Need advice on what to charge please.

**Velleity** · 19-02-2014, 10:28 AM

My typical fee is £6.00p/h

I have had an enquiry for 5 year old twins:

~ Before school from 7.30am until 8.55am.
~ After school from 3.20pm until 6.00pm.

Five days a week, term-time only.

She has already asked on the phone what my discount for two children is. I was tempted to say 'none' however I said we could talk about the fees more when she visits tomorrow.

Wondering:

~ How much to charge for two.
~ Whether to charge from 7.00am (so two full hours in the morning) or whether to just charge for the half hour from 7.30am until 8.00am.
~ Whether to ask for a retainer for the school holidays and how much that would be.
~ Whether to ask for a deposit.

The Mum's a HeadTeacher of a school in London so probably not doing too badly financially ...

I think that's it!

Thanks ^_^

**The Juggler** · 19-02-2014, 11:53 AM

i would charge 0730-0900 and from 1500-1800 (I presume you will leave for school at 3ish if not before). I would not offer an hourly rate discount as you are then held to it.

I'd work out the monthly total and offer a small discount on the total but no more than £10/£20 per month - but tell her it is not contractual and you will offer it whilst you can afford to do so but reserve the right to remove said discount.

TTO? Do you normally work during the holidays? Would you prefer to have less children in the holidays? If you would rather have all year round children then explain to her that situation. Tell her that you can give her the option of a higher hourly rate or she can pay a retainer fee for the holidays.

If you prefer to be less busy (as I always did - I'd let her off with no retainer during the hols) x

**tess1981** · 19-02-2014, 11:55 AM

just answered what someone elose said and now cant delete post so edited it til this

**JCrakers** · 19-02-2014, 12:05 PM

I would offer a discount but everyone is different. For 2 children my fees would be £3.50 each per hr so because it was every day I would probably do it for £6

I have a family of 3 and charge £8.80ph instead of £10.50 full price. Now they are all at school but I kept the price the same.

But you have to go with whatever suits you

I also do term time only contracts so no retainers and I would charge 2hrs in the morning and 3 at night

**Mouse** · 19-02-2014, 01:34 PM

I am happy to do term time only contracts, so wouldn't charge a retainer for the holidays, but I wouldn't then offer a sibling discount as well.

To be honest, it depends how much you need/want the work. I am very fortunate to have lots of enquiries, so I don't need to be particularly competitive with pricing.

I would charge from 7.30am as I wouldn't want to work any earlier than that. If you say you will charge from 7am, or will charge a minimum of 2 hours you will have to give the parent the option of using those hours. Having said that, I do have a minimum charge of £10.

For your mum I would say the morning cost would be £10 per child and the after school session would be £18.

When you talk about it with her I would say that usually you would charge from 7.00am and would charge a retainer for the holidays, but you are prepared to only charge from 7.30 with no retainer, so obviously you won't be giving a sibling discount as well as she's already saving money that way

**smurfette** · 19-02-2014, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Mouse

I am happy to do term time only contracts, so wouldn't charge a retainer for the holidays, but I wouldn't then offer a sibling discount as well. To be honest, it depends how much you need/want the work. I am very fortunate to have lots of enquiries, so I don't need to be particularly competitive with pricing. I would charge from 7.30am as I wouldn't want to work any earlier than that. If you say you will charge from 7am, or will charge a minimum of 2 hours you will have to give the parent the option of using those hours. Having said that, I do have a minimum charge of £10. For your mum I would say the morning cost would be £10 per child and the after school session would be £18. When you talk about it with her I would say that usually you would charge from 7.00am and would charge a retainer for the holidays, but you are prepared to only charge from 7.30 with no retainer, so obviously you won't be giving a sibling discount as well as she's already saving money that way

Sounds good to me! She can't have it always but you could plug it this way to your advantage

**hectors house** · 19-02-2014, 02:05 PM

I used to offer a small discount for siblings but when the last little one started in November (I had already held the place open since Sept - without charging a retainer), I told her that my rate for new children had gone up from £3.75 to £4.00 an hour but instead of charging £3.75 for older brother and £4.00 for the baby I said I would charge them both £3.75 so technically she was getting a sibling discount - she was happy with that.

**shortstuff** · 19-02-2014, 02:14 PM

I charge for just the contracted hours, so I would charge from 7.30 till 8.55. I use an online system which calculate the invoice for me so it is not a chore.

I do charge a slightly higher rate for term time only versus all year round care though and explain this to parents at the first discussion.

I do get paid strictly in advance however and so far havent been stung so dont ask for a deposit. Also where I charge a higher rate for term time only I dont charge a retainer to cover holidays.

I am not suggesting this would work for you but maybe it will add an additional point of view.

**bunyip** · 19-02-2014, 06:52 PM

I've never entirely understood the reasoning for sibling discounts.

The only time I ever gave it, I ended up regretting it. But, tbf, that whole experience was a nightmare, and the issue of the discount was the least of my worries.

I have no idea why parents feel entitled to sibling discount with a CM. Would they dream of expecting a discount at the cinema, play centre, restaurant, etc. ?

They're also a liability to a CM. If/when they leave, you suddenly have 2 vacancies to fill at once or suffer a big hole in your income stream. Worse still, they can get you closed for no fault of your own. "How that?" I hear you ask. Easy. Mum cooks a dodgy meal or takes them to a dodgy restaurant. They get food poisoning. You now have 2 mindees with food poisoning and no way of tracing the source until EHO investigate. You have to report yourself to EHO and Ofsted, and will most likely be closed pending the outcome of investigations. Several weeks later, you get the all-clear. In that time, you have lost your income, your entire client base, and your reputation, through no fault of your own and with no compensation from the siblings' parents.