New contract

[Bess]

Hi I am completing my first NCMA contract. I thought I had everything covered but have come across early delivery/late collection fee and late payment fee per week/month. What is the going rate for this? Thanks for any advice.

[mum24]

It really depends on you, what you want to charge, and to some extent what the going rate in your area is.
I usually charge 1.5 of normal hourly rate for outside normal hours, I don't charge for early/late collection, as I think a bit of give and take works well, when I sometimes need to finish a little early, and parents are happy with that, but I have had one or two in the past who always come late and I then point this out to them and give them the chance to either change the contract so they pay extra, or start collecting on time.

[jo.jo76]

I have a £2 every 15 mins late or early collection charge, although I very rarely impose it.
I charge £5 per day late payment fee, again I've only ever used this twice and neither parent has done it again!
It's certainly worth having on the contract as it can come in handy if you get someone trying it on

[bunyip]

Hi I am completing my first NCMA contract. I thought I had everything covered but have come across early delivery/late collection fee and late payment fee per week/month. What is the going rate for this? Thanks for any advice.

I'm being a bit lazy, so I've cut/pasted my reply from a similar thread (apologies to those who I've already bored with this.)

My early arrival/late collection is based on the deterrent effect, with a degree of sympathetic reasonableness applied.

For most CMs, it's more important to know when your working day will begin/end than to make a little extra cash whilst having our day disrupted. I don't want clients deciding it's occasionally worth being early/late and taking the one-off financial hit. OTOH, I don't want them being so worried of the extra charge that they drive back like a mad thing and have an accident (cos then they're really late, or -worse - terminally 'late' as in the 'late' Mrs Client RIP )

So, I set a punitively high charge for early drop-off/late collection, then explain that it is discretionary. I'll waive it occasionally due to circumstances, if they've warned me in advance and I'm confident they're being genuine. But if it becomes a regular occurrence, they know I'll insist that we renegotiate the contracted hours.

Aside from my time considerations, I actually think the lo's get into a routine and can have a gut instinct for time even if they can't read the clock. The 2yo I have wakes up 5 minutes before collection time. It's uncanny.

Late payment fees are not really an issue for me. All my contracts state payment strictly in advance: no payment = no care + no exceptions. All my clients know they will be turned away at the doorstep if necessary. It sounds harsh, but you don't need to search for long on these boards to find CMs who have learnt this the hard, costly way.

[Bess]

Thanks everyone. Great advice