The bill for a hired caregiver is hours times rate, plus whatever the paperwork adds. You set most of the hours and the job list yourself, before any company gives you a number. If you choose those settings on a phone call, the number you get back is a guess about your house. Write the settings first, then compare.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Step 1: Map the gaps by hour, not by day

  1. Take one sheet of paper and draw four rows: Morning, Midday, Evening, Overnight.
  2. For each row, write the hours your parent needs someone in the house. Mark each row Fixed (same every day) or Moves (changes by day).
  3. Add the Fixed hours and the Moves hours separately for one full week.
  4. Write the weekly total at the bottom. Every company must quote against this number.

Morning: ____ to ____ (Fixed / Moves)

Midday: ____ to ____ (Fixed / Moves)

Evening: ____ to ____ (Fixed / Moves)

Overnight: ____ to ____ (Fixed / Moves)

Weekly total: ____ hours

Step 2: Name the settings that move the number

These are the settings most likely to change a quote. Check each one against your map and mark it yes or no before the first call.

  • Shift length. A short visit and a long one may carry different rates, so write the length you actually need.
  • Overnight coverage. Ask whether the caregiver is awake or asleep through the window, and whether that changes the rate.
  • Weekend and early or late hours. Ask for the rate for each time band, not one average.
  • Physical help that needs a second person or equipment. Ask which tasks the company will not do, and whether those tasks change the price.
  • Number of people. Two caregivers covering one house means two bills.
  • Travel. Ask whether travel time to your house is billed.

Step 3: Ask every company the same three questions

  1. What is your hourly rate for the exact weekly total I wrote down?
  2. Does the rate change for early, late, overnight, or weekend hours? Please give me each rate on its own line.
  3. If I add or remove hours in a given week, which rate applies to the change?

Answers to listen for:

  • One written rate per time band, matched to your map.
  • A clear answer on what happens when hours change, stated in a sentence you can copy down.

Signs to walk away:

  • The quote is one number with "it depends" attached and no line you can trace back to your hours.
  • The rate changes when you name the overnight window and nobody can say why.
  • The company will not put the time-band rates in writing.

Step 4: Write the bill on one page

Put every quote on the same page, using the same lines: weekly hours, rate for each time band, total estimate. Leave a cell blank if a company did not answer. A blank line is information.

Company: ____

Weekly hours I gave: ____

Rate for daytime hours: ____

Rate for early, late, or overnight hours: ____

Rate for weekend hours: ____

Total estimate at my weekly total: ____

Step 5: Check the first invoice against the map

The first invoice is where the estimate and the real hours meet. Compare the hours billed to your map, line by line. If the hours are higher than the map, ask which setting changed, such as a visit running long or an overnight window that became a wake-up. Write the reason next to the line. If you cannot name a reason, the quote was not complete, and you should go back to Step 3 with the same three questions.

For the wider order of steps, see Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring. Local options and who to call are listed on Local Help for Hiring a Caregiver. Where each rule in this sheet comes from is on Sources, and how the sheets are built is on How We Write the Sheets.