These resources can help.

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Starting a Child Care Facility Checklist (New)

Start & Run a Profitable Home Day Care 3rd Edition

Child care is one of the most in-demand services today. If you love working with children and want to run your own business, a home day care could be the perfect opportunity. This book not only gets you up and running, it shows you to to keep your business operating smoothly and successfully.

Run a Profitable Daycare

* International Best Seller
* Text book of choice for the St. Clair College course: Home Child

Care As A Business

Caregiver Aids: Business Forms for Child Care Providers and Parents

Best Seller!

At child care online we recognize that a Caregiver’s life is extremely hectic. Working out weekly emnus, activity charts, even child care contracts and accident forms is a tedious task. The Caregiver Aids in this book were designed to make your life easier and add a touch of professionalism to your child care business. Available in hard copy, download, or on CD.

Daycare Centre Business Plan Guide

This comprehensive and practical guide was developed specifically for anyone interested in starting a daycare business. It’s packed with straight-forward information and easy-to-follow instructions to help you develop your business plan with ease. Put your best foot forward when approaching a banker, funder, or investor. Check out the Daycare Centre Business Plan Guide today! Available in hard copy, download, or on CD

Income Tax & Record Keeping

This easy to use workbook outlines what is tax deductible, how to keep accurate yet simple business records, and so much more. Loaded with sample forms like which tax forms to use, income and expense sheets, it’s a great resource for dealing with home daycare business taxes. Available in hard copy, download, or on CD

Ready to Use Business Forms

All the valuable forms in our Caregiver Aids book are now available in a ready-to-use downloadable format as individual forms. And we’re developing new forms all the time, so be sure to stop by often to check out what’s new. Or, you can sign up for our New Product Notification as listed below.

Our Child Care Business Central was developed with you in mind and covers a variety of child care related business topics, from classroom materials, to indoor or outdoor equipment, and from office supplies to women’s resources, we’ve got it all.. Check it out!

Child care grants are essential to funding a quality program. To assist our visitors, child care online has done extensive research into the question of “Where to find grants for child care programs” and brings you this feature section.

For-profit Child Care – The Straight Facts First

While there is a lot of talk about “how to find grants” in the child care field, most caregivers, especially independent home child care operators or persons starting a private or for-profit child care facility, don’t realize that it is almost impossible for them to find grant money from any level of government or from almost all of the sources listed in childcare.net’s or any other grant list. That is of course, with the exception of perhaps that which might be obtained from new business startup programs and the odd program operated by their provincial or state governments, generally under the Department of Children and Family Services.

The truth is, and it seems no one else wants to acknowledge this fact, unless you seek and obtain non-profit status, there is not a lot of help available in the way of grants for your child care business.

Getting Some Funding

For-profit child care business operators, large and small, may, that’s a small may because they aren’t all that many programs available with the exception of the Child and Adult Care Food Program in the U.S., be able to apply for local state/provincial programs being offered through their licensing office, Children’s and Family Services Office, and/or Child Care Resource and Referral Agency. childcare.net’s advice for for-profit child care operators is to inquire at these locations first. Other than that, the best way to locate financing for your child care business is to:

* Look into bank loans
* Obtain venture capital
* Seek gifts and loans from family and friends
* Look for advice from incubator organizations, or
* Obtain counsel from local small business and women’s associations.

In a few states, special loan programs have being developed to help child care programs access immediate funds at affordable rates, like Washington and Oregon’s Cascadia Child Care Fund. Contact your local licensing office or Small Business Administration (SBA) for information about financing child care as a small business opportunity. There may also be special initiatives available through the SBA or through local women’s organizations to help finance women-owned and -operated businesses as well.

In Canada, small business owners can learn about financing initiatives of all sorts on Industry Canada’s Sources of Financing Web page.

Independent child care business owners can also try the Foundation Grants to Individuals OnLine, a service of The Foundation Center. http://www.fdncenter.org. For $9.95 per month (payable by credit card) the Foundation Center offers an online listings of Grants to Individuals in the U.S. To learn more, visit heir About Foundation Grants to Individuals online at: http://gtionline.fdncenter.org/gti_help/1aboutfd.htm.

Visit our Financing Child Care Sources page for more detailed information on financing resources for child care.

Finally, while we take no pleasure in telling it like it is, we believe our visitors need to know the truth and understand the facts about grants. If you are a for-profit child care operator and have been successful in securing funding for your program, please share your information with our visitors by sending us an Email at: [email protected] so we can post the resource and help others.

