How do YOU set fees?

[DCS]

Hello all,
I'm wondering, HOW do you all arrive at your fees& charges? I used the tried and tested business formula, overheads + desired profit margin = fees (I hope I wrote that right!) For some of my charges, I applied simple supply and demand. Also, I very aware of how many spaces/hours I need to fill just to break even. Also when business is slow, do you rely on other enterprising activities or do you seek employment ?

thanking you in advance
Cecile
x

[Blaze]

I had a look at what others in my area charged & what they provided for that fee...set my prices accordingly...I single handely(sp) raised my areas prices by over £1 in under 6 months...& as I offer more ...when there is a demand (it goes in fits & starts) I normally have my pick of clients.

[berkschick]

I asked around other childminders what they charged and took it from there.

Most charge £3.75 and include all meals so I decided on £3.50 with meals being extra as I wanted to give parents the choice and also didnt want to provide tea if I could help it!

I havent had a quiet time yet touch wood so not too sure what I would do to cover the income. But then I am earning nearly 4 times more than I was before I took childminding on so hopefully I wont find myself in that situation.

If I did, I would get hubby a nice little evening job

[sarah707]

I look at other minders on the CIS website and factor in what before and after school clubs charge...

I also look at what the parents can afford and if they are getting help via tax credits as that makes a difference.

If parents don't use me I ring them and ask for feedback - it's never been cost, usually a family member offering, or they were just fishing, or they decided on nursery because they are too important to have a day off if I'm on holiday or ill and want 52 weeks a year care... one was in the process of registering and wanted to see what happened when parents visited - cheeky thing!!

I save as I earn and always try and have a couple of months money put by - my roof money I call it, but it's there if there's a slow patch as well.

Hope this helps

[ChocolateChip]

I did a similar thing to Sarah, looked at the local rates, then I pitched myself a little bit lower because of being new and wanting to attract customers.
I am still actively looking for new customers,mainly to cover the holidays as 2 of mine are TTO, but also to fill a couple of gaps in the week.
Had an enquiry the other day which would have fitted in perfectly, but I am on holiday when they wanted to start, so don't suppose I'll get that one!

In the meantime I'll just carry on putting little ads in the school newsletters, post office, etc, and see what happens. I only started in Feb, so haven't put my prices up yet, but probably will next April.

[manjay]

I set mine at the same rate as the other two minders in our village. they are both always full and I am as full as I want to be. No point charging very different rates to them imo. Neither of them provide meals but I do at an extra cost. I would have found it really difficult to work out overheads before starting tbh so that method would not have worked for me. I had no idea how much food, cleaning materials, resources, utilities etc until I had actually worked with the children in my house

amanda xx