Pricing lessons with the tuition calculator
By Trio Team · Updated
The tuition calculator is a free tool. It helps you decide what to charge for a lesson, and whether to bill per lesson or as flat tuition. In Trio, click Help & Support, then Tools. The Tools page opens in a new tab.
What It Compares
The results put per-lesson billing and flat tuition side by side for the same roster and teaching year. Flat tuition splits the year's tuition into equal payments. With "Teaching months only" or "Per semester", some months get no payment.
For each model, the results show Annual income, Average month, Lowest month, Highest month and Effective hourly rate. Payments are rounded to the whole dollar.
The Inputs
- Roster. Add a row for each lesson type: the number of students (1 to 200), the lesson length (30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes) and the price per lesson ($5 to $500). Add up to 10 rows with Add another lesson type. The calculator starts with one row: 20 students, 30 minutes, $35.
- Prices or a target. Above the roster, choose "I know my prices" or "I have a target income". With a target, the calculator sets each row's price so that flat tuition, plus ad hoc income when that section is on, reaches your target. Fees do not count. Prices are whole dollars from $5 to $500, and the rate increase turns off.
- Teaching year. Choose the start month (September at the start) and a preset: School year (the default), Year-round or Semesters. Then edit the breaks. Lesson day sets the day you teach, or "All weekdays".
- Fine-tune. Five sections, all off at the start:
- Cancellations: a cancellation rate (10% when you turn it on) lowers per-lesson income. Turn on "Late cancellations are charged" to keep that income.
- Tuition schedule: "12 equal payments", "Teaching months only" or "Per semester".
- Annual fee: "Annual fee per student ($)", $50 at the start, for flat tuition only.
- Rate increase: a price rise on every lesson type. It works only with "I know my prices".
- Ad hoc availability: open hours you fill with one-off lessons on top of tuition.
The annual fee has no line of its own in the results: it is added to the first flat-tuition payment and to the flat Annual income.
Sharing a Scenario
Copy link copies a link that opens the same roster, teaching year and fine-tune settings. Reset to defaults puts every input back to its starting value.
Studio policy language gives a policy paragraph from your numbers, with a Copy button.
Setting It Up in Trio
Owners and admins set up your choice on the Plans tab of Billing:
- Flat tuition becomes a subscription plan. A subscription plan bills the same amount each month, the same as "12 equal payments". It skips a month only when an enrollment pause covers the whole month, so for "Teaching months only" pause the students for the months off. Trio has no plan that bills each semester. Bill the annual fee as an Annual fee on the Recurring Fees tab.
- Per-lesson pricing becomes a per-lesson plan.
Add students to the plan with enrollments. For Trio to create and send the invoices each month, turn on "Create and send monthly invoices on the 1st" on the Automation tab of Billing. It is off at the start. See Monthly Billing Runs.