Child care grants are essential to funding a quality program. To assist our visitors, child care online has done extensive research into the question of “Where to find grants for child care programs” and brings you this feature section.

For-profit Child Care – The Straight Facts First

While there is a lot of talk about “how to find grants” in the child care field, most caregivers, especially independent home child care operators or persons starting a private or for-profit child care facility, don’t realize that it is almost impossible for them to find grant money from any level of government or from almost all of the sources listed in childcare.net’s or any other grant list. That is of course, with the exception of perhaps that which might be obtained from new business startup programs and the odd program operated by their provincial or state governments, generally under the Department of Children and Family Services. You may have to find a financial adviser to help you with your business.

Fast, Free, and Easy Quotes

The truth is, and it seems no one else wants to acknowledge this fact, unless you seek and obtain non-profit status, there is not a lot of help available in the way of grants for your child care business.

For-profit child care business operators, large and small, may, that’s a small may because they aren’t all that many programs available with the exception of the Child and Adult Care Food Program in the U.S., be able to apply for local state/provincial programs being offered through their licensing office, Children’s and Family Services Office, and/or Child Care Resource and Referral Agency. childcare.net’s advice for for-profit child care operators is to inquire at these locations first. Other than that, the best way to locate financing for your child care business is to:

* Look into bank loans
* Obtain venture capital
* Seek gifts and loans from family and friends
* Look for advice from incubator organizations, or
* Obtain counsel from local small business and women’s associations.

In a few states, special loan programs have being developed to help child care programs access immediate funds at affordable rates, like Washington and Oregon’s Cascadia Child Care Fund. Contact your local licensing office or Small Business Administration (SBA) for information about financing child care as a small business opportunity. There may also be special initiatives available through the SBA or through local women’s organizations to help finance women-owned and -operated businesses as well.

In Canada, small business owners can learn about financing initiatives of all sorts on Industry Canada’s Sources of Financing Web page.

Independent child care business owners can also try the Foundation Grants to Individuals OnLine, a service of The Foundation Center. http://www.fdncenter.org. For $9.95 per month (payable by credit card) the Foundation Center offers an online listings of Grants to Individuals in the U.S. To learn more, visit heir About Foundation Grants to Individuals online at: http://gtionline.fdncenter.org/gti_help/1aboutfd.htm.

Finally, while we take no pleasure in telling it like it is, we believe our visitors need to know the truth and understand the facts about grants. If you are a for-profit child care operator and have been successful in securing funding for your program, please share your information with our visitors by sending us an Email at: [email protected] so we can post the resource and help others.

Should You Be Licensed?

Once the decision is made to start a daycare, the next big issue is whether or not to be licensed. That may sound irrational – after all, doesn’t every daycare need to be licensed? The fact is that licensing depends upon the number of children you take care of and where you take care of them. As a general rule, small, home based daycares are free to operate without a license. However, each state and province has their own rules about it, so it is important to check things out properly before you head off into business. As an aside, it’s true that many daycares operate without a license when they really should have one.

Becoming Licensed

Becoming licensed may seem to be overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to find the rules and you come up against a lot of legal jargon. Fortunately, there are places like this site where you can get the information without the hassle. Just remember that the main point of licensing is to ensure the children are being taken care of in the same manner you would care for your own. Even though the licensing process can be intimidating (doubts start flying around in your head), press on.

One of the nice things about being licensed is that you can charge more. The fact is that licensed care providers are in big demand and often there are state or provincial programs and benefits for daycare providers. This puts them into a different bracket, allows them to charge more and still be filled. And, it isn’t expensive to become licensed. Your biggest cost is usually the time it takes to fill out all of the paperwork. There will likely be a filing fee and that’s about it.

The Application

As with all things, the more prepared you are, the better things will go. As previously mentioned, the primary function of the licensing process is to protect the children and ensure that the daycare environment is safe and that the welfare of the children is properly attended to in terms of safety, hygiene, nutrition, activities and all developmental aspects. The license is granted after a detailed evaluation of the facility by a government officer.

The first thing you will have to do in the licensing process is to fill out the application form. Some of the information on the form will include (but it isn’t limited to this information):

· Personal and contact details

· Plants for the premises (if you’re building) showing layout, playground and facilities

· Hours of operation and number of children served

· Details of the staff

· Details of the program you intend to implement

· Menu information and schedules

· Details of financial resources available

The Visit

Once you’ve filled out the forms and they have been submitted, an interview will take place with the licensing officers to talk about the feasibility of starting a daycare in your area. They’ll review the regulations and check out your financial resources. They will advise you of their preliminary visit which will be done by an evaluator to check the facility and determine whether everything is in compliance with the rules. Following the completion of the process you will either receive your license or be denied the license.

