averaging fees out over the year ?

[mama2three]

Bear with me Im confusing myself but will try to explain!

I have a teacher starting in january , who would like to pay the same each month..

So 39 school weeks at full fee
which leaves 13.
less 4 weeks fee free for my holidays - 9 weeks at half fee
All added up and divided by 12. Fine so far!

But , this takes no account of bank holidays does it - some of those may be when im off on holiday or over xmas when i close so shes already not paying for those...but do you then knock the other how many days fees off before the calculations? It all starts to get complicated. I asked a friend and she doesnt take any bank hols off , despite her contract saying she doesnt charge for them None of her parents have ever even noticed.

what do you all do? Wish i hadnt told her bank hols no fee at the enquiry stage now!

[HELEN10]

I do it like this for one of my mum's, she is not a teacher but has two children one in school and one not and she is not very good with money so does not want to find extra in the school hols.

I do it like you said but i charge for every bank hol (think bout 8 in total) and don't ever work them. Also i just refund when i take a hol as i don't have set weeks per year.

Have you already done her contract, if not can't you say you made a mistake?

[rickysmiths]

Bear with me Im confusing myself but will try to explain!

I have a teacher starting in january , who would like to pay the same each month..

So 39 school weeks at full fee
which leaves 13.
less 4 weeks fee free for my holidays - 9 weeks at half fee
All added up and divided by 12. Fine so far!

But , this takes no account of bank holidays does it - some of those may be when im off on holiday or over xmas when i close so shes already not paying for those...but do you then knock the other how many days fees off before the calculations? It all starts to get complicated. I asked a friend and she doesnt take any bank hols off , despite her contract saying she doesnt charge for them None of her parents have ever even noticed.

what do you all do? Wish i hadnt told her bank hols no fee at the enquiry stage now!

School weeks are actually only 38. The children have 190 days at school and 70 days holidays.

The other 5 days that make up the 39 weeks are Inset Days so the childen are not in school for those, so for your accounting they are 5 full days pay.(or counted as holiday rates) if you look after them on those days.

So 38 weeks at school time hours and 14 weeks at your holiday rate which may include 5 full days pay if you have them on inset days buit not in the holidays iyswim :thumbsup:

I charge for all Bank Holidays if they fall on a contracted day because I am prepared to work them. Having said that I have only been asked to work once in 16yrs. I also charge for my holiday and theirs if they take it at a different time to me. The only time I don't charge is if I'm off sick.

[mama2three]

School weeks are actually only 38. The children have 190 days at school and 70 days holidays.

The other 5 days that make up the 39 weeks are Inset Days so the childen are not in school for those, so for your accounting they are 5 full days pay.(or counted as holiday rates) if you look after them on those days.

So 38 weeks at school time hours and 14 weeks at your holiday rate which may include 5 full days pay if you have them on inset days buit not in the holidays iyswim :thumbsup:

thanks rickysmiths , she will need 39 weeks as she needs to be in work on the inset days - its just the bank holidays which are blurring the picture foir me atm.

[miffy]

It all sounds way too complicated for me.

Must admit I've never worked out fees like this because if they leave suddenly you could find yourself out of pocket.

Hope you get it sorted

Miffy xx

[Chatterbox Childcare]

I do it monthly and if I were you I would work out how many school weeks there are from January to July and then work out the rate and then divide the total cost by 7 months or if the teacher was claiming vouchers divide it by 8 (Jan-Aug)

From Sept I would then work it out over 39 weeks over however many months to give monthly payments - I do 12 as the parent pays me in Aug as she has vouchers. I don't discount anytime for TTD as I am available to work them or Bank Holidays.

[Millenium]

I have minded a number of children of parents in the education profession but have never gone down the route of averaging the payments - I have interestingly, never been asked to do it either!

All my parents pay by the hour for the coming month so each month's bill varies. If the parent can't cope with bills of varying amounts each month, then that's a pretty poor state of affairs. There is no benefit whatsoever in me receiving equal amounts of money each month.

I do know that there can be a legal problem in the event of a contract termination or monetary dispute which I was advised of a few years ago. It has to be extremely carefully written into the contract because otherwise, the childminder appears to be receiving money when no service has been provided.

