Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum Charging per lesson vs. per month

And you can practise the piano whenever you want. Bargain eh??

It's not at all confusing. You state the number of lessons per year and the price of each lesson, total it up and divide into equal payments. Simple. If the teacher has to miss a lesson for any reason they either make it up or deduct it from the following months fee. I have very few problems working this way and it certainly works better for me than pay as you go. My students seem to prefer it as well.

I'd be happy to enter into that kind of arrangements with my kid's teachers so long as there was reciprocity -- that is, I got a deduction from my fees if they were unable to make lessons.

But in that case, what's being described isn't really all that different from pay-on-the-day in practical terms.

Of course the best thing about working for yourself is that you get to choose how you do business. Over the years I have refined this part of my policy so that it works well for me and my clients. If they didn't like it then I guess they would go elsewhere.

It's the same in that you get the lessons you pay for. But it makes a huge difference to me, in fact I doubt I could run my business any other way. As a full time teacher I need to ensure that my income is broadly the same from one month to the next. Also with around 40 students all those individual cheque and cash payments would be a nightmare to keep track of. I could end up with 150 cheques to pay in every month and most business bank accounts will charge a lot for that. Not to mention the book keeping headaches.

Now if I had a regular job and just a couple of students on the side it would be a different matter. Pay as you go (preferably cash ;)) would be more attractive. I'm sure there are a lot of teacher's out there who do this.

I started charging by the quarter about 3 years ago and it has been the best move ever!
I have 2 families that still pay by month, due to finances, but I save a lot of time on billing. In reference to your other question, I go through all the days of the week one by one and charge that many times. (If there are 13 Mondays in the semester, they get charged for 13 lessons). It is still a pain, but the days are different from month to month, so I do it this way.

If I miss a lesson, I put a credit on their next bill (most people are amazed to see it, they usually have forgotten about it). I allow them 2 missed (unpaid) lessons per semester.

I used the pay by the lesson for less than a year. WAY too much of a pain, and I was trying to collect money from a no-show the week before that they didn't think they should have to pay etc... This way, I have much more control over the money and many fewer trips to the bank!

I would guess the teachers in my community are well split on this issue. I charge annual tuition, payable either by month or prepay, as the parent likes. Statements go out monthly. With a computer, this is less of a hassle than it used to be. It seems the more dedicated teachers, with larger studios, tend to go with monthly payments of some kind, whether based on annual tuition, or a flat monthly rate regardless of the number of weeks in the month.

Our professional organizations push us towards the tuition concept.

Part of the problem depends on what it is you're selling. Are you selling weekly music instruction, or are you selling access to your studio at a set time each week? Teachers who sell do little prep may be more comfortable with the pay by lesson model, those who do lots of prep feel significantly shortchanged when payment isn't forthcoming and go with the monthly fee structure.

I do something similar, but I only charge by the semester or they can pay monthly. I do like the idea of calling them installments rather than payments, because that suggests equal amounts. I'll have to use that!

As far as invoicing and billing goes, it does take some time, but it's once a month that I send out bills. I took down emails addresses this year of students who wanted to receive email invoices. Then I use Quickbooks to charge the students who are monthly on the 15th of the month, then I either emailed them or printed and mailed them. I charge a bit more for monthly students since there's more work on my end to invoice and collect.

I started doing invoices early on in my teaching for two reasons: it's my main source of income, and it gives me some leverage for no-shows or last minute cancellations to go shopping (OK, that last one only happened once, but last minute cancellations for any reason come up).

I would not make any major changes like this until the summer so you can give plenty of notice. Perhaps inform parents now that it will become mandatory, in the summer, but if they wanted to, they can pay monthly at their option for now. You'd be surprised how many people prefer this because it's more convenient to not have to remember the checkbook or have the cash each week. Especially when parents just drop off the kids, or the students drive themselves to lessons.

