So my parents have to pay before care is given. My invoices are sent out on Wednesday and they pay on Friday. One family didn't pay on Friday. I am a new daycare and I really don't know what the best way to handle this is..
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So my parents have to pay before care is given. My invoices are sent out on Wednesday and they pay on Friday. One family didn't pay on Friday. I am a new daycare and I really don't know what the best way to handle this is..
Send them a email over the weekend reminding them that they need to pay Mon Morning,
They may have just forgotten so just word it like
JUST A REMINDER THAT THAT I DID NOT RECEIVE YOUR PAYMENT AND NEED IT ON MONDAY ,THANK YOU
then IF on mon they still have no payment you can tell them that you can't take care of the child till they pay
make sure you say in the email MONDAY MORNING BEFORE WORK so they know it is not after work on MON :)
This is my late fee policy:
Late Payment Fee
$50.00 per day/child (including weekends) that payment is not received. Therefore, if the fee is not paid by 8:00am on the Thursday, a late fee of $50.00/day will be due with your payment. Continued late payments will result in termination of our agreement. Your child may NOT attend daycare until your fees are paid. You still have to pay for the days your child misses due to non-payment in order to hold your spot.
I don't issue weekly invoices or reminders. Parents know when their child care fees are due. I also have it clearly stated that they have to pay before care is given. And there's your (and mine solution). If a parent shows up and I haven't had their fees, care is refused. It's that easy. Enforce the rules you have.Quote:
Originally Posted by carrielind
I tell them straight "I don't have any fees from you. You can EMT from your phone right now with the late fees but I cannot accept your child until fees are received as legally I have a responsibility to mitigate my loses." It will only happen a couple times max before they realize that you aren't going to put up with this.
As above, I have late fees as well. Here, fees are due by 7am Monday morning to cover the next 2 weeks of care. At 7.01 Monday, the fees are late. My contracts state this clearly along with the information that no fees = no care so if they can't pay, they can't come in. Late fees are applied daily and will continue to be applied each day until fees are paid in full. Care will be denied until fees are paid in full (no part payments). If this happens more than once, they will be instantly terminated and their place will be given to new client's who aren't going to mess around with my income. I am ready, on time, every day to work with a smile on my face. The only thing I require from them for me to work, is payment.
Please specify to them that they need to pay before you can accept their child into care, AND tell them you will NOT provide care on Monday if they haven't paid at the time/prior to drop off, as per your contract.
I know it is repeating yourself BUT it makes it clear so they can't possibly misunderstand you. AND then if they try to argue or please ignorance in the morning you can remind them you explicitly told them today.
Handle as per above suggestions. Every 4 months I send out an email to get a block of bi-weekly post-dated cheques. Then they are in my hands. The email goes out about a week prior to them being due. One parent was a day late, but other than that no probs and parents don't have to think about payments all the time.Quote:
Originally Posted by carrielind
It seems hard to some parents, they have a lot in their minds these days. So, I usually send a year payment schedule. At the beginning of each year. I give them the choice to give me postdated checks or send by email.
It might seem hard for some caregivers but I do not charge upfront payment. I always charge after I finish my services biweekly. (Never had a problem collecting in all my years of work). At the interviewing I also tell parents that in the event of something happening to me I wouldn't like my family dealing with returning money etc. So, " I work I collect "works best for me.