Child Care Tuition Collection

Collecting tuition is probably one of the hardest things for childcare Owners and Directors to do. Speaking to parents about their payments is not the “fun” part of the job, but it must be done.  Unfortunately, you will have those parents that will not pay their tuition without a friendly face to face reminder, and face to face is the best way to speak to parents about payments.

It is easier to approach your parents about payments when you have a relationship with them. Greet every parent daily as they enter the center with a smile, “Hello and how are you today?” Make yourself available for every parent if they have questions. You should exhibit excellent customer service, be very courteous and always professional but follow policy.

Make sure that you have policies and procedures in place that cover payments. Remember that you are providing a service and you rely on the tuition payments to pay salaries, purchase food, and meet other operational expenses.  Collect tuition in a timely manner and add late fees when you need to.  Late fees are just more to your bottom line and help the parents understand that there are penalties for paying you last.

You are not doing the parents any favors by letting them go on week after week without paying. If they cannot pay you one week it is even harder for them to pay for two weeks and so on. If you are late paying your electric company they will add a late fee to your payment that must be paid. Then they will send you a termination of service notice and discontinue service if you don’t pay by that date.

Remember you are providing a service and it is not free. Your parents’ payments help you meet the needs of the children in your care.  That is a need that you can not fulfill if you are no longer in operation because you couldn’t meet your financial obligations.