The spreadsheet in March
Every year the owner reviews fees. The decision itself, how much and from when, takes an afternoon with the accountant. What follows takes much longer. Each family's new monthly fee has to be worked out: their sessions at the new rates, minus funded hours, minus any sibling discount, plus regular extras. Then a letter to each family giving the notice your terms require, with their old and new amounts.
The office does it in a spreadsheet, family by family, and a mail merge. Three families get the wrong figure because their pattern changed after the spreadsheet was started. One family on a special arrangement is missed. On the date the new fees start, someone updates the price list in the nursery system and hopes it matches the letters.
Why fee reviews are so much work
- Every family's fee is a combination of sessions, funding, discounts and extras.
- Patterns change between the calculation and the start date.
- Letters are produced separately from the calculation, so they can disagree.
- Special arrangements are held outside the main price list.
- The switch to new prices in the billing system is a separate manual step.
How much you charge and how much notice you give is set by you and your terms. We only make sure every family's figure is right and every letter matches it.
What errors in fee letters cost
A letter with the wrong figure is worse than a late one. Parents budget on it, and correcting it undermines trust in every future invoice. Missed families are charged the old rate for months, or charged the new rate without notice. Office time disappears into spreadsheets and mail merges when it is needed for the rest of the setting.
Fee increases are also when families think about leaving. A clear, accurate, personal letter matters more than usual.
The fee review tool we build
- Your new price list is entered alongside the old one, with the date it takes effect.
- Every current family's fee is recalculated at the new rates, using their actual sessions, funding, discounts and regular extras.
- The owner sees a list of every family with old and new monthly amounts, and can check the unusual ones.
- Special arrangements are held as named exceptions, so they are included and visible.
- A personal letter or email for each family is generated from your template, with their figures, and sent on the date you choose.
- If a family's pattern changes before the start date, their figure and letter are regenerated and flagged.
- On the start date, invoicing moves to the new prices automatically.
| Part of the review | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| New fee per family | Spreadsheet, family by family | Calculated from actual bookings |
| Letters | Mail merge from a separate list | Generated from the same figures |
| Pattern changes after calculation | Missed | Recalculated and flagged |
| Switch to new prices | Manual on the day | Automatic from the start date |
The review, afterwards
The owner decides the new prices with the accountant. The office enters them. Within the hour, a list of every family shows old and new monthly amounts. The owner checks the special arrangements and the families whose fees change most. Letters go out on the planned date. A family who changes days two weeks later gets a corrected letter, flagged for the office. On the start date, invoices use the new prices.
The owner can also see the total effect on monthly income before committing, which helps the decision itself.
It also changes how the letter lands with parents. A letter that shows their own sessions, their old monthly figure and their new one, with the funded hours still clearly deducted, answers most questions before they are asked. The families who do reply are asking about their decision, not about whether the figure is right.
Does your fee review look like this?
- New fees are calculated family by family in a spreadsheet.
- Letters come from a separate mail merge.
- Some families get the wrong figure every year.
- Special arrangements are sometimes missed.
- New prices are entered in the billing system by hand on the day.