In the process of opening a childcare facility, one of the most crucial factors to consider is budgeting. The process of establishing a budget allows you to estimate your revenue and expenditures, as well as track the financial results of your company over a certain time period.

When starting a daycare or childcare facility, there are a number of expenditures that you need to take into consideration, including the wages of the staff, the rent, and a variety of other fees. 

Salaries and the ratio of teachers to students

The number of children you accept will impact the number of instructors or staff members you recruit. The National Quality Framework (NQF) establishes the minimum educator to child ratio guidelines for childcare facilities. The ratio of teachers to children at childcare in Victoria is between 1:4 and 1:11. When it comes to the payment that educators get, the average hourly rate that they receive is between $23.11 and AU$25.78.

Administration Costs

Admin staff for your childcare facility is required to be present while the instructors are responsible for the care of the children. Administrative workers are responsible for ensuring that all activities, both internal and external, are carried out without any hiccups. In addition to other responsibilities, they are responsible for collecting bills, placing orders for supplies, and taking phone calls.

In Australia, the average hourly wage for professionals working in childcare is $21.41 per hour. Additionally, you should take into consideration the office hardwares that they will use on a regular basis in addition to their wage. Appliances such as a desktop computer, a printer, and a landline are among the most important ones.

Rent and utility costs

Unless you have the financial means to purchase a facility or a piece of land, rent is a major portion of the budget for the childcare business. There are several states that require a certain minimum square metre for each child that is enrolled. In Victoria, a minimum of 3.25 square metres of indoor space is required per child.

The provision of water, power and garbage pickup are among the main utilities that are required in a daycare establishment. Each and every one of these utilities need to be accounted for in your budget. By requesting a quotation from the local utility suppliers in your area, you will be able to get an approximate value for your utilities.

Promotional activities

In light of the fact that you are beginning or running a daycare business, you should include marketing ideas into your budget. Word-of-mouth among parents is a method that may be used; nevertheless, it is possible that this method will not be sufficient to acquire a significant number of registrants. 

You may want to keep in mind the possibility of putting up a banner on your just established childcare facility. Alternatively, you might distribute flyers to parents in the neighbourhoods nearby. You might anticipate a significant increase in the number of registrants if you use the appropriate marketing strategies such as Google SEO, paid Ads and social media. These marketing activities could cost anywhere between a few hundred dollars to a few thousands each month.

Forecasting the income stream of childcare businesses may be slightly easier, while estimating and tracking the expenses is equally important for running childcare businesses of all sizes. 

For any discussion around running childcare businesses, talk to Mercury Business Sales and Valuation in Victoria.