Hi there! I'm a private harp teacher in the U.S. with many years of experience who has always charged per lesson. I am thinking about switching to a "per semester" pay schedule where students would pay a set amount from September through December and again from January through June and receive a set amount of lessons. My goal is to cut down on cancelations and to insure that I am compensated when cancelations happen.

I am interested in getting feedback from other private teachers who have done something similar. How do you structure payment? How do you handle make-up lessons? Etc. I would greatly appreciate any input or ideas on from teachers who have tried this.

Thanks!

Kim

Hi Kim,
I have "core-term" dates which are invoiced half-termly in advance for each of the three terms
(Jan - March, April - July and September - December). Lessons are charged within those dates. Lessons missed for "good" reasons are made up (or at least offered) outside core-terms. When lessons are missed without notice I don't make up or refund.


Where a student has a problem with one date and this is seen ahead of time, it's sometimes possible to swap that day - this simply counts as the original date's lesson.

Lessons are occasionally credited (on the following invoice) in very exceptional circumstances or where I am able to use a cancelled lesson time for another pupil.

Hope this is useful. Good luck with your plans.

I charge monthly in advance.
I make up missed lessons where possible but otherwise they are charged for.

As a 'customer' I would find it hard to pay for as large a number of lessons at once as you are proposing.
Anything over a month at a time can be difficult to budget for and it soon gets to be an awful lot of money to have to find in one go. As most people are paid monthly I find monthly charging more manageable.

I charge 4 weeks in advance. If a pupil gives me at least 48 hours notice of a cancellation, I'll give them a credit. If pupils often mess me about I don't help them out with rearranging a lesson. As Tony Blair might say, "I'm tough on missed lessons and tough on the causes of missed lessons"!

Thanks to all of you for your input. I'm still thinking about the best way to arrange this, so anyone else who can pipe in please do!

KIM

I charge half termly in advance. I do usually credit for missed lessons but only cos I know a lot of my pupils parents socially so I find it difficult to be too hardline. Having said that I have to pay for mine termly in advance with no credits unless lots of notice.

If you are changing systems it may be a good idea to say that if it is a problem you would offer a couple of terms of half termly payments or something, so no-one is struggling to pay. For new pupils you can just lay it on the line from the beginning as my teacher did (I had to sign a letter to say I understood the conditions) and then everyone knows where they stand.

i charge 4 weeks in advance, and if someone is ill, i roll the lesson on a week, or put them in a different time later that week, but if theyre on holiday i charge half or add another lesson in the week. All ways of rearranging. I never refund.

I charge for a term of ten weeks in advance. All lessons missed through non-attandance are charged for, but in very exceptional circumstances I will give an extra lesson at a later date if possible. When I started asking for fees to be paid in advance it was amazing how attendance improved instantly....

At the beginning of every term every student gets a calendar of dates for their lessons, and is told how much the term will cost.

How and when they settle the bill I leave up to them.

Some like to pay the whole lot in one go, others in instalments. As a parent I understand that the beginning of term can be a nightmare because all the clubs (ballet, swimming, etc.) issue their bills at that time. I like to be flexible with my students. With one exception, this system has worked. I get paid for all the lessons, and they get to choose which billing system suits them.

Cheers,

Karen

Good point, but I don't see why I should let my fees wait so that someone can pay fees for swimming or trampolining. I'm quite sure fees for clubs etc have to be paid in full and the same goes for music lessons. Music is education and should be more important than leisure activities.

Thanks so much to all for the input. I am leaning towards charging for the term as some of you have described but I will be flexible on payment. If they need to pay in installments I will work something out, but the point is that they must commit to a set number of lessons in the term. I really appreciate your insights.

KIM

I too charge termly in advance. I used to do it weekly with some not turning up and expecting to have another lesson instead another time. I was so fed up with being messed around that i changed it to monthly but then some parent were still wanting weekly. in the end i just said ok termly no refunds unless exceptional circumstances. If there are circumstances which mean they cannot legitimately pay per term i do allow other payment methods.

It may seem harsh but we are trying to earn a living and not just pocket money!!

My own children do other clubs and music lessons and I have to pay termly in advance with no refunds for missed lessons so why shy this be any different.

I have seen a dramatic improvement in attendance as a result. ( I also now have a waiting list so parents can't mind that much having to pay up front!)

Recently I have laid down a few ground rules about payment. I specify the dates I am teaching in each half term.Parents pay half termly in advance. Any lesson missed will not be made up. I have decided on this arrangement as I have been messed about in the past with some parents.

10 weeks payable on the 1st week of term (we have 4 10 week terms in NZ). I give out an invoice on the last lesson of the term - so you have 3 weeks to save up!

Rates increase each October. Usually by whatever cost of living pay rise my husband got (his company are pretty middle of the road).

Lessons I miss (I always seem to get at least one tummy bug a year) are credited to the next term.

Exam fees and books are payable immediately.

The music school here charges for a whole years lessons (plus enrolment fee) in one hit - so I am extremely affordable by comparison.

This thread is being extremely useful for me, as I have a similar one going at the moment. I am preparing to charge my pupils upfront, but I always get their books for them now, as it used to hold us back when they got them as eg. "Mum never got into town this week"...etc (us Mum's always get the blame don't we?). What do you all do regarding payment for the books? I was thinking of putting them on the bill, but would that be a problem for tax purposes? I don't make money on the books, but I wondered if it looked like I was into sales if they appeared on the bills?

I get 10% off my music books and then on sell them at full price. My tax return shows the amount I paid for the book and then later the amount it sold for - I then pay tax on my 10% profit only. I only tend to sell them the first tutor book so that we can start straight away. I may also sell on second hand music, which saves pupils money and makes me more than 10% usually.

All my pupils are issued with a contract which the perents have to sign, stating clearly that I teach every week in school time. Lessons missed due to anything other than illness are charged at full price. Lessons missed due to illness are charged at half price. Surprisingly, I get few 'sickies'. I also insist on four weeks notice, or payment in lieu of notice.

My private pupils I teach at home pay weekly, although still under the terms of the contract - my pupils I teach at school pay termly. It was half-termly but it was such a nightmare getting some parents to pay (and the same few each time) that I am changing it to termly as of this September. I did have one parent (at school) who refused to sign the contract, saying she would not pay for missed lessons or pay in advance. I simply refused to teach her child.

As for books, I do usually buy the books as the music shop is not far - and then I send a note home saying how much it was and the parents just send in the money. I don't put it on the invoice.

I now get pupils' books for them too, as I've also had the "mummy didn't get it" syndrome. (And no matter how clear you are about which book to get, they still manage to get the wrong ones occasionally!) Our local music shop posts things out as quickly as the internet does. I put the books on the bill, but itemise it clearly and don't include books in tax returns. For supplementary material, I find virtualsheetmusic.com very handy. A year's membership is pretty cheap, and I put this down as an expense.