Oh - you are singing to the choir sister - I think everyone here has dealt with these issues. I too had to move to "locked door during the day" because I had a number of parents just "walk on in" when they arrived. So rude ! As far as the whole paying on time problem - I do a few things with my parents to avoid this issue. When a child comes into my care, and the parents sign a contract with me they pay a deposit of two weeks dues. I credit half of that money towards the child's first week of care. The other half is held "in trust" for their last week of care. It also acts as a cushion - meaning that I have been paid for a week, so if the parent is late with a cheque or underpays me (dear Lord the things that people will try....) I can console myself with that fact. Another thing that I do with my parents is I have everyone hand in four post dated cheques at the beginning of each month; every Friday I send home a receipt. If I am sick and owe them money, I know that I will be a professional and get those funds refunded/credited to the parents ASAP. An added bonus of this system is it "encourages" parents to provide me with the two weeks notice that my contract asks them to provide in the event they choose to leave - let's face it, I already have their cheques and one week's dues from their deposit so they have nothing to gain by not giving me appropriate notice.