt as well and I charge $25 to reissue a lost receipt. When a family leaves I issue the receipt and give it to them on their last day.
I also issue receipts at tax time only. I issued a receipt for a termed family once at termination and guess what.......she lost it. I totally expected it to happen because of who she was, so a little later she's texting me saying she needs it now! So, after that I have told people I will only issue receipts during tax time. That's my policy. Plus, you are not legally obliged to give this woman a receipt early just because she feels like being cranky. You're legally obliged to provide one DURING tax season.
I like the idea of a fee for issuing a second receipt. May have to keep that in mind.
Just had a parent ask me for a duplicate statement as she is being audited for expenses and asked to submit actual receipts. That will be the reason above the lady needed the duplicate in May probably too. My figures it is there somewhere but asked very politely if she could get a second copy. Luckily I could easily lay my hands on the info and it only took me 5 minutes to make it up. And she brought timbits for the kids and a Danish for me the day after. This mom has been with me for 5 years and two kids so never charged her.
Oh boy, you just gave me some food for thought. I terminated clients in Feb., then their replacement family was only here for March and pulled. So I have sent receipts to both those families. I think if they ask me for duplicates next Jan. at tax time there will a $50 fee for replacements!Quote:
Originally Posted by busydaycarelady
I give a written receipt for each payment when it is given to me. If a parent wants a year end total, they can figure that amount out themselves. I certainly don't ask my grocery store to keep a total amount for what I paid them throughout the year.
In my opinion, if parents want to claim an expense, it's their job to track it.