[rickysmiths]

thanks rickysmiths , she will need 39 weeks as she needs to be in work on the inset days - its just the bank holidays which are blurring the picture foir me atm.

Thats fine but then they need to be charged at full fee for a full days care. I would also charge for the Bank Holidays, normal fee for the day and charge a higher rate for working. I charge 3x fees if I work a normal Bank Holiday and 4x for Christmas or new year. I have only worked once in 16yrs! Teachers are paid for the Bank Holidays.

If you are charging 1/2 fee for the holidays then charge the half fee for Christmas/New Year/Easter/May half Term and August Bank Holidays and full fee for the first May Bank holiday. Hope that helps.

[rickysmiths]

I have minded a number of children of parents in the education profession but have never gone down the route of averaging the payments - I have interestingly, never been asked to do it either!

All my parents pay by the hour for the coming month so each month's bill varies. If the parent can't cope with bills of varying amounts each month, then that's a pretty poor state of affairs. There is no benefit whatsoever in me receiving equal amounts of money each month.

I do know that there can be a legal problem in the event of a contract termination or monetary dispute which I was advised of a few years ago. It has to be extremely carefully written into the contract because otherwise, the childminder appears to be receiving money when no service has been provided.


Yes there is usually a calculation to do when the contract ends especially to take account of the number of five week months and holidays. Last year I had a child leave and I had to repay some money to the parents. I have just calculated the new fees for a little one starting school in Sept, she has been with me for four years. They ow me a little extra before the new arrangemnets start on 6th Sept. I have never had a problem with parents paying this way. As long as I get my money when I should I'm happy. :clapping:

[Chimps Childminding]

Oh gosh it sounds too confusing to me, think I will stick to being paid for the hours worked as I do them each month :D

[babs]

one word CONFUSED .. i charge hourly so i would be invoicing that way as per contracted days and then add to it if i did anything over contracted hours on the following month ..

[Rubybubbles]

Oh gosh it sounds too confusing to me, think I will stick to being paid for the hours worked as I do them each month :D

yup!

I know most nurseries work on a monthly rate, as I have a family who have come from nursery! At first it was a shock for them getting different amounts, but for August their fee is so small!

[mama2three]

it suits this teacher , and tbh it suits me - I will happily calculate the fees when the mindee leaves based on how much time they have actually used - but looks like everyone who uses this method charges for their bank holidays ! I really wish I hadnt told her I didnt now!

[berkschick]

I have a mum who works in a school. She is a single parent claiming tax credits so to help her I have spread her fees out over the year and recieve equal amounts every 4 weeks.

I did it like this :-

25 (hours per week) x £4 (hourly rate) = £100 per week

£100 x 39 (weeks Mum works) = £3900

£50 (50% retainer) x 13 weeks (number of holiday weeks) = £650

£3900 (term time) + £650 (retainer) = £4500 (total years fees)

£4500 / 52 (weeks of the year) = £87.50 per week

£87.50 per week x 4 (as she pays me 4 weekly) = £350.00 every 4 weeks.

If I take leave, I simply refund her that weeks fees at the relevant rate. So When I have a week of in August, she has paid me the retainer price which is 25 hours x £2 per hour retainer = £50 so I refund that.

If I took a week off during the term time, I would refund the time at the full rate as thats what she has been charged. So 25 hours x £4 per hour = £100 would be her refund if I had a full week of in term time.

I charge for bank hols but if I didnt I would work it out as above.

I have done it this way for 2.5 years with no problems so far!

[manjay]

I always though maths was one of my strong subjects until I read this thread:laughing:

[miffy]

I always though maths was one of my strong subjects until I read this thread:laughing:

I know it's NOT one of mine but after a few drinks it's even more confusing! :panic: :laughing:

Miffy xx

[Mummits]

I work out my fees annually, then divide it into 11 equal monthly payments so there is no payment in August. All but one of my parents has opted for this (and it's the other one who is sometimes late with fees). Parents seem to like that as it is when most people take holiday and it means extra for spending money (or at least feels that way if you are used to paying for childcare each month). So far I have had two children leave mid-term for different reasons but on working out the figures actually owed for the year to date versus the amount paid, they were so close it really wasn't worth worrying about, within a fiver if I remember rightly in both cases. I think that's more likely to be the case if you take August out of the equation. Around here they only have two inset days in term time, the others are in the holidays, so its 193 days, one of which is usually a bank holiday (May Day). I take inset days as leave, but I would work them if really needed.

