Payroll Rules
Payroll rules define how Conductly calculates instructor compensation. You set up the rules, and Conductly applies them automatically each time a lesson is taught or a billing cycle is processed.
All payroll rules — the organization-wide default and every instructor, session, duration, or location override — are created in one place: Settings > Payroll, under Payroll Rules.
Payroll Rule Types
Conductly supports five compensation types. Each uses a different method to calculate the instructor's pay.
Flat hourly rate
The instructor is paid a fixed dollar amount per hour of teaching.
How it works: The lesson duration (in hours) is multiplied by the hourly rate.
Example: An instructor with a $40/hour rate teaches a 45-minute lesson.
- Calculation: 0.75 hours x $40 = $30.00
Best for: Schools with straightforward hourly compensation.
If you also set a Duration on the rule (see Rule Hierarchy below), the Add New Payroll Rule dialog previews the payout for that lesson length — e.g., "45-minute lessons will pay $30.00" — as you type the rate.
Percentage of revenue
The instructor receives a percentage of the revenue generated from student billing for their lessons.
How it works: When a billing cycle is processed, Conductly calculates the total revenue from the instructor's students and applies the percentage.
Example: An instructor has a 60% revenue share. Their students generated $2,000 in billing for the cycle.
- Calculation: $2,000 x 60% = $1,200.00
Best for: Schools where instructors earn a share of tuition revenue.
Flat amount per lesson
The instructor receives a fixed dollar amount for each lesson taught, regardless of duration.
How it works: Each lesson occurrence generates a single flat payment.
Example: An instructor with a $35 flat rate teaches a lesson.
- Calculation: 1 lesson x $35 = $35.00
Best for: Simple per-lesson payment structures where lesson duration doesn't vary much.
Amount per student
The instructor's pay scales with the number of students in a class. There is no base rate — the pay is simply the per-student amount multiplied by the number of students.
How it works: The per-student amount is multiplied by the number of students in the class.
Example: An instructor has a $10/student rate and teaches a group class with 8 students.
- Calculation: 8 students x $10 = $80.00
Best for: Group classes where you want compensation to scale with class size.
No compensation
No automatic compensation is calculated for the instructor or session. Use this when:
- An instructor is salaried and not paid per lesson
- A session is unpaid (e.g., volunteer-led)
- You handle compensation entirely outside of Conductly
Rule Hierarchy
Every rule has four optional override fields — Instructor, Session, Duration, and Location — plus a required Compensation Type and Effective Date. Leaving all four blank makes the rule your organization-wide default. Filling in one narrows where it applies, and you can combine fields for a more targeted rule (e.g., Instructor + Duration for "Julia's 30-minute lessons").
Conductly picks the most specific matching rule for each lesson. From most to least specific:
1. Instructor + Session (most specific — one instructor teaching one session)
2. Session (applies to everyone teaching that session)
3. Instructor (applies to everything that instructor teaches)
4. Location (applies to lessons taught at that location)
5. Duration (applies to lessons of that length)
6. Organization Default (applies to everyone unless overridden)
Instructor and Session overrides always outrank Location and Duration overrides — a rule combining Location and Duration can never beat a plain Instructor rule. Between Location and Duration, Location wins. A location override set on a building automatically covers every room inside it; if a rule is also set on the specific room, the room-level rule wins.
If no rule matches at any level, no earnings are generated for that lesson.
How the Hierarchy Works in Practice
| Scenario | Which Rule Applies |
|---|---|
| Organization default is Flat hourly rate at $40/hr. No overrides set. | $40/hr Flat hourly rate (organization default) |
| Organization default is $40/hr. Instructor has an override of $50/hr. | $50/hr Flat hourly rate (instructor override) |
| Organization default is $40/hr. Instructor override is $50/hr. Session override is 60% revenue share. | 60% Percentage of revenue (session override) |
| Session override is 60% revenue share. A rule targets this instructor AND this session at $55/hr. | $55/hr Flat hourly rate (instructor + session override) |
| Organization default is $40/hr. A Location override for the Downtown studio is $45/hr. A separate Duration override for 30-minute lessons is $35/hr. A 30-minute lesson is taught at Downtown. | $45/hr Flat hourly rate (location override — location beats duration) |
| A Location override for Downtown is $45/hr. This instructor also has a plain Instructor override at $50/hr, and teaches at Downtown. | $50/hr Flat hourly rate (instructor override — instructor beats location) |
Creating a Payroll Rule
Whether you're setting the organization default or an override, the steps are the same:
- Go to Settings (from the organization menu at the top of the sidebar).
- Click Payroll.
- Click New payroll rule.
- In the Add New Payroll Rule dialog, choose a Compensation Type and enter the rate, percentage, or amount.
- Set the Effective Date (and optionally Expires On).
- Choose the scope with Instructor, Session, Duration, and Location. Leave all four blank for an organization-wide default, or fill in one or more to narrow where the rule applies:
- Instructor → applies to everything that instructor teaches
- Session → applies to everyone teaching that session
- Duration → applies to any lesson of that length (15–90 minutes, in 15-minute steps)
- Location → applies to any lesson taught at that location; a location set on a building covers every room inside it
- Combine two or more fields for a narrower rule, e.g. Instructor + Duration
- Optionally add Notes, then save.
The Session dropdown lists each session's instructor(s) and start date/time alongside its name (e.g., "DJ Fundamentals — Julia Smith (Aug 20, 2026 4:00 PM)"), so you can tell apart sessions that share a name.
Set your organization default to the compensation model used by the majority of your instructors. Then add override rules for the exceptions.
There are no payroll sections on instructor or session pages — the "Payroll Setup" panel on a course's detail page is read-only. All rules are created and edited at Settings > Payroll.
Versioned Rules with Effective Dates
Payroll rules in Conductly are versioned. Each rule has an Effective Date and an optional Expires On date, so when compensation changes, you add a new rule that takes effect from the date you specify while the old rule is preserved with its date range.
This means:
- Historical earnings are not affected when you change a rule. Earnings that were already calculated under the old rule remain as they were.
- Future earnings use the new rule starting from its effective date.
- You can see the history of rules on the Payroll Rules list, with each rule's effective and expiration dates.
Example: You change an instructor's rate from $40/hr to $45/hr effective March 1. Lessons taught in February are still calculated at $40/hr. Lessons from March 1 onward use $45/hr.
When changing payroll rules, double-check the effective date. Setting the wrong date could cause earnings to be calculated at the wrong rate for a period.
Tips for Managing Payroll Rules
- Start simple. Create an organization default first (Instructor, Session, Duration, and Location left blank). You can always add overrides later as needed.
- Use Duration and Location for broad pay differences (e.g., all 30-minute lessons, or everything taught at a satellite location), and reach for Instructor and Session overrides — or a combination — when you need to get more specific.
- Document your reasoning. Use the rule's Notes field to record why an override exists (e.g., "Higher rate for master class series" or "Custom agreement with instructor").
- Review rules periodically. As rates change or instructor agreements are updated, make sure the rules in Conductly reflect the current terms.
- Use effective dates carefully. When updating a rate, set the effective date to match the agreed-upon start date for the new rate.
- Test with a sample lesson. After setting up rules, check that a recent lesson's earning was calculated correctly to confirm everything is working as expected.