Name the location, age group, and care schedule. If fees differ between rooms or locations, give each a separate row or section. A single starting price can leave a family unsure which program they are reading about.

Use the same program names on the fee page, enquiry form, handbook, and offer. Include the currency if families may be comparing across a border.

Before writing, gather an actual invoice, the current agreement, the closure calendar, and the fee schedule for one program. Work through one ordinary month and one month containing a closure or start date. If those documents produce different answers, resolve the underlying policy with the responsible person before publishing a cleaner summary.

Write the billing unit beside the number: per day, week, month, or term. Say which scheduled days are billed and where families can read the closure and absence policy.

Texas Child Care Connection’s provider guidance includes payment amounts, due dates, late-payment terms, and late-collection charges among the topics to make clear. Use the rules and agreements that apply to your location when preparing your own information.

Vague wording sends families to your inbox, or to another provider. Here are common lines and what to write instead. Use the rewrites only where they match your real offer:

If you show a monthly equivalent, label it an average. A fictional $300 weekly fee billed for 52 weeks is $15,600 a year, averaging $1,300 a month. Weekly invoices still land on four or five Mondays depending on the month, so never present the average as an invoice.

• “From $60 per day” → “The Monday–Friday package is $300 per week. For a different schedule, request a quote.”
• “Materials may be extra” → “A $40 supply charge is due each September for all preschool families.”
• “Subsidy accepted” → “We participate in [program] at this location; the fee above [does / does not] already reflect it.”
• “Monthly: $1,300” → “Billed weekly at $300. Averaged over 52 weeks, that is about $1,300 a month.”
• “Deposit required” → “A $300 advance is due on acceptance and credited to week one. Refund conditions: [link].”

Source: Texas Child Care Connection: explaining fees and care arrangements

List what the stated fee includes. Describe any mandatory additional charge and its timing; mark optional services as optional. If meals or supplies vary by age group, put that information with the relevant program.

For any deposit or advance payment, explain when it is due, whether it is credited to later fees, and where the refund conditions can be read. Have the person responsible for your fees check that the page matches your current agreements.

Be specific enough to answer whether a charge is avoidable. “Materials may be extra” leaves an unknown in every budget. State which program incurs the charge, the amount, when it is due, and whether participation is optional. Apply local rules governing fee classification and permitted charges before deciding how to label the line.

If you mention a fee-reduction program, state the participation you have confirmed for that location and whether the published fee already reflects it. Rules differ by region: in Ontario, for example, a centre in the CWELCC program shows a reduced fee, while in the US a family's subsidy is usually a separate application and may change what they owe. Say which applies to you, and keep separate assistance applications distinct.

Avoid publishing a fee you expect to offer after an unconfirmed funding change as though it is available today. A future change can have its own effective date once confirmed.

This is the full template completed for a fictional preschool. Every line answers a question families ask, and the numbers match the worked example below. Copy the structure, then swap in your own confirmed details; remove lines that don’t apply. The blank version with bracketed fields is in the download above. It is a public-information template, not a substitute for your enrolment agreement or local rules.

The numbers below are fictional, in CAD, and not a suggested rate. They show how one set of facts should read on a fee page and then match the first invoice.

On the fee page: “Preschool, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.: CAD $300 per week. Lunch and two snacks included. Invoices due each Monday. All 52 weeks are billed, including the ten weekday closures on our annual calendar and any absences. No additional mandatory charges. No fee reduction is assumed in this amount. Different schedules need a separate quote.”

Now trace what a family actually pays:

• On acceptance: a CAD $300 advance, credited to week one.
• Week one: $300 fee minus $300 credit = $0 due. The advance changed the timing of cash, not the total.
• Week two and after: $300 each Monday, including the ten closure weeks.
• First year: $15,600 in tuition, not $15,900. On the ten closed weekdays the family still pays and may also need backup care.

If you offer several fixed schedules, give each its own care hours, rate, and billing basis. If you genuinely quote individually, explain which details determine the quote and how to request one. An unpublished price should remain an explicit question instead of being replaced with a starting figure that very few families can use.

Age transitions need their own explanation. If the invoice changes when a child moves rooms, state which event determines the change and how families are informed under your actual agreement. Do not let a public age-band table imply an automatic birthday reduction if your billing process works differently.

Run a five-minute test. Give a colleague only the page and ask them to answer the questions below. Any answer that needs knowledge the page doesn't contain is a gap.

Hand the page to someone who doesn't work for you.

• What will I pay before my child's first day?
• What will I pay in a normal month?
• What will I pay in a month with a closure or if my child is sick?
• What is not included?
• What should I do next, and who answers?

Assign one person to update the page when a rate, schedule, included service, or funding status changes. Check the handbook, listing, and offer template at the same time so a family does not receive conflicting information.

Review recurring parent questions after using the page. If several families ask what the same line means, revise that line. Track whether enquiries arrive with enough information to answer.