Licensing Information

The child care licensing links below will give you information and contact numbers with regards to licensing requirements in your own state/province. These resources can also assist parents with any questions or concerns they may have about daycare facilities, day homes, day nurseries, etc. The agencies also help to develop and maintain quality child care programs by assisting child care providers.

Canadian Licensing Information & Contacts

Alberta
Newfoundland
PEI
British Columbia
Nova Scotia
Quebec
Manitoba
Nunavut
Saskatchewan
New Brunswick
Ontario
Yukon
Aboriginal Child Care in Canada
Overview and Comparison of Provincial Licensing Information
(CCRRU) Provicial Government Links (CCRRU Website)
Family Resource Programs In Canada

U.S. State Licensing Information & Contacts

National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care
Alabama
Kentucky
Ohio
Alaska
Louisiana
Oklahoma
Arizona
Maine
Oregon
Arkansas
Maryland
Pennsylvania
California
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Colorado
Michigan
Puerto Rico
Connecticut
Minnesota
South Carolina
Delaware
Mississippi
South Dakota
District of Columbia
Missouri
Tennessee
Florida
Montana
Texas
Georgia
Nebraska
Utah
Hawaii
Nevada
Vermont
Idaho
New Hampshire
Virginia
Illinois
New Jersey
Virgin Islands
Indiana
New Mexico
Washington
Iowa
New York
West Virginia
Kansas
North Carolina
Wisconsin
North Dakota
Wyoming

The Children’s Defense Fund This link will give you information on how well your state fares on behlaf of its services for children. A truly eye-opening report.

Recently, at a Home Child Care Provider’s Support Group meeting a topic came up that was a bit difficult to address: Does a caregiver release a child from care when the pickup person appears intoxicated, or if the vehicle the child will be a passenger in does not have a child seat? This discussion lead to other questions about who to release a child to and how to protect oneself in these situations.

Although, it may depend on circumstances and laws governing your state or province, the best defense caregivers have is obtaining child release information during the registration or enrollment process and to clearly go over their policies with regards to releasing a child from care. These policies should include a clause about intoxication and proper vehicle seating. It is also important to emphasize that the information in the Registration or Enrollment Form is confidential and will not be released to anyone.

What Information Should You Have?

What information about releasing a child from care should caregivers gather? Guidelines for Releasing Children, a phamplet produced by the Public Counsel Law Center in California, recommends caregivers ask the following parents for the following:

*Each parent’s legal relationship to the child;
*Whether any other person has a legal relationship to the child (through adoption or re-marriage);
*Information regarding custody arrangements and a copy of the court custody order;
*A copy of the child’s birth certificate;
*The name, address, and telephone number of the non-enrolling parent and (whether or not the child has any contact with the other parent).
*The authors of Guidelines for Releasing Children also suggest that providers consider obtaining photographs of the authorized pickup persons. “This procedure also shows that the provider is being cautious and responsible, and thereby less likely to be found negligent.”

Obviously when it comes to custody battles, situations of child abuse, and cases of domestic violence, caregivers need to protect the child as well as themselves. That means knowing how to handle situations that may occur should a non-authorized person want to remove the child from care.

The Guide Recommends That Caregivers:

Take all reasonable steps to resist the person’s demands;
Stay calm;
Obtain the person’s name and ask to see some identification (if possible, make a copy of the identification);
Explain that both the law and the facility’s rules prevent the release of the child to any unauthorized person;
Explain that the only exception would be if the enrolling parent has signed a written authorization and it has been verified with the provider;
Immediately call the custodial parent and inform him or her about the situation;
If the parent confirms that the person is unauthorized, try to stall the person until the parent arrives, without releasing the child; and
If the person abducts the child by force, obtain a detailed description of the unauthorized person, record the person’s license plate, take note of the direction in which they went, and immediately call the police.
When it comes to an intoxicated parent or guardian, while you may have strict guidelines in your Policy Manual that says you will not release a child under such circumstances, you may not have much choice if the pickup person insists. The first course of action is to detain the person as long as possible and call the custodial or other parent to inform them of the situation if possible. In the event you’ve little choice but to release the child despite your best efforts to the contrary, take down the license plate of the vehicle and call the police.

