Trying to open a home day care...i need help please

[5 Little Monkeys]

I'm not sure what the legal number of kids you can have in your area but yes, definitely have a solid contract and sick policy in effect!! When I opened up, I asked around what others were charging and I went with the highest but offered a reduced holiday and stat rate to make myself different and perhaps more appealing to those on a budget. If you would like to see my contract and parent package just let me know!

Sounds like you are planning on having your dc separate from your home? That is how I have mine and I love it! I do everything downstairs including a washroom and a kitchen. (I do come upstairs for a bit in the morning and at the end when I only have 1-2 kids) It is so nice to shut the lights off and walk upstairs and not feel like I'm still at work

Make sure you have enough toys and then gradually add on so that you can do toy rotation (altho with 2 kids yourself I'm sure you have plenty already). I don't have children of my own but I have heard from others that its important to keep dc toys separate from your childs. They are going to be sharing their home and their mom so at least they can have their room and toys to their self

You will need playpens/cots/sleeping mats for napping(unless you ask parents to supply, I find it easier to own my own), car seats for transporting if you do field trips (or ask parents, same as playpens), lots of kid friendly dishes, cutlery, cups. A potty of some sort for children who are training. A good assortment of art supplies, dollar stores are perfect for this. I use an IKEA coffee table for my table (it's an extra wide one and is the perfect height for children) and then I bought their plastic kid chairs that come in green, pink, blue. They eat and do art at this table. If I sit with them I either sit on a small metal chair that I got from a school or I just sit on the floor and it's still a good height. If you have younger children, a highchair or booster seat will be needed. I keep a stack of plastic bibs on hand but many parents supply their own too.

A place for children to hang their coats and place boots will be needed. I started off with coat racks but now have hooks on the wall and I much prefer that. I also have a long, 6 drawer dresser that I use in the nap room/change room. I use a diaper pad on the top to change diapers (or sometimes just the spare bed), and then each child has a drawer where they can keep diapers, wipes, change of clothes, any creams they need etc. This saves the parents from sending a bag every day. I just let the parents know when they are getting low on things.

I'm in MB so not sure how the rules are there but I added extra home insurance to our plan. Things that I claim at income tax time are: cell phone, cable, hydro, water, house insurance, land taxes, mileage on car, fuel, car repairs, any repair or reno's to the house, toys, groceries, supplies like cleaning, toilet paper, kleenax etc, housekeeper. There's probably more....basically anything that has to do with daycare you can claim. Your accountant will be able to tell you how much you can claim. For example, I buy toys and supplies separately so I get to claim 100% of that but for the bills, repairs etc I get to claim a percentage of those.

That's all I can think of for now....

In regard to you owing money for this business....again, I'm in MB so it could be different but I will usually always owe My total income is "such and such" and than my accountant takes all my expenses/deductions and gets it down to "so and so" and I will pay taxes on "so and so". Last year I owed $2400! It sucked lol. The biggest reason is we are mortgage free so I don't get to claim the interest paid on that which would be a huge expense. So all year round we are lucky that our home is paid for but come income tax time, I get dinged. However, I will pay the $2400 vs a mortgage. I just put money aside each month for this now that I know. I tried to up my toys and grocery expenses this year but I am a couponer and buy so many used toys that it didn't work out LOL.