There are definite benefits to me in having parents know what to expect the figure on their invoice to be. Firstly, as they are expecting it they will budget for it and don't have the excuse that they haven't allowed enough for a big bill (e.g five-week month). Secondly, if they do not pick up their invoice for some reason (e.g on holiday or child sick) they still know what to pay me and can transfer it straight to my bank account without needing to see me or ask me. If they are not good at remembering to initiate payments, they can set up a standing order or automatic electronic transfer.

[Chatterbox Childcare]

yup!

I know most nurseries work on a monthly rate, as I have a family who have come from nursery! At first it was a shock for them getting different amounts, but for August their fee is so small!

Yes and so would my wages be! I like to know what I have coming in each month otherwise how do I budget?

[manjay]

Yes and so would my wages be! I like to know what I have coming in each month otherwise how do I budget?

I budget exactly the same way I would expect parents to if they know they have to pay for care in the school holidays for example:rolleyes: . After all the summer holidays comes round every year! TBH my parents never stay with the same number of days over a full year so this method would be way too complicated for me. Never been a problem for any of my parents.

[Chatterbox Childcare]

I budget exactly the same way I would expect parents to if they know they have to pay for care in the school holidays for example:rolleyes: . After all the summer holidays comes round every year! TBH my parents never stay with the same number of days over a full year so this method would be way too complicated for me. Never been a problem for any of my parents.

I understand how you work but I do like to know that I have the same coming in each month and my parents liked the fact that I offered equal monthly amounts and then they only speak to the IR tax credits once a year. I am also being paid in advance for my holiday children, sometimes by a few months so it is in my favour.

I am lucky and have had the same children now for about 8 years so I think this makes a difference.

[Rubybubbles]

I budget exactly the same way I would expect parents to if they know they have to pay for care in the school holidays for example:rolleyes: . After all the summer holidays comes round every year! TBH my parents never stay with the same number of days over a full year so this method would be way too complicated for me. Never been a problem for any of my parents.


lol as does christmas which seems to shock people too:laughing:


I do make my bills up at least 3 months ahead so I can have an idea of what to be expecting, then if a parent gives me hols ajust accordingly;)

The beauty of this job, we can do what works out best for us:thumbsup:

[Joannechildmind]

Hi i wonder if someone could help me out im trying to work out the average weekly rate for a mindees mum. Mindee is starting school september and she wants to average our the weekly money so she doesn't need to find the extra during school holidays. She gets Tax credits and apparently this is the way they work it out, its all new to me.

Help!!

I charge £3.20 for baby brother and £3.20 for older brother (school holidays only)

I have 3 weeks off per year. 1 week at christmas and 2 weeks in August.

[mama2three]

Hi i wonder if someone could help me out im trying to work out the average weekly rate for a mindees mum. Mindee is starting school september and she wants to average our the weekly money so she doesn't need to find the extra during school holidays. She gets Tax credits and apparently this is the way they work it out, its all new to me.

Help!!

I charge £3.20 for baby brother and £3.20 for older brother (school holidays only)

I have 3 weeks off per year. 1 week at christmas and 2 weeks in August.

we need to know if you have them on inset days , and if you charge hol rate when you do.
if you charge for your hols
how many hours / days they do , if bib brother does after / bef school etc....
if you charge for bank holidays ....

[Chatterbox Childcare]

[QUOTE=Joannechildmind;749099]Hi i wonder if someone could help me out im trying to work out the average weekly rate for a mindees mum. Mindee is starting school september and she wants to average our the weekly money so she doesn't need to find the extra during school holidays. She gets Tax credits and apparently this is the way they work it out, its all new to me.

Help!!

I charge £3.20 for baby brother and £3.20 for older brother (school holidays only)

You don't say yours hours. I would work it out like this:

£3.20 x hours in a day x days in a week for baby brother x 52 weeks or 49 if you take the hols off and that will give you a yearly total for the first child

£3.20 x hours in a day x days in a week for hols (13 weeks plus 1 week TTD if required) and then multiply by weeks giving you a yearly total

Add the two costs together and divide by 12 months or 52 weeks