As for releasing a child when you know the vehicle is not equip with the proper car seat, it is wise to contact the parent(s) for instructions. Ultimately the parent is responsible for the safety of the child. You can, however, offer to lend a spare car seat to the pickup person if one is available. Your next step would be to talk to the parents about the non-release clause in your Policy Manual and their signature acknowledging that they have read and accepted the terms of this Manual, and that should the incident occur again you will terminate the care immediately.

When it comes to releasing a child from care in tough situations, quite often it comes down to using common sense and good judgment as to what a reasonable person would do under similar circumstances. And, if circumstances warrant, contacting the police for advice.

Resources:

Guidelines for Releasing Children and Custody Issues
Public Counsel
Child Care Law Project
601 South Ardmore Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90005
213.385.2977, ext. 300

Thinking about hiring a new nanny or child care teacher for your centre? Then most likely you’re also thinking about how to verify a caregiver’s background and references. Fortunately, it’s a lot easier to conduct a background check on potential employees today than it used to be. With some basic information on hand like a person’s name, birth date, social insurance or security number and address history, employers can quickly find out whether a potential employee has a police record.

Conduct A Background Check

So just how do you get the proper information you need to conduct a background check? One way is to use a Nanny Application, a Nanny Employment Reference Sheet, and an authorization for a Background Check form like the ones available exclusively on childcare.net (click here for details). Another way is to ensure you get all the information you need during the interview meeting. You’ll need the potential employee’s:

Full name
Birth date
Social Insurance/Security number
Driver’s license and vehicle registration
All addresses lived at for the last 5 years.

Luckily, most of the information involved in background searches is a matter of public record. Courthouse checks performed in the county where the applicant lives allow you to read a potential employee’s arrest record if one exists. Much of your background search can even be accessed through the Internet by private Web sites conduct background searches at the state and federal levels.

What You’ll Need

Of course you can do the work yourself. It is your right to request information from someone prior to hiring. Here’s some things you’ll need to do:

Visit the courthouse in the county where the person lives. Criminal records can be searched there for a modest fee. Or, visit your local Police Dept. or the RCMP. The in-court criminal records search is used to determine if the individual has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor in a given jurisdiction within the past 7 years. While you’re conducting a criminal record check, investigate state/provincial sexual offender/child molester registries if they are available where you live. Keep in mind that the criminal record information has to relate to the job if you are going to disqualify someone on the basis of it.

Search online for criminal records at the state level and beyond. Ten states provide background checks through their own Web sites. These include:

* Colorado            * Florida             * Illinois
* Indiana               * Oregon            * South Carolina
* Texas                 * Virginia            * Washington
* Wisconsin

Who To Contact

Contact the Dept. of Motor Vehicles in the county where the person lives and request a copy of the person’s driving record. Information obtained from this source exposes important character issues such as suspended licenses, driving under the influence, possession of drugs, failures to appear in court, and arrest warrants, and so on.

Credit Information (PEER Report). This credit summary file includes public records (i.e., liens, judgments, etc.), collection accounts, current or previous delinquent accounts, types of credit, and total indebtedness. It also displays a profile, i.e., account charged off, repossessed, etc., and alerts any confirmed or suspected fraud activity. This credit report is designed for employment purposes, so it does not place an inquiry on applicants’ reports.

Conduct a Social Security/Insurance trace. This is a report that will return all current and reported addresses for the last 7 to 10 years on a specific individual based on his or her social security/insurance number. By conducting a trace history it is much more difficult for a candidate to hide their identity and possible criminal history.

Hire a private investigator. A basic search including a criminal record check, DMV check, credit history check, and social security check is typically about $75.
Because background checks are a very serious matter, there are some other considerations to keep in mind:

No matter how thorough you or anyone you hire to conduct a background search are in the investigation process, none of these methods is 100% reliable. Further, only convictions show up on a person’s criminal record, not charges.

In order to protect and individual’s rights and to ensure that anyone requesting information on an individual’s background is legitimate, the government requires the employer to secure the candidate’s written permission before conducting a background check. For more information on the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), visit the Federal Trade Commission’s.

If you turn someone down for a job based on a criminal records search, federal law requires you to tell them why. Individuals have a right to dispute anything they feel is inaccurate.

Shop carefully when hiring an investigation service or a private investigator. Know what you are paying for.

Blogs & Networking

In the mid1990’s everyone started talking about needing a website. Now, the new “must have” is a web log or blog. While blogs can come in all shapes and sizes, a blog is just a very simple way to publish a journal, record of events, thoughts, ideas or whatever the author wants to write about. A blog sits on a website – whether that site is run by you or managed by a company that will “host” your blog.

