Clear documents are vital. If you ever have to go to court with a problem, your documents must be unambiguous and simple to understand. If they are overly long, or complicated, the Judge will likely rule that it's unreasonable for parents to understand what your policies are.

I have two documents and a private FB group for current clients for open communication.

My contact is a 2 page document that is fixed. Who are the clients, what is the child's name, when care is to start, which days they are registered for care, what my business hours are and if any agreement has been reached for extended care/early drop off, required notice of termination, what is included in my fees and what parents have to provide, what my fees are and that in the event of fee increases parents will be given 14 days notice, and a firm statement that my handbook details my policies, is part of the contracted agreement, that the parent has seen the handbook at signing and has a copy in their hands, and what version number they received.

My handbook details my policy and is more fluid. This means as policy changes either due to provincial regulations or my own amendments, this document can and will change from time to time. It clearly states that parents will be given 14 days notice of a policy change unless it's a provincial change beyond my control and that after those 14 days the amendment has come into effect. That amended handbooks are issued via the FB group, and that a parent continuing in my care after the date of change is deemed to have accepted the amendment.

Again, this has to be a clear document and not too long. Mine is 5 pages in total. It covers late payment fees and that care will not be provided until accounts are up to date, what the pay schedule is, late collection fees, the procedure that will be followed in an emergency, how much notice parents get if I am taking a paid personal day, requirement for immunization, the Provincial public health guidelines for excluding a sick child, sickness policy, head lice/pet flea/bed bug policy, notice period for either party and the circumstances where I will terminate care without no notice, toilet training requirements, etc.

One other thing it is really important to know - if you have a policy documented that you do not enforce, then you put yourself in a position of weakness in asking a court to enforce any other policy. For instance, if you have a late pick up change that you never charge because you are embarrassed to ask for it, then you must either start enforcing it or remove it from your documents. A Judge will argue that if one policy is not enforced, then why would client's believe you are going to enforce a different aspect of your contracted terms.