How can I make sure that the mindees parents pay their fees on time without hurting any feelings ???

Summer you sound so nice but not really business like. I am afraid that if you act like a dormat then you will get trodden on.
It can be daunting to be seeming to 'ask' for money but its not you who should be ashamed its those parents.
Having said that although nearly all of my parents pay in advance, weekly, (wouldnt do monthly anyway as too much arrears could mount up), I do have one mum who is often late with paying and has even had 3 cheques bounce BUT I know I will always get payment by the end of the week and she is so uniformly ditsy that I seem to be able to live with it..

I must say, I took advice from shoshe and did the same, my parents also pay me now basically as soon as i send the invoice

I have a month?s deposit and a month in advance, that way I always have a month in hand. It is offset against the last month?s fees of a contract when the child leaves.

I did have 2 months where one child's fees were delayed as the parents didn't realise that with Busy Bees you need to renew the mandate each year. I didn't realise that I hadn't been paid until I went overdrawn, but I did have the money in a reserve account.

I invoice them in advance and charge a late payment fee if they are late. I also occasionally put pointed notes in my newsletters about how inconvenient late payments are and hope the main offenders will be embarassed into paying up. I have one parent who we have worked out a monthly standing order for, because she seems completely incapable of paying an invoice on time.

Standng order doesn't always work either though. Last August, I got hammered for unpaid direct debits - a parent's standing order was delayed into my bank by the bank holiday, but bank didn't delay the payments coming OUT because of the bank holiday. I got back from hols on the saturday, couldn't physically get to the bank till the Tuesday, but it was too late by then . Vouchers only work direct into the bank if parents remember to authorise the payment - 'Oops, so sorry - I forgot' has been regular in my setting. That's why I ask for cash now.

Blondes, you're right - they would be straight onto payroll if their pay wasn't in on time. OP ,when your contracts are up for renewal, write a clause into it about late payment charges and make sure they know you will enforce it - that's what I'll be doing on next review. Before or after I tell them I'm increasing my charges - I wonder what I should do first

i would charge a late payment fee.
it's unacceptable and I don't think anyone could claim "hurt feelings" becauise they are asked to pay their bills on time!!!

if they were using a nursery or such they would HAVE to pay 1) in advance and 2.) on time or risk added fees.
as a parent who uses childcare I always pay on time and would not consider my feelings hurt if I was late and got charged for it.

they're takingf the piss because they CAN.

CHARGE THE LATE FEE. They won't be that upset about it. Think about it: Are there really SOO many childminders near enough to their house with space available on the days they need them that they will run as fast as they can to them because after months of taking the mick you are asking them to do what they agreed to in their contract: pay you by a stated day in the month for your services?!

Please in your subsequent contracts take up the advice to ask for one month up front.

Ask them to pay by direct debit too.

how rude!!

sure your parents would be the 1st to complain if they didnt get paid on time!!

i wouldnt care about hurting their feelings - you previde a service which they need to pay for!!

i think you should charge £5 per day late payment and also as shoshe said to take away care if late by 3 days

Hi summerfruit totally know where u are coming from had similar situations, I decided needed to be a lot firmer and do my monthlys by 20th (month before due - so i did May's last week) and weeklys are given out on Thursday's to be paid on Monday's I don't take cash anymore - too many forgot my bank card's or bank wont let me take any more out today or machine got no money in it etc, all of mine do bank transfers now some of them go in at the end of the week instead of the Monday but I don't mind as long as it's within the week and it's a bit more flexible for parents if they get paid at the end of the week I also put Terms & Conditions on the back of my invoices as the voucher thing was driving me up the wall too seemed to be waiting ages for it, sometimes it was coming through in time for the next one. Sometimes I used to think how come theirs no money anywhere and then have a look at what's owed and would be ok if got paid occasionally - i terminate care now if payment is 2 weeks behind - done this once, lost 3 from same family but like the threads say, we do this as a business we need to get paid just like everyone else, times are tough for most people at the moment and it's important to keep the cash flow going - just a thought but if you are a bit shy of asking why not do a letter - kind of a standard thing for everyone I did and it worked a treat - just said to parents please don't take offence but some of my payments have been late - said with a - some parents kinda face - none took offence as they all thought it was for someone else and since then things have improved 99% and get a week early on a couple now to - some banks offer a service for collecting payemts to if you wanted to be totally out of the loop not sure what it costs though.

Why should you care about hurting their feelings? You're running a business, not a charity. I would do what shoshe suggests.

I pay our CM on the 7th. My pay day is 21st so it's not great.

Atthe end of the day that's in her contract and she's providing a service so I go with it. Just needs remembering in our budget that's all.

Your parents need to get themselves more organised. I think you're going to have to bite the bullet and get firm with them

Oh I also have in my contract, that £5.00 is charged every day for late payment, up to 3 days, at which time care will be withdrawn until payment is made.

I have only had to do this once.

The majority of parents are brilliant and three families I have now pay early as soon as I give the invoice!

I charge by the calendar month and if a mindee starts in the middle of the month I just charge from when they start to the end of the month.

I do detailed invoices of everyday the children are with me, and as stated on my contracts (so that parents know when any holiday must be book by) I issue invoices on the 20th of every month, and holidays booked after that for the invoiced month are charged as normal.

once invoices are printed I do not change them.

When new parents start (and existing ones when vouchers came in) I ask them o hold back the first months vouchers, and pay me in full, then use the first months vouchers to pay second month and so on.

If not I could be paid by voucher systems (depending on which one) as late as the 10th of the month.)

If they don't want to do this they don't pay me by vouchers, as simple as.

I have this written in my handbook and on my contracts.

I still think you could go for the standing order option. Why should you have to go into the red and not them? They are still receiving the service that you provide for their dc.

I'm not sure how the vouchers work (still waiting for dh's company to register so we can use them) but does the money go to the parents? If so they could set up the SO for a few days after the money is supposed to bewith them.

My vouchers go direct to my CM and I pay at the start of each month in advance. I'd say you should change the system. It's very unfair on you otherwise