Blogs started coming into the general public’s awareness with a large number of political blogs written during the 2004 U.S. Presidential election campaign. Because of this, you may think blogging is part journalism and part political commentary, and therefore not of interest to you or the advancement of your business.

Blogs can be journalism. They can be political commentary. They can be personal diaries or journals. They can also be way for you to show your uniqueness and build a conversation around your business and professional interests. That is how I use mine.

Technically Speaking

Because blogs are designed to be easily updated and are already on a website (don’t worry you don’t need to know ANYTHING about websites or web design to start one), you may find a blog could replace or supplement an email newsletter. They are easier to do, easier to update, and you don’t have to worry about emails getting delivered!

If you already have a website, adding a blog can help you get more visitors who are interested in you because you will be writing about your area of expertise. And since the search engines love websites that are tightly focused and updated often, your site can move up quickly in the search rankings.

There are plenty of places to learn much more about the technical aspects of blogs and blogging. Just do your own search on Google (or your favorite search engine) to get the latest information.

How It Can Benefit You

Let’s say you are an insurance agent. You have expertise in life insurance and a specific set of benefits you bring to your Clients. A blog gives you a platform to talk about the latest ideas related to life insurance and life planning. You can give Clients (and potential Clients) tips and checklists. You can give them new ideas. You can relate the latest news to your products and services. The ideas are endless; these are just meant to be a start.

Of course, if you aren’t in life insurance you change the topics – but the premise and the benefits remain the same. While there are many, here are three specific benefits you will find:

Getting to know you. The blog becomes a part of how you brand yourself. If people read it, they should feel like they are getting to know you and getting to know what your beliefs and values are. Imagine your best referral sources sending potential referrals to your blog as a way to help them get to know you deeper, faster. In this way your blog can be leverage – people are even more qualified if they call you or may already “know” you when you they make the referral call.

Making it easier. Have Clients that love you but have trouble knowing what to say about you? Encourage them to send their friends and colleagues to your blog as a way to make the connection. That way they don’t have to feel like they have to say the perfect words about your business in order to give the referral.

Keeps you “on top” of your game. By writing about your work and the benefits of your products and services often, you will stay current and fresh. This will help in all phases of your business, but it will also help you in networking situations by giving you something fresh and new to talk about when having conversations with possible Clients and new referrals. It also gives you new ideas to share with potential Clients as you build your relationship with them.

How It Has Helped Me

I started blogging in March of 2004. I have certainly gained the benefits described above. Beyond those, I have made new connections with potential colleagues and collaborators who have found my blog and sent me comments, feedback or questions.

By writing regularly (my goal is 4 entries or “posts” per week), seldom does a week go by that I don’t add someone to my network or use what I am writing to make a new connection with an existing or potential Client.

How to Get Started

Lots more can be said about blogging and how it might help you build your network, but this should give you some initial ideas. Hopefully after reading this you are intrigued by the possibilities and would like to learn more.

Here are the first four things I recommend that you do:

1. Start reading some blogs. Do a search in Google for blogs. If you are a chiropractor, search on chiropractic blogs. If you are a graphic designer, search on graphic design blogs. You get the idea. Read what others are doing and writing about. Email them and build your network with these people. Chances are they aren’t your competitors and they might be very willing to help you and perhaps even collaborate with you.

2. Learn About RSS. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is one way to “publish” your blog to the world. There are many free RSS readers that you can use to keep track of the blogs you are starting to read. Pick one (there are many) by searching for “Free RSS Reader” in your favorite search engine.

3. Read Debbie Weil. Debbie is an expert on blogging for business and she will be a good connection for you.

4. Start one! You can (and will want to) build a strategy and a plan later, but if you see value for you, jump in! Go to http://blogger.com (what I use) and get started in less than five minutes for free.

©Kevin Eikenberry 2005. Kevin is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To read his blog go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/blogs/index.asp or contact him directly at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Rebate Allowance Program

In an industry where every dollar counts, keeping spending costs as low as possible without sacrificing the quality of a child care program is every Director or child care facility owner’s primary concern. This is especially true when it comes to food and equipment costs.

The Rebate Allowance Program can help. “All that is required by a centre is to submit their monthly invoices from their food distributor. All the food companies are concerned about is usage. Operators don’t need to concern themselves with prices,” says Child Care Specialist Barbara Zimmerman, who operates the program.

