OK - big complicated maths problem....I need help

[Katymac]

I am doing a cash forecast for a nursery

I have 3 ages of children

I am trying to find out at what point I make a profit

How to I show all the options to create a way of seeing what is profitable and what isn't

ie 1 under 1, 1 under 3 and 1 under 5 is not profitable

6 under 1, 6 under 3 and 12 under 5 makes me a fortune

There must be a way of representing this as a table or chart or graph (but does anyone know how?)

tia
KMc

HI Katy, i read your other thread about converting a barn into a nursery - i'm guessing this is for the same project?

I am not maths expert so don't know about showing your charts etc i realise you are probably writing a business plan. But are you also considering the type of space available? As under 2's need more space allocated than over 3's do. So as well as the fees/outgoings making an impact on your profit, so do the ages in terms of space.

Does that make sense?

E.g. you may find taking on less under 2's and more over 3's would increase profits. That too would be beneficial for a business plan.

Good luck!

So maybe I was being optomistic

Sorry Hattie I didn't mean you honest

I am actually classing the under 3's together for space and adult ratios (giving the over 2's a slightly higher adult ratio and space req)

So I need to compare 2 age ranges

I am hoping to have 6 at each age range leading to 12 at 3-5 for a reception class of around 12

Maybe?

So looking at 12 under 3's and 12 3-5's would give me 18 into reception (far too many)

I'd use a spreadsheet and put in all of the variables & then set up formulae so that you can change the variables & see what happens.

So if it's possible to have a list along the lines of:

a 1 yr old costs x amount to look after and I receive £50 for this

a 2 yr old costs y amount to look after and I receive £45 for this

I think you'd definitely need to take into account the fixed expenses that would be incurred as well.

i'd put something like this in a spreadsheet:

age: 1 cost: x income from parents: £50

age: 2, cost y, income from parents: £45

then I'd have different options in terms of ages & just multiply the number of children in each age group by these variables listed above.

Sorry if I've confused you or stated the obvious. I find it really hard to tackle these kinds of things without actually playing around with the figures in a spreadsheet.

If you're doing it manually I'm sure you could just have a table of ages along one side & then profit along the other & the data in the middle. I think once you have a table putting into a graph is easier.

You mean pre-school not reception i take it?

Would you have seperate room for under 1's though when required?

I'm all for mixing the age ranges, but also think under1's need the extra space for quiet feeds and sleeps and crawls without big feet stamping on them.

I've never owned a nursery but have managed and therefore got a good see at the profits etc. I think you need to have more over 2's than under in order to balance the income iyswim. As under 1's pretty much earn you enough to pay one persons salary and you're needing 1 salary per 2 under 2's (is that still the ratio?). Therefore the over 2's are far more profitable as they need less staff so you want to make sure you have the right balance between two age groups.

Phew! good luck you gotta lotta work to do havn't you!

Blondilocks - I have tables but I am having difficulty correlation
1 'under3' +4 '3-5' = profit
vs
4 'under3' +1 '3-5' = no profit

iyswim

Hattie - currently there is no under 2 provision for miles in any direction - what I am trying to do is to even out the ages (ideally starting with 6 babies who eventually become 6 in reception (not going to happen I know but...))

I am hoping it is 1:3 for under 2's and 1:4 for under3's (I haven't found a separate ratio for under 1's yet) I was hoping to use Birth to three which does seem to suggest that under 3's can be together (and I currently mind 9 under 3's in one room - so it's only 3 extra.....maybe?)

Yes i thought the ratios had changed, it used to be 2 for under 1's, which i feel should still be the case.

And yes, you can have under3's in same room - but i just think practicalities of a purpose designed nursery bring different needs to the home, even just having a seperate cot room or something would be beneficial - and perhaps this room could double up as quiet room when no babes are sleeping in it?

if you look at this & download the PDF at the bottem there is a layout on P17 I like

I do have cots in a separate room - but childminders don't have to stay in the same room as sleeping babies - I think nurseries do?

Yes a member of staff needs to stay in the room when children are sleeping.

The layouts in that download look lovely. My only concern would be not having enough staff to 'man' each area. I think provided you have a way in which you can close an area off if you need to its great.