I always make up any lessons I miss if I'm sick or there is something that comes up like a funeral. I have designated days where I conduct make up lessons, when I don't have regularly scheduled students: Monday & Tuesday the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and at the end of Spring semester. I can always do a make-up on another day if I have the time, but these days are guaranteed available for make ups.

Students know that they get 17 lessons per semester. They pay to receive those 17 lessons. If they are unable to call to cancel 24 hours in advance, or unable to swap with another student when a scheduling conflict arises, then they do not receive a make up. I make exceptions, however, if a student is sick. I had a sick student show up for voice lessons yesterday, and I sent her home. She drove herself and she is very dedicated to singing, but it would not have been productive. I'll reschedule her for another day, no problem.

I have been wondering about this one part for a year - Why do some of you create invoices? Your students are regular and know the amount, and are capable of paying you without receiving a bill - so what is the reason for this extra work?

The same could be said of your car payment or any other bill where the amount doesn't change. And yet, they send out statements as well. It is a reminder of when to pay, not necessarily what. Although sometimes a book was given or something that is owed for in addition to lessons.

KS, part may be due to perceptions. People perceive that professions behave one way, non-professionals another. That doesn't make it so, but it's the way a lot of people operate.

I've tried everything. At first, I charged by the week. Some parents preferred to pay for the whole month, which was fine. The problem I had was being paid for missed lessons. Students/parents were much more casual about not coming to a lesson if something came up, and then balked at paying for it. It was something I battled almost weekly with one student or another.

Then I switched to a monthly fee, and ran into the parents who wanted discounts for short months, etc.

I just switched this year to a semester fee, payable in 4 equal payments at the beginning of each month. A fourth of my students chose to pay for the whole semester, the others pay monthly.

I am prepared for a few problems, because this is new. So far, though, everyone seems to be on board. In an effort to ward off problems, I spelled it out in detail in my letter/policy.

The semester fee covers 15 lessons, and comes out to a certain amount / week, assuming the student comes to every lesson. (I do allow some make-ups.) It it NOT equal to the number of weeks in any given month. This has been a stumbling block for some.

For those who have given me an email address (which, in my studio is all except one) I send out a monthly newsletter. I send it out at the end of each month, and the opening statement is a reminder that payment is due the following week for those who are paying monthly. (About a quarter of my students paid for the whole semester at once.) For the one student who does not have email, I write in her assignment book when tuition is due. Her mother's English is not good, and it is easier to do this than try to get her to understand that she owes me more when it is late.

John, I'm not sure that I understand what you are saying. Are you saying that you write invoices in the belief that people will perceive you as a professional because they are getting an invoice - psychology? That is a new thought to me. I thought you might say that your accountant or the tax folk prefer it for transparency, or something of that nature. Or that it helps a client remember. But the psychology factor makes some sense. For example, people associate the trappings of businesses with being 'real'. Thus someone will go to an agency which has an office and secretary to get a translation because if there is an office and secretary, they must be real. The agency contacts me, I do the translation, and they hand it over to the client who has to pay a lot more. If they went to me directly they'd save a bundle and get exactly the same service but without the office ... same deal as your invoices. The psychology of appearances.

For me as a student, a professional teacher is one who understands what he is teaching and how to teach it, and can demonstrate it. Being punctual, prepared, and organized would go into it. Invoices wouldn't. But I suppose for some people these trappings make a difference - an interesting thought.

It just seems an awful lot of work if it's not necessary.

If you're using software to do your book-keeping it's probably not much extra work. Some people need official invoices for tax purposes; some people just like them for their own records. But I suspect that, as you say, for most people it's just a perception thing. Your accountant invoices you, but your babysitter doesn't.

I've wondered this myself. I know there was a brief discussion about his on another thread a while back. I could see if students were paying based on how many lessons they received that month, and the figure would change from month to month. But when the fee is exactly the same each month I don't see the need to send out an invoice.

Now, for NEW students who may not be used to the regularity of writing out a monthly check, I will send out an email at the end of the month that states: "Just a reminder that tuition for October is due next week. Please refer to your Studio Policy for more detailed information".


