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How money works between a family and a provider: tuition prices, charges raised by sessions, credits with approval, the shared transaction history, and paying a balance by card.
What it does
AltEd keeps a running ledger between each family and each provider they work with, so nobody has to do mental arithmetic or have the awkward "what do we owe you?" conversation:
Tuition prices — the provider names and prices each kind of tuition, once.
Charges — completed sessions raise charges automatically from that pricing.
Credits — goodwill gestures, cancelled classes or corrections are added as credits, and go through an approval step so both sides agree before the balance moves.
Absences — a missed session becomes an absence request for the other side to approve, so make-ups and charges never become arguments.
Transaction history — every charge, credit and payment in one running record that family and provider both see.
— families settle a balance by card, processed securely by Stripe. AltEd never sees or stores card numbers.
Ready to follow along in the app?
No password, no card — a magic link and you're in.
Sessions (which raise the charges): /dashboard/sessions
Step by step
Set tuition prices (providers)
Open Pricing & Billing › Tuition prices (/dashboard/credits?tab=pricing).
Add a price for each kind of tuition you offer — for example an hour of maths tuition.
Save. From now on, every completed session on that price charges the right amount automatically — no per-session invoicing.
Setting prices is free on every plan, and a class can show one to families. Charges through AltEd — for sessions and class fees — come with the Provider plan.
You can keep up to 50 tuition prices. A price that sessions or a session pack already use can't be removed — rename it if you no longer offer it.
Editing in the list. Under Tuition prices, click the value under Name or Price per session and it turns into a box you can type in. Press Enter to save, or Escape to put the old value back. A price must be above zero, in pounds and pence. A volume discount is set from the row's ⋯ menu → Edit price.
Adding from the list. The add row at the foot of the list takes a Name and a Price per session (£) — press Enter (or select Add) and the price is added, with the cursor back in the first box for the next one. Discounts are added afterwards from Edit price.
Let sessions raise charges
Schedule sessions with a learner as usual (/dashboard/sessions) — they appear on the family's shared calendar automatically.
After a session happens, both sides confirm it. A session confirmed by provider and family is what raises the charge — on the Provider plan. Without it no charge is raised, and the family pays you directly.
Sessions from a group class priced per session are charged the same way. A session from a free class, or one with a whole-class fee, has No charge.
If a session was missed, record the absence instead — an absence request goes to the other side for approval, and an approved absence doesn't charge.
Add a credit (with approval)
From the ledger, add a credit against the family — for a cancelled class, a goodwill gesture, or to correct a mistake.
The credit sits pending until it's approved by the other side.
Once approved, it reduces the balance and appears in the shared history like any other entry.
A family recording a payment they've made works the same way: the provider is notified and approves it or turns it down. A family can record a payment — or pay by card — only to a provider they're connected to, or one that still has an unpaid charge against them, so a family that ends a connection can still settle up, and nobody can put a payment into a stranger's approval queue. Either way the family's bell says so — a payment turned down tells the family it hasn't been taken off what they owe, so they can check the details with the provider.
Check the balance and history
Open Credits (/dashboard/credits) to see the current balance with each provider (or, for providers, with each family).
The transaction history lists every charge, credit and payment in order — the same view for both sides, which is the point.
Payments: your balance with one provider, and sessions you've paid for in advance
Pay a balance by card (families)
From the ledger, choose Pay now on the balance you want to settle.
You're taken to a secure Stripe checkout to enter your card details — AltEd never sees the card number.
You come back to Payments to a thank-you. When the payment completes, it appears in the transaction history and the balance updates for both sides.
If a card payment is refunded in full, it shows as Refunded under Your payments and comes off the ledger, so the balance shows that amount as owed again. Nothing left of it is used against later charges.
Tips
Providers: set pricing before your first sessions, so the ledger is right from day one.
The approval steps (on credits and absences) are deliberate — a balance both sides have agreed to, entry by entry, is what keeps the relationship friction-free.
Card payments require the provider's payment setup to be enabled; if Pay now isn't available, the balance still stands in the ledger and you can settle it however you and the provider agree.
Sessions paid for in advance
Many families buy a block of lessons up front. When your provider records a session pack, those sessions are simply used up as they're taught — no charge appears for them, because you've already paid. That holds even if the provider's plan has lapsed since.
On Payments, a Sessions in credit panel shows what's left with that provider: "4 of 5 sessions left", what you paid, and an expiry date if there is one. When a pack runs out, later sessions are charged as normal.
A pack only covers the tuition price it was bought for — a maths pack won't quietly pay for a music lesson.
Recording a pack from the list (providers). Under Session packs, the add row at the foot of the list takes the four things a pack must have: Family, Tuition, Number of sessions and Amount paid (£). Press Enter (or select Record) and it is recorded. An expiry date or a note go through Record a pack instead. A pack is a record of money already taken, so its values aren't edited in place.
Reminders
If a charge goes past its due date, AltEd emails you a single reminder covering everything outstanding with that provider, with a link to your balance. You won't be emailed about the same debt more than once a week, and never at all if your balance is settled. If you've already paid and it just hasn't been marked off yet, no action is needed. Reminders can't be switched off in your notification settings, because they're about money you owe.