Brought to you by ProviderWatch
58% of childcare providers have had parents leave without paying for childcare services rendered!
How many times have you heard stories like these?
"'Susan' just had an emergency come up, her regular day care provider was not able to care for her children and if she didn't make it to work, she would have been fired.
I agreed to watch her children and didn't bother with getting complete information. She left after I watched her three children for 4 days without paying the $235.00 she owes. I have no way of getting in touch with her."
Many providers recount the same story when it comes to friends.
"I agreed to do child care for my best friend's new baby, so she could take a new job. I didn't want to ask her to sign anything too intrusive; after all, she is my closest friend.
After her first payday, she only paid a partial payment, explaining that since her maternity leave she had a lot of past due bills to get caught up on. She promised to pay in full when she got her next paycheck.
I continued to watch her son.
If I didn't, how would she be able to keep her job? A month went by and she only paid me $50.00. She now owes over $400.00 and just stopped brining her son over. No explanation or anything. I don't have a complete contract. I never imagined she wouldn't pay me!"
The bottom line? Solid contracts help you protect your daycare income.
Always get complete information on a signed contract! At a minimum, ask for the parent's full name, spouse's name, contact information, including email address, employer, and verify some form of identification. Some providers ask for the social security number as well.
Make sure your contract also clearly spells our your rules about payment dates and notice of intent to discontinue care. If you are going to "work" with someone on payment dates, i.e. making payments due on their paydays, be sure you write down what the arrangement is on the signed contract.
Having the contract signed and dated by both you and the parent is very important. If the parent is married, have the spouse sign as well.
Paying attention to these important factors of your contract will only serve to protect your business in the event of a dispute. Verbal contracts are almost impossible to enforce. Just remember, write everything down! Even if you have someone who has agreed to a payment arrangement, after leaving your services do your best to have it documented and signed! If you email or text with a client, it may be helpful to save those communications for future reference so there is no question about what was discussed and agreed to.
Do you have parents who still owe? We can help!
If someone leaves your service that still owes a bill, don't just let it slide. Be firm. You are operating a business and deserve to be paid for your services. The first thing you can do is contact ProviderWatch, create a free account and submit a report on the unpaid account.
