Vacancy Cost Calculator
What your empty places are worth each year.
9.6 extra booked places per day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year. Before costs.
How the calculation works
The calculator multiplies the extra booked places per day by your average daily fee, your operating days per week and your operating weeks per year. Occupancy here means average booked daily places divided by available daily places. Both terms are defined in the childcare occupancy glossary.
What this number is not
It is gross fee revenue before costs, not profit. It assumes the target occupancy is held for the whole year and that your rooms, ratios and staffing can carry the extra places. Some extra places need extra educators, so profit rises by less than this figure.
Common questions
How do you calculate the cost of empty childcare places?
Multiply the extra booked places per day by your average daily fee, your operating days per week and your operating weeks per year. The result is estimated annual gross fee revenue, before costs.
Is vacancy cost the same as lost profit?
No. Vacancy cost is gross fee revenue before costs. Some extra places need extra educators, so profit rises by less than the vacancy cost.
Why does occupancy by room and day matter more than the average?
An average hides where the empty places sit. A centre at 78% occupancy may be full in one room and well short in another, and only those specific room-days can actually be filled.