How to charge...

[kristina]

Hi,

I am new in this forum, and really happy that it exist. I will have my first mindee soon. The boy is one year old and I am only allowed to care for two 1-5 year olds. The problem is, that I know the parents for some time already, but I am not shure how to disciuss the problem: The boy will only stay from 8:15 until 1 pm in my care. If I would charge hourly, I could´t get much out. If I chargein sessions, it would look to them I have tailored my price plan which suats me best for them, by asking them to pay me full day. I am really not shure what to do. It is difficult to get another child after 1 pm to mind. And to have only 1 more space left makes it quite difficult for me. I do need the extra income. Cpould anyone give me some ideas, how to discuss with the parents and which the best way would be to charge?

Thanks a lot.

[banana]

Hi Kristina and welcome to the forum,

Its really a matter of choice what you charge parents but I charge hourly. I personally would not charge a parent for a full day just because it may be more difficult to find another child from 1pm, it just isnt a fair deal for the parents. If you would rather do a session fee instead of hourly fee then the choice is yours. I charge £3.50 an hour and this includes all meals, drinks, outings etc... You could always try adding things like £1 a meal on to the contract if you were looking to boost earnings but as you are just starting out it may be best to find out about other minders in your area and what they are charging as you wouldn't want to price yourself out of the market.

If you are really bothered by only having him for part time hours then you could try holding out for a full timer but these are few and far between

Let us know what you decide and if you need anything else then just let us know!

xxxx

[angeldelight]

Hello and welcome to the forum hope you are finding lots of information here and hope you come and chat to everyone we are a real friendly bunch

Back to your problem

Sorry i personally would / could not charge a whole day for someone I am only minding part time that is just the way I am as a person
I would feel unkind and unfair whatever the rules are MEANT to be

I have a lot of part timers and a lot of them start at 8am till 12 or 1pm
Then I have others that start at 1 till 5 or 6 pm

So I have always managed to fill my spaces

I understand what you are saying if it is your first mindee but personally I would charge 8 till 1 if it were me

The others might have different a different outlook and a different answer so wait and see what they say

Good luck whatever you decide

Angel xx

[lou]

Hiya, as angel and lana have said, it really is up to you but i would advise personally not to charge for the whole day if he is only with you until 1pm.

What i do is: i offer a daily rate but if they dont want the full day then i charge hourly but a slightly higher rate than the daily rate works out as, therefore the people who pay the full daily rate get a bit of a discount.

hope that makes sense!!!

[miffy]

Hi Kristina

This is a tricky one for you because you are just starting, your places are limited and you know the parents.

Like the others I would only charge a half-day not a full day. Even nurseries do morning and afternoon sessions so it may be if you charged a full day the parents might find a nursery is cheaper.

There are lots of ways of looking at this, the others have given you some ideas but in the end you have to decide what works for you.

Good luck

Miffy

[kristina]

Thanks a lot for your advices, it is so important listening to the experienced ones, which do the job longer.

I think trhat I will charge the time houerly and with a increased rate. That should work out for both of us.

Kristina

[mel]

Hope you manage to get it sorted out Kristina. Let us know

Mel x

[son77]

I look after a child 8.30am-1.30pm & only charge for those hours & I too can only care for 2 1-5 year old, but I'm happy with that.
Good luck with your first mindee!

[rubybubbles]

I would only charge for the hours he was there.
I really would struggle to fill in part time hours so know what you mean

[hazel2]

hi, i personally would only charge for the hours he was there, but you could consider a minimum fee for those hours, less than your daily rate but slightly more than the hourly rate and explain why.

[janet]

hi and welcome i would be the same as the others and charge for the hours that the child is with you xxxxxx