Do you ever charge different?

[kellyskidz!]

Was chatting to cm friend today who told me that when she took on one of her school pick ups nearly 2 years ago she charged £8 til 5.30 but she has a new starter next week and is charging them £10 for the same hours.
I know its up to her what she charges, and I actually respect that shes not as rigid and stuck to her hourly rates as i am and she's more lenient towards parents, but it got me wondering if lots of cms have flexible rates. She didnt say why, there's no issue with either child I think its purely because she's had the first one for longer and knows that parents are happy to pay that she just said she charges both different and she'd rather do that than up the fees for the first child xx

[shortstuff]

i charge depending on term/ holiday time only or all year round care. The one exception i made was one child was exceptionally hard work and deliberately broke lots of toys so i charged the parents an extra 50p per hour. It made me feel better when replacing toys as the parents didnt want to address the behaviour.

[AliceK]

Parents who have been with me for a long time are still on the original rates from that time as in the current climate I can't bring myself to up their hourly rate, newer parents pay my newer prices which are obviously higher £per hr. So yes my children are on different hourly rates. Also as all my EY's children are from shift workers, depending on what their minimum monthly hours are depends on what hourly rate they pay. I don't think there is one size fits all £ in this job as parents requirements are all so different.

xxxx

[munch149]

I never put up my fees for current mindees only new ones. I saves on stress with parents complaining and is a good incentive to use me. One parent made a mistake of leaving and then coming back so got there fees increased lol

[kellyskidz!]

I never put up my fees for current mindees only new ones. I saves on stress with parents complaining and is a good incentive to use me. One parent made a mistake of leaving and then coming back so got there fees increased lol

Haha I like it!
I'm going to deffo broaden my thoughts and its good to know I don't 'have to' stick to the per hour rules, although i know i will for the most part. As has been said what if a child is much more demanding or stays later into the hour than another or breaks things! I'd like to know its not so bad as I'm getting slightly more money from their parents. My fear would be that they'd meet and randomly chat about fees but I doubt that would happen unless they were already friends or something, and even then I could just say it was a different circumstance xx

[watford wizz]

I provide an individually tailored service for each family so yes they pay different rates depending on their needs. Some want 24/7 plus and others want minimum after school only care.

[The Juggler]

Was chatting to cm friend today who told me that when she took on one of her school pick ups nearly 2 years ago she charged £8 til 5.30 but she has a new starter next week and is charging them £10 for the same hours.
I know its up to her what she charges, and I actually respect that shes not as rigid and stuck to her hourly rates as i am and she's more lenient towards parents, but it got me wondering if lots of cms have flexible rates. She didnt say why, there's no issue with either child I think its purely because she's had the first one for longer and knows that parents are happy to pay that she just said she charges both different and she'd rather do that than up the fees for the first child xx

i did. i had my fee at 4.00 for a few years but wanted to increase so new starters came on board at 4.50. I then increased the children on 4.00/hour 9 months later.

[Bluebell]

My children seem to stay ages so need to put rates up otherwise it would be confusing. I usually put fees up in April so if I have someone start in February I would probably just put them on the new rate.

Also I introduced holiday charge of 50% - at first it was for 2 weeks and then it was for 3 weeks of my holiday. I didn't introduce this to existing parents so some don't pay, some pay 50% for 2 weeks and some pay 50% for 3 weeks. It's a stupid system that still leaves me financially short and confuses the heck out of me!

[Millenium]

My charges are on an hourly basis only, with a minimum of 5 hours - I do not offer "session rates". My rates are reviewed and increased on 1st January each year so all my parents pay the same rate unless they start with me after the beginning of November in which case they will pay the increased rate for the New Year a couple of months early. It makes the monthly invoices much easier (for most of the year!!!)

[Allie]

I keep my fees the same for each type of minding, so after school fee is the same for anyone using that service. Hourly rate the same for all pre schoolers, I have a clear charging system shared with parents and prospective parents.
Other wise I get confused

[Dovile]

For schoolers I have different fee than for children who attend full time.

[Mummits]

I don't increase my hourly rate for existing children unless they either leave and come back or have to have a new contract for some other reason - for example one has recently gone from full daytime care to wrap around care. I do have different rates for all day and just before and after school, and I have lower rates for full time than short hours. In fact, looking at that lot, I'd have to say I have loads of different rates! Fortunately I hardly ever have to work anything out as I work out a monthly figure when they start and just carry on invoicing that amount until they leave.