Termly billing is for students who pay for a block of lessons in advance, the way most school-term teaching works. My Studio Tracker raises one invoice, tracks the lessons against it, applies your cancellation policy and remembers who is owed a make-up.
How a term works
- The student is set to Termly billing and has weekly lessons in the calendar.
- You start a term: the next 10 scheduled lessons (or however many you choose) are claimed for it and one invoice is raised, due the day before the first lesson.
- Each lesson that happens, or is missed without proper notice, uses one credit. Lessons cancelled properly, cancelled by you, or excused keep their credit and are owed a make-up.
- When all credits are used, you close the term and start the next.
Your term settings
In Settings, Terms and cancellations sets the defaults: lessons per term (10), the reminder days before the term for an unpaid term invoice (14, 7 and 1), the cancellation notice in hours (24), and the policy wording printed on every term invoice. The wording is yours to edit; the default explains the notice rule, forfeits and excused absences in plain English. Keep the numbers in the wording in step with the numbers in the settings.
Start a term
On the student's page, the Start a term card suggests a name (Autumn, Spring or Summer and the year), the first lesson date and your default lesson count and price. Add recurring lessons first if none exist yet. Press Start term: the scheduled, unassigned lessons from the start date are claimed in date order. If fewer lessons are scheduled than the term needs, the term still starts and tells you how many are in it; add more lessons and use Add next lessons to term.
The term invoice
The term invoice is for the whole term (lessons times price per lesson) and is due the day before the first lesson. Untick Send the term invoice now to keep it as a draft, for example to add a book to it first. Part payments are allowed, and the pay page lets the student choose an amount. The reminders before the term start are separate from your normal reminder schedule. Once the term has begun, reminders continue on the normal schedule until it is paid.
Credits: what uses one and what does not
| Outcome | Credit used? | Make-up owed? |
|---|---|---|
| Attended | Yes | No |
| No-show | Yes | No |
| Late cancellation (less than the notice) | Yes (forfeit) | No |
| Cancelled with enough notice | No | Yes |
| Cancelled by you | No | Yes |
| Excused absence | No | Yes |
The student's page shows credits used, credits left, how many lessons are scheduled, and a progress bar.
Cancellations and the notice rule
When you record a cancellation, My Studio Tracker compares the time of the lesson with the time now against your notice setting, and tells you the result before you confirm. Rehearsals, auditions and show weeks count as ordinary student cancellations: with enough notice a make-up is owed, without it the lesson is forfeit. That is the default policy wording; if you are more lenient, change the wording and use the excuse tick-box.
Excused absences
Two reasons, illness and unexpected school commitment, can be excused even on the day. Choose the reason and tick Excuse this absence. The credit is kept and a make-up is owed. The tick-box is deliberately yours: an unticked illness on the day is treated by the normal notice rule.
Make-up lessons
Make-ups owed are listed on the student's page and counted on the home page. Book make-up creates a lesson linked to the missed one, in the same term, at no charge. The make-up shows as Make-up lesson (no extra charge) and uses the credit the missed lesson kept. Make-ups are expected within the term; if a term closes with make-ups outstanding, they are still listed until booked.
Add lessons to a term
If forfeits or a short series leave the term with fewer scheduled lessons than credits, Add next lessons to term claims the next unassigned scheduled lessons. It says how many were added, or that there were none, in which case add lessons to the calendar first.
Close a term and start the next
When every credit is used, the term shows Close term. Closing it clears the way for the next: the student's page immediately offers Start a term again with the next date suggested. The home page lists termly students who need a new term.
Cancel a term
Cancel term releases its unfinished lessons back to ordinary scheduled lessons and voids the term invoice if nothing has been paid on it. If something has been paid, the invoice is left for you to settle with the student. Use it for a term started by mistake; for a student who stops mid-term, it is usually clearer to leave the term and archive the student.