Raising rates

[5 Little Monkeys]

I decided that the only time I would increase rates is when I sign new families on. The rate a family signs on with is the rate they will always pay

My reasoning for this is...

* when parents are dc hunting, price is going to be a factor ( maybe not the deciding factor but still a factor) and they will likely budget for this

* at the most, a one child family will be with me for 4 years. I'd rather keep a good family than raise rates and risk them leaving. 4 years isn't a long time so the lower rate compared to new families isn't an issue for me

I don't raise my fee every time a new family signs on however. Likely every 3-5 years I will consider it though depending on my business costs and my local market. The only thing I haven't decided is if a family goes on mat leave and comes back with the 2 children (or even just the one), should I give them their original rate or the new one. There are some pros to having multiple children from one family so I'm leaning towards original rate but there are cons too and I'd loose out on a bit of money....hence the undecideness!! Lol

[Rachael]

The only thing I haven't decided is if a family goes on mat leave and comes back with the 2 children (or even just the one), should I give them their original rate or the new one. There are some pros to having multiple children from one family so I'm leaning towards original rate but there are cons too and I'd loose out on a bit of money....hence the undecideness!! Lol

I don't - if a family leaves due to mat. leave, then they leave. If they return, then they pay the current rate like everyone else. I also don't ever give sibling discounts.

Yes, there are pros to sibling groups but there are cons too. Siblings tend to have a mini-clique which excludes the other children, if a family moves/changes jobs it results in multiple vacancies, some clients with more than one child think they have more say in the business because they provide a larger portion of income than other parents etc.

Based on your whole answer, the most I would do is if they kept the oldest child in care for the whole maternity leave period, then keep the original rates for that child and the new sibling pays new rates. But if they leave, then when they come back, they pay current rates. After all, giving that place to a new client would mean being paid in full.