Has anyone allowed parents to do this?

[Crayola kiddies]

Totally agree a and b

[KellyP]

Personally I'd be super concerned about a parent who feels they can simply negotiate your policies and fees.

What gives her the impression that you would be willing switch or change things up just to make it work better for her? Why wouldn't she assume that the fees you charge and the way you have your payments set up wouldn't be in YOUR best interest and that is why you do things the way you do.

I set my rules and policies and they are NOT negotiable.

I'm sorry but I see this as a MAJOR red flag and would not entertain the idea of getting together to discuss any of it with her.

[gramma]

Why would you have an issue with being paid monthly? I dont think its a red flag for dcm to ask to pay on a different schedule. Maybe she has a reason why it works better for her. Maybe she is paid that way and it keeps her on budget to get it paid right away for the month. Everyone is different in how they like to pay their bills. All you need to do is divide the monthly payment when you get it and give it to yourself on the schedule that you prefer. I had a mom who paid monthly because she was really busy, dad worked long hours so the burden of the house and kids and money fell mostly on her and she just liked to get it out of the way. I used to take that cheque and I did my shopping for the month for all my non perishables. that way my weekly grocery trips were just for fresh stuff. sometimes clients are like husbands, they need a little training to be just what we want.

[Robyn]

I have one mom that pays me at the beginning of each month and I LOVE it!
I don't charge a holding fee but I also prefer that families start within a month of meeting our group if it is longer than that I insist on weekly visits to secure their spot if they don't want to do that then I tell them if a family comes along looking for an immediate position I will give "their" spot away as I am losing money waiting for them.

[BlueRose]

My pay schedule is every two weeks for private clients. I will not change that. My pay through the agencies is monthly, on the 15th. I hate being paid monthly. (they pay the month after).
my pay schedule is set on on my website for all to see. Parents have to learn who to budget for every two weeks, I will not change my pay schedule. I used to have a different bank account for daycare (when my son was going) my husband and I would put money in every pay and we never missed a payment. this also insured that we didn't spend the daycare money by mistake.

[Momof4]

I have one family who pay at the beginning of the month for 4-5 weeks at a time, two families who pay 2X/month and the rest pay weekly. I prefer the ones who pay in large lump sums because it makes less receipt writing and adding at the end of the year for me. I make notation of the amount paid on my calendar too so that I can see clearly when people have a payment due. Find a good system for yourself and it works.

Are you able to go without the income for the space all the way until Sept? That's quite a long time to hold a space unless it is filled until that time, then it would make sense. I charge a deposit when a contract is signed but it's applied to the LAST week of care, not at the beginning. The end of care is where we can get screwed out of our money!

If I have a space full until the time the new clients are going to start I don't charge any holding fee but if I hold a space, it's for 1 or 2 months maximum and I charge $200/month holding fee. I only had this happen twice and I made an addendum to the contract and had the clients sign it because I made the deposit and holding fees non-refundable since it was a special circumstance because of holding the space.

I agree with the poster who said that you should make sure that you show the clients that you are not bending your rules unless you decide it works for you and you are willing to be flexible with payment but your contract is law!

[sunnydays]

I am like Momof4 in that I allow parents to pay monthly or biweekly. I prefer monthly as it is less accounting, but that is hard for a lot of parents, so many of them are biweekly. The key I have found to this is that I get them all paying on the same day (so if someone starts their child with me on a non-pay week, I just get them to pay the first week and then it gets them onto the same schedule as everyone else). That way I always know when payday is and then with the monthly it is on the 1st, so pretty easy as well.
However, I would be concerned for sure with a parent trying to negotiate the holding fee/deposit. My contract and fees are not open to negotiation.

[Judy Trickett]

I probably wouldn't allow this. I know it sounds like a better set up, but it simply isn't my set up. I don't think I like a parent coming into my home and telling me how they want to pay. I think it gets you off to a bad start. It also seems like shes the kind of person that thinks they employ us... and you know that could land you in trouble.

I see it as a red flag that she wants to dictate when she wants to pay.

Just my 2 cents.

Yep, I agree. YOUR business, YOUR rules. YOU make the contract and business decisions NOT the parents. You don't go into Walmart and negotiate payment so you don't do it in daycare.

If YOU want weekly payments or monthly payments then YOU choose and go with that. As for the holding fee......if YOU want a holding fee (and rightly so) then she pays it or she finds daycare elsewhere.

[Wonderwiper]

I agree with Judy and the others who said YOU must decide the rules.

For my business, I couldn't care less when I am paid. It MUST be in advance and at the same predetermined time each pay cycle. Weekly, bi weekly, monthly.

How you choose to run your business it up to you. Set out your rules and expectations clearly from the start and choose clients that suit your requirements.