Fees advice

[ranger-knight]

Hi
I've been minding about 6months now but started pretty much to help a friend out.. so I have her LO (1yr) 2 full days a week term time only and charge £3.50 per hour, half rate for hols.

The question is.. another friend has asked if I can help her out with her 3 also, this would most likely be, 3 kids (2yrs,5yrs,10yrs) from 4.30pm til 6pm two evenings plus 2 full days in school holidays.

i haven't really got a clue what to charge as I've not had to think through this sort of situation yet lol..

also I'm worried as the 2 oldest are boys and they eat LOADS! and as I'm on a pretty tight budget am worried they'll eat me out of house and home when they are here.

also think she might pay through vouchers and I havne't got a clue how these work, do the parents only get a percentage of the cost and have to top-up? she will be on low income as setting up as self employed hair dresser after being on benefits for a while...

Thank you for reading, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated...
xx

[The Juggler]

charge your full rate and extra for meals hon.x I offer a meal reduction for under 2's but tha'ts it.

[glitzygal]

CHARGE FULL FEE, YOUR DOING THE SAME JOB IN HOLIDAYS, ALSO EXTRA FOR MEALS, I CHARGE 1.50 PER MEAL PER DAY..THEY ARE ALL TAKING UP SPACES.
SNACKS AND JUICE I PROVIDE, BUT IT IS A SNACK.;)

[CHEEKY BEE]

Don't do it to cheap, work out roughly how much u think a meal would cost and charge extra for the meal.

I looked after 2 brothers just after school and didn't charge extra for meals, i also gave a sibling discount and regreted it as I don't think I gained that much from doing it.

I think u need to charge a set fee for after school as 1.5 hours at £3.50 an hour isn't much.

vouchers are easy once u set them up, parent pays direct to your bank account and can have vouchers of £243.00 per month, if they owe u more than this they just pay by another means. vouchers are a big advantage to parents cos they save tax and national insurance, but i don't think ur parent would be able to get them being self employed.

[ranger-knight]

thanks for the replies!

So.. been asking the childminders I know round here that mainly do after school and holidays....
they seem to charge £8 per after school and £37 a day in holidays.. seem a bit of a random number to me..

Anyway, thinking along the lines of -
Thursday / Friday 4.15-6.15 - £25 per night for the family of 3 plus £1.50 each for hot meal

2 days per week in holidays (guess depends abit on what hours she wants but working on 7hours/day) - Would charge hourly rate of £3.50 = £24.50 each. Think I would ask her to provide a packed lunch, I would do snacks then they would be home for evening meal.

but then to me that seems a lot to be asking her to pay - am I just being a soft touch! Certainly does add up with three kids... don't think I'm cut out for the money talk side of childminding! :(

[Goatgirl]

Hi :),
The money side of thing is tricky at first if you're not used to it, but remember you are running a business, just a this parent will be. I'm sure they won't charge based on what they think their customers can afford.... and after all, this family are free to shop around and go elsewhere - you're not forcing your service on them :)... Obviously it depends on how badly you need the business too though...

With vouchers, its just a way to set aside money specifically for childcare which will not be taxed. They pay the money to the voucher company, you register with voucher company and they authorise the payments to be released to you when they're due. mine have all worked fine :).

Alternatively they may get tax credits help.

When you do talk about the charges, I'd advise you to just say it like 'that's the cost,' rather than 'is that ok with you?' kind of thing. Think of it as telling them what the charges will be, rather than asking them to give you their money. Sell your (very high quality) service :thumbsup:

There's no need to feel bad about it and you have researched other childminders prices too so you know you're charging fair amounts. I think as they are taking up 2 after school spaces for but only using and paying for 2 afternoons, they are really lucky to just be charged for what they're using as it is :).

Personally I charge either a minimum of 6 hours/week for school age children in term time. or a higher hourly rate for fewer hours. I also include food and drinks in my hourly rate, to avoid parents thinking they can demand certain things which don't suit me, because they're paying 'extra'. Food included is on my terms and optional so they can provide their own if they prefer, but they will still be charged the inclusive price. I only cook at lunch time and not always. My current after schoolies go home for dinner, but have a snack here(fruit; then yoghurt if still hungry; then toast or sandwich if STILL hungry!) when we get back from school.

Hope it goes well for you, good luck :thumbsup:

bws,
Wendy

p.s. Another thing I've learned the hard way, is to charge what you know you will feel happy with on the bad days. There's nothing worse than having a rubbish day and not even feeling you've been adequately paid for it. Be strong.

[ranger-knight]

[Wow! Thanks Wendy that was a great reply and has really boosted me!

I'm going to look through my figures with that in mind and stick to my guns!
Think she will get Tax Credit help, if I'm right they pay 80% of cost?

thanks again
Julie x

[Goatgirl]

Hi,
You're welcome :blush:
Regarding tax credits, Parents can get up to 80% paid as I understand it, dependant on their income...

bws,
Wendy

[carol cameron]

You must be very clear in your contract about when fees have to be paid eg if child is off sick and stick to it from the outset
. Some parents will still try and get out of paying (like one of mine at the moment) if THEIR child is off ill and they have to stay off work to care for them.
I have already explained to mum that the tax credits they are getting still have to be paid to me as my service is still available. As another childminder pointed out -If it was MY child that was ill, I would have to take time off and then there would be no charge.
Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread but am feeling a bit:angry:
Really important to be clear and firm about your terms and conditions from the beginning. Good luck.:)