'How many lessons do we have left?'
A parent buys a block of ten lessons for GCSE maths. Six weeks later she emails to ask how many are left. The office opens the package spreadsheet: she has had six, but one was a ninety-minute lesson which your terms count as one and a half, and one was a late cancellation, which counts under your policy. The answer is two and a half, probably.
Another family's package ran out three lessons ago and nobody noticed. The tutor has carried on teaching and the agency has carried on paying her. Now someone has to tell the parent they owe for three lessons they thought were covered.
Why package balances go wrong
- Balances are counted by hand from lesson logs, often at month end.
- Lessons of different lengths use up the package at different rates.
- Cancellations count or do not, depending on your policy and on who applies it.
- A family switching tutor or subject mid package breaks the spreadsheet row.
- Nobody is prompted when a package is about to run out.
What package confusion costs
Lessons taught after a package runs out, which are awkward to bill for afterwards. Parents who feel short-changed when their count differs from yours. Office time answering balance questions. Missed renewals: a family whose package runs out quietly may simply stop, when a timely reminder would have kept them.
There is an accounting cost too. Prepaid money is owed to families as lessons until it is used. Knowing the true outstanding balance matters to your accountant.
How we build package tracking
- Packages are set up as products: number of lessons or hours, subjects covered, price, and any expiry date you use.
- When a parent buys one, by card through Stripe or by invoice, the package is added to their account.
- Each confirmed lesson reduces the balance by the right amount for its length, under your rules.
- Cancellations reduce it, or not, according to your policy, recorded at the time.
- Parents see their remaining balance in the portal or in each lesson reminder.
- When the balance reaches a point you choose, the parent gets a renewal prompt and the office is told.
- If a balance reaches zero with lessons still scheduled, you choose: pause the lessons, bill per lesson, or alert the office. Tutors are paid for every lesson taught as normal.
| Event | Package balance | Tutor pay |
|---|---|---|
| Standard lesson confirmed | Down by one lesson | Paid as usual |
| Longer lesson confirmed | Down by its length under your rules | Paid for the length |
| Late cancellation, charged | Down, as your policy says | As your policy says |
| Balance low | Renewal prompt to parent | Unchanged |
The accounting treatment of prepaid packages is for your accountant. The system provides the balance figures they need.
After the change
The parent who asked about her balance sees '2.5 lessons left' in her reminder email. When it drops to one lesson, she gets a prompt to renew, and buys another block. The family whose package ran out never gets into that position: the office is told when the balance is low, and again if lessons are scheduled past zero.
At month end, your accountant gets the outstanding package balance across all families in one figure, with the detail behind it.
Moving existing packages across is usually a one-off job: the office confirms each family's current balance, with the parent where there is doubt, and from then on the system keeps it. Families generally welcome being told their balance clearly, especially if they have been unsure for a while.
Do packages cause headaches at your agency?
- Package balances are kept in a spreadsheet.
- Parents ask how many lessons they have left.
- Lessons are taught after a package has run out.
- Renewals depend on the parent remembering.
- Your accountant asks for prepaid balances and it takes time to work out.