# Provider Partnership Prep Guide — What to Ask For, What to Refuse

*Community Engagement Hub — Provider Partnerships*

You are the supply side of every employer child care deal. This guide is
yours: how to enter an employer partnership as a business, not a favor.

## Before the first meeting

- Know your real capacity: spots you have open, spots you could open with
  guaranteed revenue, and the age groups behind each number.
- Know your real cost per spot (use the Pricing Worksheet) — not your
  posted tuition, your cost. Reserved-slot deals priced off tuition alone
  usually underprice the guarantee you're giving.
- Decide your non-negotiables in advance. It is much harder to refuse
  terms at the table.

## What to ask for

1. **A reservation fee whether or not the slot fills.** The employer is
   buying certainty; certainty has a price. Standard structure: monthly fee
   per reserved slot, credited against tuition when filled.
2. **Annual terms with a real notice period** (90 days), so one HR change
   at the employer doesn't destabilize your enrollment mid-year.
3. **Tuition autonomy.** Rate changes on your normal schedule with notice —
   the employer contracts for access, not price control.
4. **A named contact** at the employer and a quarterly check-in.
5. **Payment terms you can bank on** (net 15, monthly, invoiced — not
   reimbursement-shaped).

## What to refuse

1. **Curriculum, staffing, or operational control.** You run the program.
   Any partner who wants approval rights over your classroom is buying a
   different product than you sell.
2. **Exclusivity** without paying for the whole capacity they're locking.
3. **Discounts framed as "exposure."** Visibility doesn't make payroll.
4. **Paperwork that costs more than the deal** — if their procurement
   process demands hours of monthly reporting for two slots, price the
   administration in or decline.
5. **Verbal agreements.** Every term above goes in the written agreement
   (start from the hub's partnership contract template; get legal review —
   ask your coalition who other providers used).

## Questions that protect you

- "What happens to the fee if the slot sits empty because your employee
  left?" (Answer should be: you keep it.)
- "Who at your company owns this after the person who negotiated it
  leaves?"
- "Can we start with two slots for one year and review?"

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*Demonstration content — adapt to your program; not legal advice.*