Paying CM before/after school per hour query

[MayDayChild]

hi
Parents and CM what do you pay/charge for part hours? Care is 8-6pm.
School starts at 8.50 and ends at 3.35.
Do you charge 50 mins and 25 mins of the part hours? Do you round up every day or across a week?

I don't know, but if you decide to round up every day, you could sell it to them by saying that they have 15 minutes' leeway for lateness every day with no penalty

I charge a set fee for before school & a set fee for after; because even if I child only comes for 5 or 15 minutes they are in my numbers & take a seat in the car so I can't have another child.

Is your set fee less than your hourly rate Katy?

I have had a cm who charged a set fee for either a before or after school session. I have also paid an hourly rate.

No it's way more

eg hourly rate is £4.25

So before school is £10 (drop off between 7:30 & 8:30) & after school is £15 (collect at 3:15 child picked up before 6)

But the school is 3 miles away so there is petrol to consider too & breakfast/tea

I round up to nearest quarter hour myself. And I charge 1 hour min before school and 2 hours after school. So if I had those hours, I'd charge 1 hour for before school and 2 and half hours after school.

So Bertie you seem to not charge for minutes when you don't have children in your care - correct?
It seems unfair. Anyone else?

I'm not sure I understand what you are asking?

So if the child is under CM care 8 to 8.50 and 3.35 to 6.00 do you charge a full hour in morning and 3 full hours in eve Total 4 hours
OR
3 hours 15 mins
Across a 3 day week this is a big difference.

Breakfast and travel not relevant

I'd charge my fee for before & after school; I need to maximise my earnings & if I only charged the time the child was with me I would never take on children needing less than the whole session

eg if you wanted to drop off at 8:15 & collect at 4 I wouldn't have your child I'd chose the child being dropped at 7:30 & collected at 6 to enable me to 'earn' the most.

But charging a set fee means whoever I take on pays me the same

I charge for my working hours, so in this case 0800-0850 and 1535-1800.

However, if the child only came from 0830 and got picked up at 1700, they would still be charged for my availability between 0800-1800. (a bit like Katymac)

I have considered (if I ever have school runs again) charging a higher hourly rate, because, as Katymac said, it's not simply sitting at home with them. It's the petrol and the after school snack for ravenous children.

(NB: Not stalking Katymac, just agreeing)

S'OK HSMM

I like people who agree with me

It's that blasted mortgage; it needs paying every single month - such a nuisance

I charge a mininum of one hour before school, regardless of drop off at mine time and two hours after school. I would DEF not charge 25 min here or 35 minutes there. Those times would be rounded up to the nearest hour.

Couldn't agree more Katy. I once had to explain why I wouldn't take on a child after school from 3.20 - 4.30 every day. I'm not money grabbing but I cannot afford to turn down other business wanting til 5.30/6pm and it makes a huge difference if you add it up over the month!! It's how most after school clubs work too I'm sure. Ours certainly charge a set fee for after school care regardless of when the child is collected!

(there see, someone else who likes me - Sorry OP, I had a root canal & a stroppy parent today so I'm feeling unloved & delicate atm)

No worries! Grab a vino is my helpful advice.

So it seems a bit split as to charging for actual time or rounding up.
Will keep watching thread for more opinions

I charge a min of 4 hours per day which will cover the before and after school bit.

My standard hourly rate is £4 but if they only want a very small number of hours then I charge a set fee as otherwise it is not worth my while:

Before school for 1 hour or less:

• set fee of £7 (if they only attend before school)
• set fee of £4 (if they also attend after school)

Before school for for more than 1 hour:

• £4 per hour (rounded up to full hours)

After school for 2 hours or less:

• set fee of £11

After school for more than 2 hours:

• £4 per hour (rounded up to full hours)

So for the hours that you mentioned I would charge for 3 full hours after school and for 1 full hour before school. I always round up the hours each day not for the whole week.

When I give parents the quote I don't tell them how I worked it out. I ask what hours they want, do the calculation myself and then quote them a daily amount. So for your hours I would quote £16 and not asy how I got to that figure

My local after school club is far cheaper but they have a very long waiting list so I find that parents are willing to pay my rates.

I'm not a CM :) I don't know what my CM charges for before/after school because DS isn't there yet.

I charge a set weekly fee which covers in case the parent wants before/after school/ both. It covers for fuels, snacks, drinks and resources for activities after school.

Charging an hourly fee was working out more expensive than the weekly one after totting up getting there and back each day.

I charge a set fee for after school of £11 this is from 3-6 regardless of when child is picked up :)

I also always charge for full hours regardless if its only half an hour needed.

I really wouldnt say that they can be 15 minutes late if they like, lol you can bet there would be parents who would use it every day meaning you dont finish until 6.15pm which is a nightmare if you close at 6pm

I charge an hourly fee but always to the closet 15 mins so would charge for 8-9 and 3.30-6 every day and then multiply by the number of days. I always write the number of hours that I am charging for in my invoice as well as total fee so parents know how I'm working out their fees.

I like the idea of having a before and after school fee so as not to lose money but having children that are collected earlier in the evening but not sure I would keep my business :(

Cinnamon i would just apply that to any future children you get on your books :) that way not rocking the boat at the moment (as could be quite a jump in fees for some of your parents)

As a working mum, I'm so glad that I've a decent childminder the cost is not a huge concern.

I pay my childminder a month in advance - 8am until 5pm every Friday, which totals to 9 hours a week. If I choose to drop her off slightly later and pick her up earlier, or don't put my DD to the childminder at all, that's her gain and my loss.

As for before and after school, you should be rounding up to the nearest hour or charging a set fee.

The parents of the kids that you look after should count themselves lucky; I live in a small town with no childminders - God only knows what I'm going to do when my kids go to nursery.