Pay your Childminder on time!!

[GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat]

I’m so utterly sick of chasing parents every bloody month. How hard is it to remember to pay your bill? You never forget to drop your child off! I do have late fees etc etc but I just want my money on time. It’s dh birthday tomorrow and I was hoping to buy him a presents this weekend but I can’t because I haven’t been paid. I’ve even sent a reminder and she’s said sorry and she’ll do it but as yet still no money.

Argh!

Sitting here thinking exactly the same. Rent comes out tomorrow & I'm £700 short so that means I need to find that money tonight. So stressful. Like you say, still happy to send their child in. Some parents really don't care about late fee's & some don't have the money for the original amount, let alone extra fees.

Put in your contract that if pay is more than two days late the child will not be minded but full fees will continue to be payable? That would concentrate minds.

I would turn them away at the door when she next drops off. It really is poor form to not pay on time. Takes me about 60 seconds to pay childminder/dog walker on my phone banking app.

Of course you are right. What payment method do you ask for?

Not sure about Georgie, but my parents all pay through vouchers which take 3-5 days (so I always give them their invoice a week before it's due) or direct transfer from their phones banking app which is why it's frustrating as it doesn't take that long to do.

Vouchers (pain in the arse, they take ages)
Bank transfer
Or cash

As a childminder do you have set days and fees for the children you look after? I only ask as my child goes to nursery and it's the same days and times each week and we have to pay upfront. Any late pick ups or early drop off charges are either invoices at the end of the month or where possible they ask for you to pay cash on the day?

We have to not for the nursery wether she goes or not (sickness/our choice to keep her off etc)

Never used a child minder but it's worth think about maybe?

I'd be very annoyed if my employer didn't pay me on time!

I’m exactly the same as your nursery dirtycurtains1

The voucher system is a bloody nightmare. My own CM doesnt accept them which we knew when we chose her. She is full, so it cant be that much of an incentive.

Id change your contracts "Fees are due on 1st of the month for the month ahead. Overtime will be added to the following month. Failure to provide payment on 1st of the month will result in your childs place being reallocated".

So they have plenty of options then. No excuse.

Oh! Sorry, for some reason I had in my head you charge after! Well even more so in that case I agree with Tulips!

I get the tax free childcare so unsure how vouchers work exactly. The tax free does take a few days however we have it written that although the invoice is produced and should ideally be paid by the 1st each month, any schemes must be cleared by the 3rd at the latest (ours goes in on the 2nd as we both get paid the last working day of the month and as soon as we are we sort the payment). The place we use is quite large so they have that luxury to be able to give a few days but I can only assume many others do not have this flexibility!

I'd be rewriting the contracts if possible and if it continued possibly some stern words with the parents.

Good luck Op

Actually even vouchers are no excuse for being late ..... I set mine to leave my account 4 days before I’m due to pay my childminder so they reach her in the agreed pay day! It’s not hard, I just set up a st ding order from my voucher account

My childminder has had similar issues. I just don’t understand how people think it’s ok not to pay their bill. I’d definitely be saying bills not paid within three days means no more minding until it’s settled.

Vouchers are the Bain of my childminding life. The parents say they have sent them. One family has just told me this, yet I haven’t had the email to say the money is on it’s way and haven’t had the money either. I know from email to money is at least a couple of days with Sodexo, so it’s going to be the end of the week before I get it. Bank transfers are all done on time, it’s the vouchers that are crap.

Not paying on time is just taking the piss because they wouldn’t be allowed to do that to a nursery.
Refuse to have their children until they pay up and charge them late payment fees.
If it carries on then give them notice.

I know exactly how you feel.

Had payments coming in in drips and drabs for 3 days. 1 family paid on time this month.

I've messaged / spoken to all the parents today and got:

oh, I forgot, which I replied with, strange how you don't forget to drop the kids off. Perhaps I should forget to collect from school until you've paid.

A, oh it's nearly Christmas and things are tight this month. Yes it will even tighter when you can't go to work because you have no care for your kids

A couple of half arsed apologies and a well I will get round to paying you, I'm very busy you know.

My end of year newsletter is not going to make for happy reading for some parents.

Oh, and Mr, oh I forgot also didn't bring a coat for his kid when it's 1 degree centigrade here this morning.

I always pay the childminder as soon as she sends the invoice. I would rather get it done and out of the way! I totally agree with you too.

I also agree that you should text the person and tell her you will no longer be accepting to child-mind her child until she has paid the fees in full. She is taking the full on piss out of you and she is doing it because you're allowing it to happen! No more now. You are a business and you need to pay your rent and bills every month like everyone else.

We use vouchers and I know it takes a few days so I get them done as soon as DH gets paid as I only have 5 days to the end of the month. I was horrified in August when the voucher didn't get into our account until the 29th and I then had to transfer to the childminder.

I guess it's how the voucher companies make their money- hanging onto the interest for a few days.

The voucher companies chiefly make their money by government payments for running the scheme. That’s why they are usually part of bigger companies that specialise in government contracts: eg. Sodexo run a lot of HM Prisons too.

The usual delay in the transfer of payments is due to the banking system, and that’s mostly down to the bank that is receiving the credit (ie the childcarer's bank.) In spite of all the technology, UK retail banking systems remain somewhat archaic.

That said, there are regular IT problems. Computershare payments were delayed in November-December by some glitch in the system. Moscow Rules apply: technology will always let you down.

I always pay my childminder in time. I have 7 days from the date I get the invoice but tend to do it that day. Her bills need paid just as mine do. I agree with the comments above you need to take a firmer approach as hard as it is. Your running a business if people don’t pay you service stops until they do.

I accept credit cards, if they haven’t paid I whip my little machine out and they pay by card there and then or they do not leave the child.

Oh and I charge them for paying by card too, which is less than the interest in the contract but still makes it hurt a little bit so they don’t do it again.
I also make them pay a week in advance

This is utterly frustrating I too am chasing a couple of parents. Always this time of year that they choose to slip up. Forgetting that I too have bills to pay and the impact on they're children as I refuse to spend out on resources when bills come first. Thank god I break up on Friday as this has been a week from hell where I've had unexpected expenses and I'm juggling work, family and hospital visits so the very last thing I want to do is chase people for fees that should be in my bank account and relieving just a smidgen of the pressure I'm currently under on a Sunday afternoon