Some people just don't get that this is how we make our living!

[SevenwatersDaughter]

Hey everyone! I don't want to be negative or rant, but rather share an experience I'm currently having to see how you all deal with this.

I look after one DCB about six times a month, but his mom knows that the contract states that she pays me the same day as everyone else, which happens to be every second Monday, regardless if her child is in my care that day.

I have this set up because I have bills to pay that come out at a certain time, and it's much easier if everyone pays me on the same day.

I was friends with this DCB's mom before I started looking after her child, and maybe that contributes to why she's like this, but yesterday she texted me saying, "I'm not going to be able to bring your payment over today. I'm just not feeling well. I'll have to pay the late fee."

I said okay, no problem, hope you feel better soon.

I will be charging her the late fee, but I find the whole "I'm not feeling well" (but well enough to make a ton of posts on Facebook) kind of a lame excuse. She could have gotten her husband to drop the money off. I mean, how would she feel if the person who wrote her check said, "Oh, I'm not feeling well today, I'll try to pay you tomorrow."

I think some people think that because I am doing this out of my home that it's more of a hobby than a business. But this is how I pay my bills! True, my husband has a good paying job, but I still need this job to pay for my phone bill, car insurance, gas, help with groceries, etc.!

It's just frustrating sometimes that parents don't seem to realize that we deserve to be paid on time just like they do. I'm sure they would complain if their bosses treated them the way they treat us sometimes!

Any ideas on how to deal with this? Or just charge her the late fee and move on? (My late fee is $5/day).

[nschildcare]

That irks me, too. I would up your late fee, so it encourages them to pay on time. Mine is $15/each calendar day it is late. And enforce it.

Also, why can't she pay via emt?

Sorry you are dealing with that.

[Wonderwiper]

Sorry...I'm sure this is annoying to deal with! Getting paid should not even be an issue with any job.

I see 2 options in these situations:

Late fees, while designed to discourage late payment, can also be seen as permission to pay late as long as you pay a little extra.

So, you can either accept the late payment with extra fee or terminate for non payment.

In my opinion, once you allow people to pay late fees it becomes 'normal' and they will continue to do it. An honest mistake or one time exception is not a big deal to me.

[mickyc]

yes increase your late fee. also include in your contract that consistent late payment can result in termination!

My pay is due Friday morning and my late fee begins at noon on Friday. I charge $15.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I don't have a late payment fee. If you are late 2x with payment though, you will be asked to find other care. I have never had anyone pay late. I now ask for it in the morning though because I did have some parents who would have to run home or to the bank before picking up their child and it was making my days longer. As long as it is paid on payday, I don't mark it as late.

If you prefer to have a late payment fee, I would increase it for sure. $5/day isn't a big enough incentive for some. You could also ask if she would prefer to leave post dated cheques with you.

[Crayola kiddies]

Hey everyone! I don't want to be negative or rant, but rather share an experience I'm currently having to see how you all deal with this.

I look after one DCB about six times a month, but his mom knows that the contract states that she pays me the same day as everyone else, which happens to be every second Monday, regardless if her child is in my care that day.

I have this set up because I have bills to pay that come out at a certain time, and it's much easier if everyone pays me on the same day.

I was friends with this DCB's mom before I started looking after her child, and maybe that contributes to why she's like this, but yesterday she texted me saying, "I'm not going to be able to bring your payment over today. I'm just not feeling well. I'll have to pay the late fee."

I said okay, no problem, hope you feel better soon.

I will be charging her the late fee, but I find the whole "I'm not feeling well" (but well enough to make a ton of posts on Facebook) kind of a lame excuse. She could have gotten her husband to drop the money off. I mean, how would she feel if the person who wrote her check said, "Oh, I'm not feeling well today, I'll try to pay you tomorrow."

I think some people think that because I am doing this out of my home that it's more of a hobby than a business. But this is how I pay my bills! True, my husband has a good paying job, but I still need this job to pay for my phone bill, car insurance, gas, help with groceries, etc.!

It's just frustrating sometimes that parents don't seem to realize that we deserve to be paid on time just like they do. I'm sure they would complain if their bosses treated them the way they treat us sometimes!

Any ideas on how to deal with this? Or just charge her the late fee and move on? (My late fee is $5/day).

First of all your late fee is too low ..... Mine is $50/day(includes weekends ) and second of all start accepting emt .... Then there is no excuse .... She can email you the money and doesn't even have to leave her home ..... Problem solved !!!!

