Rates question

[CountryMommy]

So in another thread some of you mentioned that you charge more than the going rate in your area and yet have no issues being full or having clients complain about the prices.

I'm just re-opening my dayhome in a new province and am making up my Parent Handbook and policies right now. I'm really struggling with what to charge. Most ads for childcare I have seen charge anywhere from $20-30/day for full time. There's one that charges $35/day. Before and after school is on average $15/day.

I have a friend who does child care in the area and she charges 35/day for full time and 40/day for part time. She is working "under the table", has no CPR, ECE courses, Criminal record check, etc. She does provide good care for the children, is very caring, and does fun activities with the kids. She says her daycare kids' parents don't complain about her prices and have actually told her that they'd be willing to pay more if she asked because quality child care is so hard to find in this area (most, if not all, of her clients came from dayhomes where the kids were sat in front of the tv all day, they found the daycare provider sleeping, kids hadn't eaten all day, etc).

I will be providing a high quality dayhome. I have my business license, ECE course, Criminal record checks of any adults residing in my home, Child Welfare check, References. I have no TV in the house and will be providing the children with activities and learning centers that are up to the licensed standard. I provide organic, all home-cooked meals, including home-made infant purees and cereals. Right now my handbook states that I will charge $18/day for Before and After school care, $33/day for full time, and $38/day for part time.

My friend says I could get away with charging more because quality child care is so rare here. But then I see the ads that offer "quality child care" for $20/day and I start re-thinking my prices.

With the prices I have in my handbook right now, I charge $3/day more than the average here.

For those of you who charge a bit more than the going rate in your area, how much is the difference?

[Inspired by Reggio]

Well on my street alone there are 3 providers who work under the table for $20 a day .... and within 3km range the average is $30 .... however I charge $38 per day for children under 2 and $35 a day for children over 2 as a daily rate or $170 a week and $160 a week if they are full time and that fee includes paying me for 10 stats, 10 vacation and 10 personal/emergency days for which I am closed .... so yes a CONSIDERABLE amount more than the average for my direct neighborhood.

However I am still 'mid range' fees for my overall city which ranges between $20 - 40 a day depending on if you are living in a more 'affluent' neighborhoods are not ... those differences in income between all the housing being 'subsidized and rental' units or all the houses are between $125,000 - 200,000 or in those mid range of $225,000 - $400,000 or the really really fancy ones with houses all over $425,000 upward of $1,000,000.

I live in a neighborhood that borders all 'rental' housing and the low range starter homes cause we wanted to stay in a mortgage that if something happened to my spouses income I could cover the mortgage and vise versa. What works for ME is that my neighborhood is near the highway and most of my clientele are not FROM my city but 'bedroom communities' coming in to work in my city and driving 'past me' en route to work or back home ~ they want the level of program I am offering and are willing to pay for it because their home towns tend to be more 'under table over ratio providers' cause that is the mentality in the small more rural cities.

If you are offering MORE than your peer who is able to maintain a full viable business with less programming and less 'training' and so forth than IMO you should have no problem finding a handful of clients to pay you what you are asking .... do not worry about the $20 a day provider and WHY they are offering that option

[CountryMommy]

I will be offering child care in one of the best areas in the city. And from all the ads and websites of child care in my city, there is only one other dayhome in my neighborhood and she only offers Before and After School care.

I think I'll make my rates a tad higher and see what happens. I'm thinking of charging $35/day full time, $40/day part time, $20/day Before and After school care. I'm confident that I offer much higher quality care than the vast majority of dayhomes in the area.

I suppose it'd be easier to drop my rates if no one is interested because of my rates, than it would be to raise them later on.

[3xbluemom]

Do you mind me asking where you live, CountryMommy? I am in Calgary and the going rates here are $30.00-60.00 a day, depending on your neighborhood. We live in a fairly upper middle class area - no starter homes in our community and almost everyone on our street has multiple professional degrees and works downtown, so I charge $50.00 a day/ $900.00 a month. I know that seems steep, but it's actually cheaper than some nearby neighborhoods! (and explains why I haven't gone back to work, with 3 kids who would need childcare!!) There are also not many day homes and no preschools in my neighborhood. So far, people have been willing to pay it. My sister lives in a lower middle class neighborhood and still gets away with $40.00 a day.
I'd go with what you have now and drop it if people are really questioning it. But if you get the right people, people who really want an experienced, qualified caregiver and a good program, then I don't think your rates will be a problem.

[dodge__driver11]

AND YES COUNTRY MOMMY THAT IS EXACTLY IT HERE....how can you provide quality care @ $20.00/day???

[dodge__driver11]

We both live in the same province...I've pmed you before it appears we face simllar problems

For FT infant 10-30 months I charge $650.00
For Full time toddler 31 months-5 years I charge $550.00
For PT toddler or infant I charge $400.00 3 full days)
** all rates are/month

I used to charge more but now I charge a tad less

For two days per week I charge $40.00/day.

And I am currently full

[CountryMommy]

I moved from Alberta to Regina, Saskatchewan. I need to update my profile.

Dodge, your rates seem to be the average for my area. If I charge what my friend says I would be able to charge my rates would look like this:
Full Time - $758/month
Part Time - $520/month
B/A School - $433/month

Compare that to the average and I'd be charging $100/dollars a month more than others in my area! I just really don't know if anyone's even going to be interested at that price, even if quality child care IS rare here.

[dodge__driver11]

I had to lower my rates no one was biting.


but there are two things I will not bend on:

My deposit amounts and I will not provide care until the contract is signed.

My deposits are $400.00 for ft (any age)
Pt is 250.00
2 days a week or less is paid for upfront at each drop off

[fruitloop]

Can I ask a question...why do you guys charge a different price for different ages (not school age but under 5)? I'm just curious...

I don't, a space is a space and each requires the same amount of work...just in a different way. While babies need a bit more supervision and you have to change their diapers, the older ones use more supplies and eat more food.

[kidlove]

But dont you think that babies kind of run the show. older kids you can schedule quite easy. meals, play, snacks, naps. but babies, eat sleep and poop on their own time. that can get in the way of the rest of the days plans, therefor, making babies "more work" = more money.