Reciepts for Terminated Clients

[monkeymama]

When you terminate a client or they choose to leave, do you give them their receipts then or wait until you do everyones for tax season? I have a dcm who after I caught her in some lies mutually terminated her relationship. I told her I would send her receipts next tax season. I just got a text saying that's not good enough and she wants them now. So annoying.

[Skysue]

I try and give them right away! That way you are totally done with them.

[sunnydays]

If they want it right away, I give it...otherwise I wait and send it out with the others at the end of the year. I find it doesn't take long to write up a receipt and then you are done with them. However, technically, you do have until end of February to issue it.

[playfelt]

I give weekly receipts with payment and that is all any family gets till I give the annual receipt in Feb. If you have been terminated you are sent an email to come and pick up the receipt and sign for it. I do not mail it unless your reason for terminating was moving out of town.

If you don't give anything to the parents to prove that you were paid each time then I think I would probably give her a statement now but make her sign your copy of the document and include a hefty fee for a replacement copy. Then her responsibility to save it till tax time. I can understand her reasoning in the sense that in the next 8 months you could close, move, etc. and she would not have anything to prove what she has paid. In that sense I agree that she feels owed. However.... a receipt at this point simply needs to be a statement of fees paid and does not need to include any of the info needed at tax time - ie she should still be given the annual statement like everyone else.

[apples and bananas]

I give receipts monthly. If I have a termination that's going to go bad I sent the last receipt with the term letter. ( I rarely term without having payment first )

If I have to send them a receipt after the fact I make sure I mail it to them right away.

It gets it over and done with.

[Momof4]

I make up all the receipts at the end of the year and give them out all at once so nobody loses any. I'm NOT making them again! I had 2 clients leave early this year and there were only a few receipts so I finished them and mailed them already. As Skysue said, I wanted to be done with them.

[momofnerds]

I also do them only at tax time. I only want to write them once, and I've had people lose them. I've also had people who when mailed to never get their reciepts (or so they say) so what I now tell everyone, is that since I didn't move that if you need to have your reciept that they can come and get it. I do everyones reciept, put it in the envelope and all I have to do is hand it to them.
I have one family who's reciept is still sitting here, they pass my house every day, but 2 years ago she wanted the reciepts from the year before, so I had to dig thru all my stuff and find it (oh she asked in may so it was way after tax season) so I also have a new rule in my contract that if you lose your tax reciept or ask for the years before then I will now charge you 5 dollars, just like my tax guy does.

[Crayola kiddies]

I only issue one receipt as well and I charge $25 to reissue a lost receipt. When a family leaves I issue the receipt and give it to them on their last day.

[busydaycarelady]

I also issue receipts at tax time only. I issued a receipt for a termed family once at termination and guess what.......she lost it. I totally expected it to happen because of who she was, so a little later she's texting me saying she needs it now! So, after that I have told people I will only issue receipts during tax time. That's my policy. Plus, you are not legally obliged to give this woman a receipt early just because she feels like being cranky. You're legally obliged to provide one DURING tax season.

I like the idea of a fee for issuing a second receipt. May have to keep that in mind.

[Momof4]

I also issue receipts at tax time only. I issued a receipt for a termed family once at termination and guess what.......she lost it. I totally expected it to happen because of who she was, so a little later she's texting me saying she needs it now! So, after that I have told people I will only issue receipts during tax time. That's my policy. Plus, you are not legally obliged to give this woman a receipt early just because she feels like being cranky. You're legally obliged to provide one DURING tax season.

I like the idea of a fee for issuing a second receipt. May have to keep that in mind.

Oh boy, you just gave me some food for thought. I terminated clients in Feb., then their replacement family was only here for March and pulled. So I have sent receipts to both those families. I think if they ask me for duplicates next Jan. at tax time there will a $50 fee for replacements!