[CrazyEight]

The problem is that a lot of people DO do this for a hobby. Certainly not myself, this is my business and we are definitely a 2 income household-we need my pay to pay the bills! I'm part of a facebook group for childcare in my area, though, and there's currently a big thread about whether or not providers are open for the upcoming Easter holidays. Some are saying yes, some no, and then the thread got taken over by 2 providers who said they "only charge when their services are used, parents can call the night before and cancel and they don't have to pay." I commented and asked how they can afford to do this, if it becomes a regular thing. Both answered that they don't need the money, that's it's just a "hobby to give them something to do."

I thought, must be nice!! Now, however, more and more parents seem to think that those of us that have contracts, regular payment schedules, etc, are not being "reasonable". One mother left a snarky comment about how providers shouldn't charge a premium rate for working on holidays, since she's a "working mother trying to make ends meet." But so am I! This mindset that providers are just making a bit of extra cash as a hobby really annoys me.

I agree with Wonderwiper, this parents seems to just think paying late won't matter, as long as she pays a bit extra. Maybe up your late payment fees? By a considerable amount? It's going to be hard to change her thinking though, if she doesn't consider paying late a problem. Would you be ok with an emt? Maybe she hasn't thought of that, and if you offered that as an option to save her the late fee, she might go for it?

[cfred]

Ugh...I hate dealing with that nonsense. Fortunately, I've not had to in a while. This group I've got is great and very respectful. I'm reasonably relaxed if someone forgets now and then...and it does happen. But I have a good buffer in the bank and I only need to mention it once and it's at my door. However, in the past, I've had people who really didn't get it. When I put in late fees, they suddenly managed to pay me on time This IS the only source of income in my house. My current clients are very cognizant of that and feel truly bad if they forget. I'd never hear a comment like that woman.

[bright sparks]

The problem is that a lot of people DO do this for a hobby. Certainly not myself, this is my business and we are definitely a 2 income household-we need my pay to pay the bills! I'm part of a facebook group for childcare in my area, though, and there's currently a big thread about whether or not providers are open for the upcoming Easter holidays. Some are saying yes, some no, and then the thread got taken over by 2 providers who said they "only charge when their services are used, parents can call the night before and cancel and they don't have to pay." I commented and asked how they can afford to do this, if it becomes a regular thing. Both answered that they don't need the money, that's it's just a "hobby to give them something to do."

I thought, must be nice!! Now, however, more and more parents seem to think that those of us that have contracts, regular payment schedules, etc, are not being "reasonable". One mother left a snarky comment about how providers shouldn't charge a premium rate for working on holidays, since she's a "working mother trying to make ends meet." But so am I! This mindset that providers are just making a bit of extra cash as a hobby really annoys me.

I agree with Wonderwiper, this parents seems to just think paying late won't matter, as long as she pays a bit extra. Maybe up your late payment fees? By a considerable amount? It's going to be hard to change her thinking though, if she doesn't consider paying late a problem. Would you be ok with an emt? Maybe she hasn't thought of that, and if you offered that as an option to save her the late fee, she might go for it?

I think some people need to think before they act and before they speak. Those who say they don't need the money need to check themselves. If they suddenly lost that money they would no longer be able to do their nails, get their hair done and lunch with friends. LOL Obviously there are those of us who do this as a source of income by running a serious business. Others do it for "extra money" and may not budget for their daycare earnings as their other half makes enough to live off. It kind of makes me laugh though as if these particular people pulled their fingers out and put more effort into treating this as a business versus bragging about the amount of free cash they have to throw around, and I know a lot of providers who have this attitude and are in this position, they could make a substantial amount more. It also saddens me that these providers take such a lax attitude towards the role of a daycare provider if its a case of, "Oh well I don't need the money anyway." What else are they laid back about that we do not see?? We bust our balls to offer great care and already have the odds stacked against us so we don't need any kind of lax attitudes towards the industry.

Take control of your business by having a zero tolerance policy for rule breaking of any kind. You will get a lot more respect from the people you deal with and if people pull their face at you then they aren't the type of client you want. Things happen and I use my personal discretion to decide case by case if I will make allowances for human error which for sure happens with ALL of us, but I set the tone from day one to reduce these occurrences.

You need to have people pay you via EMT, although someone with a lax attitude towards payment could still leave you hanging for that and pay late, or take post dated cheques and then if a parent is off sick and cant get to your place, or some other BS excuse like internet is down, there is absolutely no excuse for none payment as the ball is in your court so to speak, as you take the cheque to the bank and pay yourself.

[Busy ECE mommy]

Increase your late fees so they act as more of a deterrant. I charge $40 a day for late fees. Haven't had a late payment in 5 years.