Regarding students paying for the year's tuition up front:

I usually have anywhere from 10-20% of my students pay for the entire year's tuition in advance. They do receive a small discount for doing so, but most parents pay this way because of convenience of not having to worry about writing that monthly check. Also, these are typically students who I've had for a long time; they know me well and trust that I'm not going to go out of business and leave them hanging in the middle of the year.

Actually, my accountant doesn't. And I often don't. Businesses need invoices from me, but private clients usually don't. What prompted the question in the first place is that I've been reading how time consuming the monthly payment process is, which is why some teachers give a discount for seasonal payments. Given that private teachers have the same students paying the same amount each month, I wondered why that would be. Invoicing involves printing out the invoice, mailing it out to 150 people (John's number), possibly marking the invoice as paid. That would have to take at least an hour a month - if it's not necessary, why do it? That is, if it's only for appearances and impressions. Has anyone ever checked whether this impression of professionalism via invoices is true? I've also been learning from this thread, which is why from time to time a question will pop up.

KS, I am merely pointing out that many people have perceptions. A lot of parents know nothing about lessons, preparations, what teachers do behind the scenes, public or private (even some public school teachers think piano teachers do nothing behind the scenes). Invoicing is one of those signals of being professional.

However, you should know that there are many split families, where child support calls for one parent to pay for lessons, even though the child is in custody of the other parent. Invoices are called for by the courts to solve payment disputes. Had one of these last fall, BTW.

Also, if you are keeping computerized books for tax purposes, preparing invoices is very little extra effort. And it allows you to keep track of other incidentals, like fees for Guild auditions, new music books, recital entrance fees, etc.

Thank you, John. That makes sense.

I charge a monthly TUITION and I call it that (I think a semester or quarterly fee is also a good idea) Gymnastics, Dance and Martial Arts charge similar monthly fees in this area.

The additional advantages to monthly tuition fees over weekly fees:

1.If a student misses they have ALREADY paid for the lesson. If they pay weekly and miss a lesson, asking them to pay for that lesson could be awkward.

2. I believe paying ahead also cuts down on cancellations. When I used to allows reschedules I found that not only did I have an open spot (and paying a babysitter) but I spent 15 minutes on the phone rescheduling and then used up another lesson spot. One cancellation costs a lot in time. If lessons are 30 minutes, you now are eating up an hour and 15 minutes to accommodate that student. Even if you fill the students cancelled spot you spend another 15 minutes with the next rescheduled student…..Missed lessons, in my studio, are for the most part forfeited

3. Writing payments and check numbers in my record books every week is time that should be spent on teaching. I find it much more efficient to take payments the first week of the month.

4. I include all the books and music in the tuition payment. My families appreciate that fixed expense every month. They prefer once a month rather then having the cash or writing a check every week.

5. Like Ebony said, fewer trips to the bank. I probable collect 25 checks a month. Collecting that many payments weekly is a lot of work.

My monthly fee remains the same regardless of four or five weeks in a month. I also take off 4 holidays during the year and do not prorate those months. Those holidays are compensated when I teach a five week month.

I also add extra lessons for students who are preparing for auditions or recitals. I don’t charge for those. I may tell a student to practice the triplet and come back on Sunday afternoon. I am very busy before big events but I do not charge for the extra lessons.

I rarely have complaints about how I handle my tuition charge. Parents appreciate the simplicity and it makes my job easier. I can concentrate on teaching.

Even if it is typical of the teachers to charge weekly in your area, why not do it different? It will help you stand out. Good luck.

The fellow who is my new teacher charges by the month. It is the same amount every month, due on the last week of every month for the following month. No makeups.

He also states that he will take two non-consecutive weeks vacation every year.

At first, I found this a little off-putting. But upon reflection, I figured that in the final analysis, I'd pay about the same anyway. At least this is simple for everybody, and allows him a steady income (which is a benefit to me because he is likely to be happier and stay in business longer).

Hop