Holding fee?

[DCMom]

Hi,
I know there is a thread or two out there on this topic, but I'm wondering what you would do in my particular scenario: It is now mid-October and I have just held a spot for a family starting full-time in March and starting transition in mid-January. What would a reasonable holding fee be (and different fees for pre-care vs. transition period)?
TIA

[Crayola kiddies]

I charge $250/month to hold the spot, (payable on the first of each month) and a two week deposit to be applied to the last two weeks of care. For transition days I charge $10/hour up to the full day rate . So for me anything over 4 hours is charged a full day.

[fruitloop]

How many days/month will they be coming for the "transition period"? I charge $200/month holding fee plus a $200 deposit that goes towards their last month of care. If they wanted to do a transition THAT far in advance and they came a min. of 2 days/week I'd be charging them a p/t rate.

[Momof4]

I'm glad they are starting in January because that's what I do, start them 1 day/week, then 2 days the second week then 3 days/week until the Mom returns to work. It works pretty well usually. So for Oct, Nov & Dec I would charge $200/month as my holding fee, plus the deposit and make an addendum to the contract stating that none of those payments are refundable for any reason. I did that a few years ago in fact.

[jodaycare]

I would charge one week's fees per month. Transition days would be charged at my part time rate.

[DCMom]

Momof4, with your few days a week during transition, do you do them all in a row or space them out through the week?

During transition, then, I imagine you charge the daily rate for the days attended? (i.e. if your $200/month holding fee is the one week fee that'd put you at a $40/day rate - which I also am incidentally), but then once you transition 1 day a week, you're charging only $160/month for those 4 $40 days, or is there another holding fee on top of that?

[Momof4]

Momof4, with your few days a week during transition, do you do them all in a row or space them out through the week?

During transition, then, I imagine you charge the daily rate for the days attended? (i.e. if your $200/month holding fee is the one week fee that'd put you at a $40/day rate - which I also am incidentally), but then once you transition 1 day a week, you're charging only $160/month for those 4 $40 days, or is there another holding fee on top of that?

It doesn't matter to me what days the parents use but we always go to the downtown library on Mondays so I don't like them to start that day, but on a day when we can stay inside for part of the morning and go outside for a small part so that they become accustomed to my home and the other children. Then I schedule the rest of our weekly field trips on the other days the new child isn't attending.

I make more than $200 for the month once I start the transition of 1 day, then 2 days, then 3 days/week so charge my regular daily rate. But I'm only at $32/day for full-time and $35/day for part-time, so they have to pay the $35/day rate. I only charge the holding fee for the months before they start to do this.