how should i charge for sporadic childminding work?

[clankypanky]

I look after quite a few after school children. One of them is my sons friend and for about a year i have looked after him but on very few occasions. At first I didnt even bother to charge Mum because quite honestly it wasnt worth it, eg she would say can you grab him from school im late from my meeting but by the time id walked them home she would have arrived at my house. if it was a bit more i would save up a few months worth and then charge her.she happily invites my son to her house for tea etc because she likes it and it amuses her son while she tries to get on with some work. This is cool because I return the favour for her on non childminding terms. i never did a contract with her...he is 10 years old and I never had him more than 2 hours anyway. However, for the last 3 or 4 months I have been having him a lot as she is now quite busy (shes self employed) I get him from school and have him until 6, 3 or 4 days a week. For a fwe months I charged in arrears and just charged for what she used but now it seems to be more and she is actually sending me e-mails with what she needs me. In very other case I charge in advance, have a contract, charge half during holidays if they dont need me, have late payment fee, late arrival fee etc. I would like to put this in place with her now and make it a more formal arrangement but how do I charge her when she has such irregular needs? I would like a guaranteed amount per month from her and be able to put in place the holiday charge but how can i do this when it changes all the time? How should I put it to her without her feeling affronted, she is also a friend...not like a best mate but we are friends, shes quite business like herself and i am worried she will bamboozle me and i'll lose my nerve! I did ask her for payment in advance this month but she sent me an e-mail saying she would like to pay in arrears...Im pretty sure this is so she only pays for what she has used rather than what she has asked for and it ticked me off a bit that she thought she could tell me how it would be done when its my business. I am . com

Could you draw up a zero hour contract, so no commitment to use the service. Then charge a higher than your usual per-hour fee. That fee would take into account holiday-pay and payment in arrears.

Okay so how much would you charge, my usual rate is 3.75 per hour

Somewhere between 5 and 6. Would the parent pay say 5.50 per hour, with a 2 or 3 hour minimum per booking?

okay, so how do I put it to her without her objecting considering up to now its been 3.75

I would give her the choice of

a) zero hour contract - there is no guarantee of your availability at any particular time, you are not reserving any particular hours and can decline any request if you are already full (or have other commitments) on the day requested. I charge full fees at the normal rate for each session booked (no reductions or refunds if the child is absent on a booked day). No charge if no hours booked. I don't charge a higher rate for this. The place can be used for other families (except for the specific days already booked). Payment is due at the time of booking.

b) shift workers contract, where the "reserved hours" are stated on the contract. Parent pays full fees for booked hours and half fees for the remainder of the reserved time period. The contract should state a minimum fee (eg half fees even if no hours booked) and how/when the parent is to notify of the hours required. The childminder cannot use the place for another child.

I would only take payment in arrears for option b, in which case a months deposit would be required. For option a, a place is not booked until its paid for. Because if the child is off sick or doesn't come for any other reason the parent reason its much easier to refuse to give a refund than it is to obtain a further payment.

I would also supply the parent with booking forms so that each booking is made in writing, so that there can be no misunderstanding about which days have been booked.

what are these booking forms that you speak of? Sounds good, can I insist that I am given 4 weeks notice though and have it booked in 4 weeks in advance for the minimum she will want with potential for her to ask for more but she definately has to pay for what she has booked? Do you mean that every time they book something with you they pay straight away so I wouldnt be able to monthly invoice it? How do you do this because surely you dont see them everytime they book in, or do they pay online? Thank you. i dont think the shift worker way would work.

Our afterschool club has one rate for regular booking (£3:50 per hour) and a higher rate for any casual bookings (£5 per hour). Regular half-termly bookings are paid in advance, casual top-ups in arrears.

I'm freelance, and I have to guess what I'll need and pay the difference when I get it wrong. Works pretty well.