The Rebate Allowance Program works with companies like Campbell’s Soup, General Mills, etc. to give back a portion of the product purchase price to the daycare. “Large centres and daycare chains can save anywhere from $100 a month up,” Zimmerman says.

While not all centres and dayhomes meet the delivery allowance requirements of food distributors to be able to use the RAP, they can work with their child care support group or agencies to pool resources and take advantage of the savings. It may require a bit of coordination to store and distribute the bulk orders to centres and family dayhomes within an organization, but the savings may well offset the initial setup. Zimmerman is certainly willing to assist anyone interested in utilizing the Rebate Program. All it takes is a quick phone call to Barbara at 913-663-3801. Or, send her an email: Barbarazimme@hotmail.com

Online Fundraising

Another option for smaller centers and family dayhomes is to get their parents, staff, and local community to utilize programs such as Schoolcash.com, or Safeway’s eSscript program.

By signing up your centre with the Schoolcash.com program, anyone can shop online at the over 250 brand-name stores on the SchoolCash Website and up to 30% of their purchase will go back to the school or group of your choice–at no extra cost! Sign-up is a snap too. They’ll even provide handouts and logos to help remind staff and parents to use the service. Visit them at schoolcash.com for
complete details.

Safeway’s eScrip is proven to be a fantastic resource for fundraising where participating business partners contribute a percentage of your grocery loyalty cards, credit card, and debit/ ATM card purchases to the school, group or organization of your choice. You can print off a complete list of participants in the program to hand out to parents, staff, family and community members to take advantage of the savings. To learn more, visit their Website – eScript.com.

Fundraising and Cost Saving Secrets
Do you have a cost saving or fundraising program that helps your daycare save money? Share your information in other childcare.net visitors in our Discussion Forms, a popular Member Services feature.

Tip…for programs that only support school-based programs, try registering as a preschool.

Now that you are in the daycare business, there are a number of decisions that have to be made in terms of keeping track of the business end of things. It’s great fun caring for the kids and doing crafts, the not-so-fun part can definitely be the business end of things. And, if you’re doing everything yourself, you may find the challenge a bit overwhelming

Daycare Bonus

First, there is a real bonus to operating a daycare out of your personal because there are special rules that apply only to daycare businesses – no others. Can the tax department really be that generous? In fact, you are allowed to count all the areas in your home used regularly for your business and not just those used exclusively for childcare when determining the space in the home that you can deduct. (Think kitchen and bathrooms). There is a specific calculation for this called the Time-Space Calculation. In this calculation a floor plan is used to determine the square footage of your rooms and what percentage of space is used for personal, business and shared space. Your accountant can help you with this one.

Expenses

Direct business expenses are those expenses you wouldn’t have if you didn’t have a daycare in your home. Things like advertising, Liability insurance, toys, arts and crafts supplies and extra groceries. Indirect expenses are those you share as an individual with your business. Rent, mortgage interest, taxes on the properly, utilities, house insurance, repairs and maintenance and other household costs fall into this category. There are plenty of estimators available online that can make calculating these numbers quite easy. These expenses go through the time-space calculations and the direct expenses go through the business tax return.

Assets

The last part of this phase is to decide what assets you have are capital assets – things you own that will last longer than a year. Your house, car, refrigerator, microwave, and furniture are all assets. These assets have to be depreciated, expensed over a period of time and not expensed in the current year. You have to determine what assets are shared or used directly by the business. Again, your accountant is the person to help you with all of this.

Startup Costs

In the US you are allowed to expense the first $5,000 of expenses in your first year of operation and any expenses over that amount are capitalized and amortized (divided equally) over 60 months. Things like legal fees, supplies, toys, daycare furniture, license fees, and education classes. Capital costs would be things like building a fence or adding a room.

Type of Business

There are several routes to go when choosing what type of business you’d like to be.

· The basic and easiest business to form is a sole proprietor. You are fully liable for all the debts and obligations of the business, period. Most facilities are sole proprietorships.

· A Single Member Limited Liability Company is an entity that will limit you from the full liability of the sole proprietorship.

· Partnerships are two or more people organized to operate a business. There is no limited liability and all partners are held responsible for the action of each partner.

· A corporation is considered an individual entity and, as such, needs to file its own income tax returns.

Family childcare providers owe it to themselves to learn as much as possible about record-keeping and taxes, as well as other important business issues such as contracts, policies, insurance, and legal issues. The best person to look out for your interests is you.

A good accountant is an important asset when it comes to sorting through the jungle of taxes. There are also great software programs available to help make record-keeping and tax time easier.