Daycare Contract Template: What Goes in the Nine Sections
The contract template in the Startup Paperwork Bundle has nine sections: parties and
the child, schedule of care, tuition and payment, deposit and registration fee, closures,
absences, termination and withdrawal, changes, and signatures. This page takes them in
that order, one at a time, with three sample clauses in bracketed form. The template
itself is a fill-in .docx: bracketed blanks and write-in lines, guidance notes to the
provider throughout, and every dollar amount a placeholder. The
parent handbook template, sixteen
sections, has its own page.
Read this first. This page teaches structure and wording.
It does not, and cannot, tell you what is enforceable where you live: contract law and
childcare licensing rules vary by state and change. Have your finished contract reviewed
by a professional for your jurisdiction before any family signs it.
The nine sections
Parties and child. Your name and program name, the parents' or
guardians' names, the child's name and date of birth. One contract per child keeps the
paperwork clean when siblings have different schedules.
Schedule of care. The contracted days and hours, and a plain sentence
that care outside those hours is by prior agreement. This is the clause your
late pickup terms hang from.
Tuition and payment. The rate you chose, the period it covers, the day
it is due, how it is paid, and what happens when it is late. Amounts go here, in numbers,
not "as discussed."
Enrollment deposit or registration fee, if you charge one. How much,
what it covers, and whether any of it is refundable, stated before it changes hands.
Closures. Which holidays you close, how much vacation you take,
whether tuition continues through closures, and how you handle your own sick days.
Whatever you decide, the contract is where it stops being a surprise.
Absences. What happens to tuition when the child is out for illness or
family vacation. Many providers write that tuition holds the spot regardless of
attendance; whatever your policy is, write it as a sentence a parent can repeat.
Termination and withdrawal. How much written notice each side gives,
whether tuition is owed through the notice period, and the narrow cases where you may end
care faster. This is the clause most worth professional review.
Changes. How the agreement changes: in writing, with a stated notice
window. Your future tuition increase
letter works because this clause exists.
Signatures and date. Both parents or guardians where possible, you,
and the date. Give the family a copy and keep the original.
Sample clauses
These show tone and structure. Every bracketed item is a placeholder for your own
number or term, and the wording itself should go through your reviewer.
Sample tuition clause: replace bracketed terms with yours
Tuition is [$ amount] per week for [child's name]'s enrollment, due each [Friday] for
the following week, paid by [method]. A payment received after [day and time] incurs a
late fee of [$ amount]. If tuition is more than [number] days late, care may be suspended
until the account is current.
Sample spot-holding clause: replace bracketed terms with yours
Tuition reserves [child's name]'s spot and is due regardless of attendance, including
illness, family vacation, and program closures listed in this agreement. Families receive
[number] credited absence days per year; unused days do not carry over.
Sample withdrawal clause: replace bracketed terms with yours
Either party may end this agreement with [two weeks'] written notice. Tuition is owed
through the notice period whether or not the child attends. The provider may end care
without the notice period if [conditions you and your reviewer define].
What stays out of the contract
Daily schedule, menus, and activities. Handbook material; they change
too often to live in a signed document.
Your guidance and discipline approach. Handbook. Parents should read
it before signing, but it is philosophy, not terms.
Anything you will not enforce. A fee you always waive or a notice
period you never hold teaches families that the whole document is decoration.
Set the numbers before you set the clauses
The tuition clause is only as good as the rate you write into it. The
free income and capacity planner takes your spots, your weekly rates, your
weeks of care, and your monthly expenses, and shows your gross, expenses, and net before
taxes as you type. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
The Startup Paperwork Bundle's contract template carries the nine sections above,
written and ready to fill in. The bundle also contains a parent handbook template in
sixteen sections (19 pages as shipped, before your details expand it) and fifteen
operating documents. Every document is a fill-in template with bracketed blanks and
guidance notes to the provider; every dollar amount is a bracketed placeholder. Standard
.docx files with no macros; they open in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, LibreOffice, and
Apple Pages. One zip, under 1 MB. One program license: edit and print freely, no resale.
Each template carries its own standing note: educational template, not legal advice,
check your state's own required forms first. The bundle's rule throughout: have finished
paperwork reviewed for your jurisdiction. Sold by Orion's Comet LLC. Not affiliated with
any state agency. Templates, not legal advice.