I think I do what ayla99 does - though I call it Ad hoc or emergency childcare. I take bookings (for days when I have spaces and am willing to work obviously) with full non-refundable payment in advance, though in my case in advance can be anything up to the day before, or even on the spot. I also make it clear that these extra days are offered on a first come first served basis, as otherwise all my part timers might expect to be able to decide at the last minute that they wanted the same day as an extra day and there wouldn't be enough spaces. I agree about using booking forms and making the terms clear too. It's only happened once but I had a child booked in for several extra days last Easter so I cut back our own holiday plans and also had to refuse another child the place, then the first one got measles and couldn't come, too late to offer the other the place. If we hadn't been clear that booked means booked, I suspect the parents would have been wanting their money refunded which would not have been fair on my family.

Some of my ad-hoc bookings have been siblings of those who have contracts so I do see those parents frequently. I have been paid in the playground (I don't like that), parents have paid direct to bank or put the booking form and cheque through my letterbox. Sometimes theres no time for the booking form (text the night before is not unknown) in which case they bring payment on the first morning

Most of my adhoc care is just a day or 2 at a time. For more frequent care I would ask for a months deposit and then invoice monthly.

I also charge a registration/admin fee of £20 for new families.

My booking forms are just an A5 page in Word, with a table where the parent can fill in the start and collect times against each day of the week, and indicate whether they want to book meals or bring pack ups. Tick box to say parent encloses payment and accepts that refunds/discounts are not given if the child arrives late/leaves early or is absent. Also that parent agrees to additional charges if the child is collected late. (although this is on the contract already).

thanks ayla, this ad hoc work has gone from being an hour or so every 3 months to mon - thurs, 3 - 6 so how would you suggest i charge this? does it make sense for me to say to her that if she remains busy and needs me regularly like this then i would like her to book in and i'll charge in advance for the month, no refund for early pick ups / cancellations. if she goes quiter again then she books in as and when and pays via bank or on the spot?

to avoid any falling out, i would tell her as she now actually using your cm services instead of the od ten mins cover when shes running late, you HAVE to set a contract in place as you MUST follow OFSTEDS guidlines (easy to hide behind them and TBH they prob would want something like this in place!)...tell her as she is using a reular space then you have to keep all your paperwork in line with all your other childrens, otherswise this will cause lots of confusion and extra work for you...explain you can work out together a medium of the hours she will need jusging by what she has been doing las few months and any extra hours you are able to cover if she asks at a later date will be paid in arrears on the next months fee.
If you do have this chld during hols as well then i would tell her (keeping it all business like now, she sounds like shes playing on your friendship a bit!)any time she doesnt bring her child that she would usually be contracted for will be charged at retainer (mine is half fee0....

Depends of wether you think she will walk/fall out with all this, it IS your business and she is using your services so she pays like everyone else..what you charge is up to you...if you can get a guaranteed £3.75 an hour for 10 hours a week, is it worht bumping your fee up and risk losing them?...good luck anyway, its never easy is it, we always under value ourselves and theres always someone there waiting to take advantage of that!

I always say that any minding I do has to be covered by a contract because without a contract in place my insurance isn't valid. As an argument, this has the advantage of being true! My DH who draws up contracts for a living pointed out that my insurance policy covers me only for caring for children for reward under contract. If I provide care on a more casual basis, or don't keep full records, the insurance company could refuse a claim on the grounds that it is a matter of looking after a child voluntarily, rather than as a contractual obligation and therefore not their problem.

By minderjinx Thu 04-Feb-10 18:16:57
I always say that any minding I do has to be covered by a contract because without a contract in place my insurance isn't valid. As an argument, this has the advantage of being true! My DH who draws up contracts for a living pointed out that my insurance policy covers me only for caring for children for reward under contract. If I provide care on a more casual basis, or don't keep full records, the insurance company could refuse a claim on the grounds that it is a matter of looking after a child voluntarily, rather than as a contractual obligation and therefore not their problem.

really? does this only apply if you are trying to chase a parent for money and if you have no contract in place then its not there problem or does it mean if the child had an accident you would not be covered as theres no contract