Issue being paid

[Kittycat]

I have a parent who pays with childcare vouchers,
My monthly fees are due on the 28th of each mth.
I have noticed though with this parent that fees can be latchy, I will get an email saying from the voucher company that its on its way, and that's how I know its on its way etc, any extra she owes me on top she has had a habit of forgetting or being slightly late in the last few months paying the rest, I have suggested online banking direct to my account like a few other parents do,
My issue this month is I haven't been paid at all
I asked mum yesterday and she said it has came off her pay,
When I phoned up the voucher company they said there was nothing in my account in terms of a payment coming?
Does she have to issue the voucher? Not sure what mum has to do from her end,
Her child has been with me for over a year, and if she has been slightly late paying the rest of a bill because the childcare vouchers have been paid or pending my account and I have had a email confirming this I have been understanding and not hounded her for the rest, as it normally is only a few days behind the vouchers
However I don't know how to approach this whole situation?
My policy's state if you are late if its over 5 days I will stop minding your child etc
And also if you pay by vouchers I have been thinking of adding into my policy's if its as late as this I will not accept the vouchers due to it taking another 3-5 working days to process into my account, the parent would have to give me cash or pay into my account,
Does this sound to harsh?
Some mornings mum takes the child to school herself or granny does, or granny will pick her up and I can't really speak to granny about the fees,
I spoke to mum yesterday morning however granny picked her up yesterday and is taking her to school today so my husband thinks she is trying to avoid me before the weekend.

I have issued her a polite reminder and a copy of the invoice, spoken to her briefly yesterday when she said it been taken out of her pay, but was trying to say the bank holiday could have caused a issue as they could be a day behind as a result, however another parent of mine pays by vouchers too and I have had this into my account no problem

When childcare vouchers are deducted from a parents payslip, does the parent have to go online and authorise it going into the carers account?


Where do I go from here, any advice welcome

[funemnx]

The hardest part of this job is dealing with the money, we hate to ask (and shouldn't have to once an invoice is issued)

I might be wrong but I understand that parents can DD the whole £243 (or the same amount each month) to your account instead of actioning it themselves. If the bill is likely to be different each time then they can send an amount by logging in to their Voucher Account and sending it. Either way, you should get an e-mail when it's done. Some of my parents send it a few days after my payment date which is annoying....

[CH1957]

My vouchers are going to be late this month, wont go in until the 3rd. I know mum actioned them last week before bank hol, she is always a really good payer and I usually get it before the end of the month, so I think it might be a problem with the voucher company and the bank holiday.

[Kiddleywinks]

I have a parent who pays with childcare vouchers,
My monthly fees are due on the 28th of each mth.
I have noticed though with this parent that fees can be latchy, I will get an email saying from the voucher company that its on its way, and that's how I know its on its way etc, any extra she owes me on top she has had a habit of forgetting or being slightly late in the last few months paying the rest, I have suggested online banking direct to my account like a few other parents do,
My issue this month is I haven't been paid at all
I asked mum yesterday and she said it has came off her pay,
When I phoned up the voucher company they said there was nothing in my account in terms of a payment coming?
Does she have to issue the voucher? Not sure what mum has to do from her end,
Her child has been with me for over a year, and if she has been slightly late paying the rest of a bill because the childcare vouchers have been paid or pending my account and I have had a email confirming this I have been understanding and not hounded her for the rest, as it normally is only a few days behind the vouchers
However I don't know how to approach this whole situation?
My policy's state if you are late if its over 5 days I will stop minding your child etc
And also if you pay by vouchers I have been thinking of adding into my policy's if its as late as this I will not accept the vouchers due to it taking another 3-5 working days to process into my account, the parent would have to give me cash or pay into my account,
Does this sound to harsh?
Some mornings mum takes the child to school herself or granny does, or granny will pick her up and I can't really speak to granny about the fees,
I spoke to mum yesterday morning however granny picked her up yesterday and is taking her to school today so my husband thinks she is trying to avoid me before the weekend.

I have issued her a polite reminder and a copy of the invoice, spoken to her briefly yesterday when she said it been taken out of her pay, but was trying to say the bank holiday could have caused a issue as they could be a day behind as a result, however another parent of mine pays by vouchers too and I have had this into my account no problem

When childcare vouchers are deducted from a parents payslip, does the parent have to go online and authorise it going into the carers account?


Where do I go from here, any advice welcome

Sorry, I don't have anyone with vouchers but thought the way it works is the parent has to authorise the payment as it's not done automatically.


If your policy states no fees no care (or words to that effect) then you need really to stick to it (I found that out the hard way too)

If the fees are due on the 28th, my policy states that it's due in CLEARED FUNDS so a voucher payment (or a cheque) would have to be made no later that the 23rd to ensure it cleared by the 28th.
I also state that I reserve the right to refuse voucher payments if it causes problems

In your case, I would be contacting parent by telephone, not a text, and explaining that you have spoken to the bank AND the voucher company and there are no funds in the pipeline so you require her to bring you cash by the end of the day today or you will be withholding care until such a time as you receive the outstanding amount due in full.

Are you paid in advance or in arrears?

[Kittycat]

The hardest part of this job is dealing with the money, we hate to ask (and shouldn't have to once an invoice is issued)

I might be wrong but I understand that parents can DD the whole £243 (or the same amount each month) to your account instead of actioning it themselves. If the bill is likely to be different each time then they can send an amount by logging in to their Voucher Account and sending it. Either way, you should get an e-mail when it's done. Some of my parents send it a few days after my payment date which is annoying....

That's why I send my invoices out a week before the end of the month, to try and have the money in my account by the end of the month,
I wasn't sure about vouchers but if mum has to action them off she certainly hasn't,
Have to think how I will put into words tonight when she picks up her child if I don't receive payment by tomorrow evening I will not be minding her child with effect from Monday morning.
Even if the money is in her account I am going to have to find the correct words to say, I will not be accepting a voucher payment this month due the lateness of it and the time it will reach my account, it will have to be a cash payment.

[sskent08]

I send my invoices out 10-14 days before they are due, i put a reminder this month that there was a bank holiday and that vouchers can take 3-5 working days to clear

I do find it frustrating that they think it is ok to pay late, if their employeer paid late would that be ok or would they be worried about how they will pay the bills!

[bunyip]

Vouchers can be set up by the parent to do any of the following:-

1. issue the same amount each month.
2. manual control by the parent to issue a variable amount whenever they wish, just so long as the value is in their voucher account.
3. give you paper vouchers which you then contact the voucher company to redeem.

All the voucher companies make a big thing about this as it offers the parent all the convenience and flexibility as they could wish for.

The Bank Holiday 'delay' is IME, absolute b0ll0x. Computershare processed my December vouchers on Boxing Day. There should never be a delay. My voucher-using clients all remark that their employers say the money is transferred from payroll to the voucher company before their usual pay date.

I have a note in my policies and on contracts that the first time a voucher payment is late I will issue a warning and apply late charges. After the second late payment, I reserve the right to insist on another means of payment. As the parents can save up to 25% by using vouchers, this tends to concentrate their minds a little. Please note, it's only the voucher transfer that I count as potentially 'late'. The time taken to process the BACS transfer is not the client's problem since the time lag is entirely down to my bank.