If you are like most care providers, you don’t get into the business because you love collecting payments. You get into it because you love kids. The day-to-day operation of child care facilities can be rewarding in some cases, but it mostly becomes a slog. We cannot understate the importance of an automatic recurring payment schedule through solid childcare billing software to address this issue.
Why do you need recurring payments to ensure quality child care? Because it allows you to direct your focus on more pertinent issues that providers may typically overlook. A sound billing system also helps you focus on the development of new programs and parents. You will find yourself engaging with parents in a more meaningful manner.
Let’s dig into how recurring payments through the right childcare billing software can help you. Check out a sample child care billing software invoice that TUIO automates for you!
Conversations About Money are Never Fun
Child care providers typically struggle with the business side of running a daycare. This situation is normal. Most people who are passionate enough to start a business don’t look forward to doing taxes and handling money.
The best way to handle money is to “set it and forget it.”
Parents who are too busy with their daily lives don’t want a reminder that they forgot to pay. It frustrates them, even if they have the money to make the payment.
People are also likely to request late fee waivers and exceptions. It strains the relationship in multiple ways. Surveys show that nearly half the American population see personal finance as the most challenging topic to discuss with others.
Many of them would prefer to talk about politics. To avoid this conversation from happening, encourage people to set up recurring payments.
Chasing Payments – The Ripple Effect
Believe it or not, most people don’t like to be debt collectors. Even the person calling from the debt collection office dreads an adverse reaction. There are more than four thousand debt collection agencies in the US, and most people want nothing to do with them.
To count yourself among them is a frustrating experience for all.
It isn’t your job to babysit their payment schedule. It is your job to babysit their kids, and removing kids from your child care center is never fun.
The kids are upset, you are upset, and the ripple effect will eventually reach out to your staff. Some family child care providers who are too lenient can struggle to pay their staff.
You understand that you sometimes have to lay down the law as a business owner. But through a regularly occurring scheduled transaction, this is something you don’t have to put on your plate. You can have this in your regular schedule with the right childcare billing software.
Why Childcare Billing Software can result in More Mental Energy for Your Daycare
Recurring payments aren’t just about avoiding the bad; they also create quality child care programs. To get an idea of time saved, let’s take a look at your standard duties for running a child care business:
- Sales
- Marketing
- Paperwork
- Human resources
- Finance
- Running and managing your website
- Social media
- Day-to-day operations
You can break down many of these into micro-tasks. Some of these tasks have job titles. These include accountants, administrative assistants, operations managers, and social media managers.
Now, imagine being able to take a portion of finance, human resources, and paperwork. A recurring payment schedule doesn’t just refer to your clients; it also refers to your staff.
A sound daycare tuition management system doesn’t limit itself to parent-centric autopay. Instead, always be thinking about a system that offers expansion potential. It will also produce the receipts for you.
With this out of the way, you can focus on marketing strategy, operations management, and giving your kids a good experience. Having a high amount of mental energy is paramount to having an excellent child care experience.
Dealing With Parents Who Do Not Accept Your New Childcare Billing Software
Thankfully, the new generation of parents is mostly understanding of this. There will always be a few holdouts when enacting any new policy. Some may be reluctant to give you their card information.
If you have families who give you trouble, try these ideas out:
- Address their concerns by confirming that your system does not store any sensitive financial information.
- Indicate that they will be able to receive receipt information as soon as they make the payment.
- State that check usage is down significantly over the past few years, so this is a sign of the times.
- Ask them to confirm their bank’s NSF fee policy. Utilize a system with no hidden fees.
If they give you too much trouble with payments, you might find this to be a bit of a red flag. As a daycare provider, one way you can weed those red flags out is by requiring upfront payments. If they are unwilling to make those payments, uphold your policies.
The good news? Creating consistent policies across the board gives parents (and you) peace of mind. So if they are questioning the quality of your childcare billing software, you can always direct them to the website.
The Importance of Good Budgeting
When it comes to operating any business, family child care programs included, you need to have all of your ducks in a row. With your ducks positioned correctly, you don’t risk the chance of tripping over one. Following this process avoids unnecessary quacks, or expenses, throwing your business into chaos.
A reasonable budget allows for the potential of mistakes. But consistent expenses across the board are addressed with easy tracking from a compatible dashboard.
Good budgeting allows for potential promotions, savings potential, and more growth opportunities. All of which have the possibility of taking your daycare facility beyond where it was.
Final Thoughts
Recurring payments are the key to allowing yourself freedom from the less fun aspects of your business. While it’s sometimes essential to address that “less fun” aspect directly, automation is the key to the 21st century.
Performing call-outs to parents who would instead be going on their ski trip over talking about daycare costs isn’t how you want to spend your weekend. Instead, focus your energy on essential daycare improvements.
Thankfully, most people having kids are fully understanding and will appreciate automatic payments. Those that decide otherwise may not be a good fit for your business model anyway. Knowing your model allows you control over your budget, time, and mental energy.
