By Janet Menosky Smith
Tutors often struggle with issues surrounding payment policies and dealing with late or sometimes non-payment for services. Setting expectations using a written tutoring agreement with clear policies can help you avoid many pitfalls.
Payment Policies - A Key Part of Your Tutoring Agreement
Tutors often struggle with issues surrounding payment policies and dealing with late or sometimes non-payment for services. Setting expectations using a written tutoring agreement with clear policies can help you avoid many pitfalls.
As a tutor, you may have your own expectations, but unless they are clearly spelled out, even your best clients will have their own set and misunderstandings, or occasionally feeling taken advantage of, are more likely to happen. Clearly spelling out the policies of your practice will help to avoid these scenarios.
Agreement – not Contract
I like to use the word “agreement” as opposed to “contract,” because I am not a big tutoring company that signs clients up for a large up-front amount and commits them to 4 to 6 months at a time. I charge month-to-month, and my clients can cancel at any time, however, I do have policies in place to protect my income from unexpected changes. Here are some of them:
Payment Policies
The agreement begins by noting the days and times agreed to by both parties for when tutoring will take place. The agreed price is also listed. In my case, I charge monthly tuition, but it used to be a per lesson price.
The biggest protection and stress-avoider I have regarding payment is my requirement that clients pay at the beginning of the month for each month’s tutoring sessions. My wording is as follows:
Tuition for the entire month will be paid on the first day of the month. Invoices are sent via email. You may pay online via direct link, arrange online payment via your bank, or mail a check to the address above.
Tutoring is suspended if not paid by the first session of the month, before the first scheduled tutoring session, until payment is made.
Invoices are sent by email 1 week before the first of each month.
A $10 late fee will be added to next month’s bill if payment is not received on the first.
I don’t believe I’ve ever actually charged the fee, but it’s in the agreement to make the point that on-time payment is expected.
This policy works whether you charge by the session or do a monthly tuition charge. I added the sentence on requiring payment before even one session is taught to my original policy because I would have occasional late payers that would always need reminded a day or two after the month began. Now, I can just send a reminder the day before with the wording, “Hi ____, I notice I haven’t received payment yet, and the new month is starting tomorrow. I want to make sure it’s taken care of so that _____ doesn’t miss any sessions. Thanks!”
More recently, I’ve avoided invoicing by email and needing to send a reminder email because I began billing clients using a Venmo business account. I can press a button to “send reminder,” and I usually get an immediate response.
Using a payment app like Venmo or similar services also works well because clients receive a text and they can reply and pay right from their phone, which is often the way many of us do business these days.
While I haven’t done this, another option is having client payments automatically deducted each month. PayPal offers an option to set this up. Then, clients are automatically charged each month without the need to send a payment request.
A final protection some tutors include is requiring a deposit equal to one- or two-weeks tutoring charge. This provides a cushion of protection from last-minute decisions to end services.
For my practice, I request two weeks’ notice before the next payment is due and use the time to do a progress evaluation and provide a final written summary. Here is my wording:
If you plan to discontinue services, please provide two weeks’ notice before next month’s payment is due, so I can do a final wrap-up, progress evaluation, and provide you with a final written progress report. If less than 2 weeks’ notice is given, you have the option to pay for an additional two weeks of services for the final wrap-up, progress evaluation and written report.
My clients want this final summary and progress report, so they plan around giving me the two weeks’ notice, though in most cases, the end of tutoring is discussed well in advance of two weeks.
These clear payment expectations and policies have eliminated issues surrounding lateness or non-payment for services already received. They can be personalized to fit your specific practice needs, but ultimately, communicating your own policies in writing will establish a professional and positive understanding with your clients.
Yours in reaching & teaching,
Janet
Tutors often struggle with issues surrounding payment policies and dealing with late or sometimes non-payment for services. Setting expectations using a written tutoring agreement with clear policies can help you avoid many pitfalls.
Payment Policies - A Key Part of Your Tutoring Agreement
Tutors often struggle with issues surrounding payment policies and dealing with late or sometimes non-payment for services. Setting expectations using a written tutoring agreement with clear policies can help you avoid many pitfalls.
As a tutor, you may have your own expectations, but unless they are clearly spelled out, even your best clients will have their own set and misunderstandings, or occasionally feeling taken advantage of, are more likely to happen. Clearly spelling out the policies of your practice will help to avoid these scenarios.
Agreement – not Contract
I like to use the word “agreement” as opposed to “contract,” because I am not a big tutoring company that signs clients up for a large up-front amount and commits them to 4 to 6 months at a time. I charge month-to-month, and my clients can cancel at any time, however, I do have policies in place to protect my income from unexpected changes. Here are some of them:
Payment Policies
The agreement begins by noting the days and times agreed to by both parties for when tutoring will take place. The agreed price is also listed. In my case, I charge monthly tuition, but it used to be a per lesson price.
The biggest protection and stress-avoider I have regarding payment is my requirement that clients pay at the beginning of the month for each month’s tutoring sessions. My wording is as follows:
Tuition for the entire month will be paid on the first day of the month. Invoices are sent via email. You may pay online via direct link, arrange online payment via your bank, or mail a check to the address above.
Tutoring is suspended if not paid by the first session of the month, before the first scheduled tutoring session, until payment is made.
Invoices are sent by email 1 week before the first of each month.
A $10 late fee will be added to next month’s bill if payment is not received on the first.
I don’t believe I’ve ever actually charged the fee, but it’s in the agreement to make the point that on-time payment is expected.
This policy works whether you charge by the session or do a monthly tuition charge. I added the sentence on requiring payment before even one session is taught to my original policy because I would have occasional late payers that would always need reminded a day or two after the month began. Now, I can just send a reminder the day before with the wording, “Hi ____, I notice I haven’t received payment yet, and the new month is starting tomorrow. I want to make sure it’s taken care of so that _____ doesn’t miss any sessions. Thanks!”
More recently, I’ve avoided invoicing by email and needing to send a reminder email because I began billing clients using a Venmo business account. I can press a button to “send reminder,” and I usually get an immediate response.
Using a payment app like Venmo or similar services also works well because clients receive a text and they can reply and pay right from their phone, which is often the way many of us do business these days.
While I haven’t done this, another option is having client payments automatically deducted each month. PayPal offers an option to set this up. Then, clients are automatically charged each month without the need to send a payment request.
A final protection some tutors include is requiring a deposit equal to one- or two-weeks tutoring charge. This provides a cushion of protection from last-minute decisions to end services.
For my practice, I request two weeks’ notice before the next payment is due and use the time to do a progress evaluation and provide a final written summary. Here is my wording:
If you plan to discontinue services, please provide two weeks’ notice before next month’s payment is due, so I can do a final wrap-up, progress evaluation, and provide you with a final written progress report. If less than 2 weeks’ notice is given, you have the option to pay for an additional two weeks of services for the final wrap-up, progress evaluation and written report.
My clients want this final summary and progress report, so they plan around giving me the two weeks’ notice, though in most cases, the end of tutoring is discussed well in advance of two weeks.
These clear payment expectations and policies have eliminated issues surrounding lateness or non-payment for services already received. They can be personalized to fit your specific practice needs, but ultimately, communicating your own policies in writing will establish a professional and positive understanding with your clients.
Yours in reaching & teaching,
Janet
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