Retainer fees

[dawnyp]

Hi there!

I am just waiting for my pre reg certificate and have a family interested in using me when I become officially up and running which I am saying will be September so I have the holidays with my own children.

The family intersted will not need me until January so there will be a 4 month period until they would start. They have a 2 year old and a 6 year old who I would have before and after school but the 2 year olf from 8.30 - 5.30 every day.

What should I do about a retainer or deposit? I am just worried that it seems a lot of money for them to pay if I said 50% or even if I do 50% just for the 2 year old place?

At the same time childminders are far and few between here and I think I will get mindees fairly quickly so unsure what to say to them!

Thanks in advance
:laughing:

[The Juggler]

if work is busy and you can fill the space from September can YOU afford to lose half your potential income hon?

50% is the norm. I would charge it only for the full timer and then also take a deposit of a full months fees for both children which I would offset against first months bill and which would be non-refundable if they don't take up the place.

Explain to them that by keeping the space for them you are losing half your income each month that you could potentially earn.

[bunyip]

I realise how tricky this can be. I have an enquirer who wants me to promise places for September 2013 and September 2014 (or both places from September 2013 if I'm accredited by then and able to offer 15 free hours - gosh, nothing is simple.)

As Juggler says, if the work really is there, can you afford not to take a retainer? You also need some sort of guarantee/deposit that they'll actually take up the place when they say they will.

I'm afraid purely verbal agreements tend to leave parents thinking you've made a concrete commitment, but one they themselves have every right to back out of. Things can change rather quickly and mums have a habit of smiling sweetly, saying an insincere "sorry" and leaving you paddle-less up the Rio Excretia.

I can also see the advantage in having something lined up for next January. It's very easy to assume you'll have a queue of prospective clients at the door the moment you're registered, but how often does it really materialise? When I was registering, I lost count of the number of times I was told "we're really short of CMs round here." I've gone through nearly 200 business cards in 9 months, and have placed several ads, but I'm by no means full to capacity.

A compromise arrangement may well be in order, and this is the sort of thing I have with the enquirer I mentioned above. Get mum and the lo's to visit, play, view your setting, policies, T&Cs, etc. If they don't like what they see, or you find they are little devils who'll just shred the place, then you know it's a non-starter. If you're all happy and want to go ahead, then you explain the need for a retainer and deposit. If mum is unhappy with that (bear in mind, she may well see it as "paying you to do nothing", especially if you don't actually have other mindees lined up) then you offer her a sort of "first refusal" deal. That is, you have a purely verbal agreement with no commitments, until such time as another parent enquires about the places. So if it reaches a point where you really can say that in order to keep the places open you'll be turning away another mum with cold, hard cash, that's when it becomes "pay the retainer or the place has gone."

[dawnyp]

Thanks that makes perfect sense all of you! I can understand people are saying that childminders are scarse here but is that really true and it isn't going to mean I am going to have children queuing at the door it will def take time I know.

I will have them round to play and see how we all get on and then think about which way I will go with regarding the retainer and deposit.That has definetley given me food for thought so a big thankyou.

This forum is fab :laughing: