deposit do you deduct of the first invoice

[weekendgirl66]

Children starting with me in 6 weeks , term time only contract, with no retainer charged, would you deduct the deposit of the 1st invoice??

Advice welcome Thank you

I keep the deposit to the end of the Contract as a safety net against non payment. It covers the Notice period at the end.

my deposit is only 2/3 of a week and i invoice in advance,, anyone else do different??

This should have been agreed when the deposit was taken. I refund off first invoice and simply use it as a safety net in case they never turn up. Many CMs like adp keep it to return when the child leaves, in case of non payment.

The latter is more sensible, I just haven't implemented that.

My deposit is 4 weeks and I invoice monthly in advance.

Exactly the same as hsmm

I usually take two weeks fee as the deposit, which I take off the first monthly payment.
I can see the sense of keeping it until the end of the contract, but if a child is leaving I would be losing that income so need every penny then. I would rather deduct it when I know there will be more to follow.

I invoice weekly in advance, so take one weeks fees as deposit and keep until end of care. I find having this money prevents parents from considering taking the mick!

Even though all mine are teachers, fees calculated over the year and divided to get a set amount, £250 deposit on signing contract and payment one month in advance. I used to take 4 weeks deposit, but is too much, it would be £1200 and I end up with huge deposits. I know my clients and where they come from, so I tell them it is a token deposit.

mindingalongtime I agree with you about knowing. Your client, it's for similar reasons why I invoice weekly, and in all the years I've been doing this no parent has ever been more than 1day late paying me...I know I'm lucky to have great parents, but how you set your fees and deposits up is so important! X

No, I wouldn't. I take a 4 week deposit and deduct it off the last month's fees.

mindingalongtime I have 'known' clients and known where they come from.

Unfortunately this does not always mean they will always pay and I find the issues come when people give notice and fail to have understood/or choose to forget! about the Notice period and the fact it has to be paid even if they choose not to use it.

It also seems to be more and more common for parents who want to leave and have 'forgotten' they have to give and pay for the Notice period to suddenly come up with lots of complaints never raised before, and the threaten to go to Ofsted if they are forced to pay. I know of cms who have lost money due to this and they have effectively been bullied and think if they stand their ground for what they are due the parents will bad mouth them in their community and/or complain to Ofsted and they are scared of having to go through an unannounced inspection as a result. (though this has now been changed and OFSTED no longer do unannounced inspections for all Complaints).

I had a parent who I had 'known' for 5 years I thought very well they had always paid on time and never questioned payment for extra hours and had taken refunds for the odd day i had off sick etc. It was a different story when because of a change in their circumstances, they chose a school they knew I couldn't go to, I had to give them notice. No fault of mine but they were like Jeckal and Hyde! It was a horrible way to end the wonderful relationship and although they live down the road I have never seen them again! Another family I had with them for a similar time who had to give me notice because they were moving away have been fab, they always call in when they come here, we have been to stay with them and indeed they are coming for lunch next week and they live 300 miles away!! You can never tell. I treat all my parents the same, all pay a Deposit, 4 weeks fees, all pay weekly, monthly in advance and I never take anything for granted or expect anything.

I too have been stung by apparently nice people. It is sad when the odd bad apple makes it harder to trust genuine people. The people in my case were seemingly only using me as a stop gap until a relative came from overseas to provide live in childcare. They literally said lo won't be back after today and then threatened me with an OFSTED complaint if I dared to try to claim the notice due. Fortunately they were also not very bright as they made the threat to "think of something" to complain about in writing and I sent it straight to OFSTED, but I never got my money as they then moved. This trend of fabricating complaints is very unpleasant and unjust, but I do feel is less likely to occur if a deposit is held to cover the notice period. I also think it very unfair that people like this can make up anything they chose and bandy it around the local playground or the dreaded facebook, but if we so much as dare to whisper that they have cheated us out of money, they can make a complaint about breach of confidentiality. People who make an unfounded complaint should be named and shamed in my view! Sorry, this rant has gone right off topic!

Oh Jinxxx I agree with you if a Complaint is made and is not found to be correct or is malicious the person complaining shold be made to pay Ofsteds considerable costs incurred in the investigation and our costs as well. It takes time to contact Ofsted, to write letters to get people to realise their Contractual Obligations and pay.

I must say I am thinking of charging a non refundable £50 registration/admin fee to cover all the paperwork needed for the start of a child and the 2 hour meeting needed to actually sign Contracts etc and go through everything with the parent. Then I will have a small charge for any copies of paperwork parents need because they have lost what I have given them and for any additional paperwork they want for Tax Credits etc because it all takes time do produce and usually has to be done when the last child has gone home. I don't think people realise the time spent to do these 'little' things, they all add up. I think I will be justified because when a parent starts with me I put all their copies if the forms and Contract, a copy of my latest Ofsted Report and a copy of my Policies and Complaints procedure in a plastic folder with their child's name on and all my contact details on the front so there is no excuse to loose anything! I also give receipts every month and I suggest these are kept in their file. So they have all they need, I couldn't do much more!

I should have added that most Nurseries charge a non returnable Deposit/Admin Fee and you never see parents complaining about this even when it is charged if you go on a waiting list.