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Setup Guide

This guide covers every step of setting up your music school in Conductly. Whether you're migrating from another system or starting fresh, working through these sections will ensure your school is fully configured and ready to operate.

:::tip Use the Built-In Setup Checklist When you first log in, Conductly shows an onboarding checklist that tracks your progress. You can also access it anytime from Settings. This guide follows the same order as that checklist but goes into more detail. :::

1. School Information​

Start by telling Conductly about your school. Navigate to Settings > School Information.

  • School Name — This appears throughout Conductly, on invoices, in emails to families, and on your online store. Use your official business name.
  • Logo — Upload your school's logo. It will appear on invoices, email communications, and your storefront. For best results, use a square or horizontal image in PNG or SVG format.

Time Zone​

Setting the correct time zone is essential for scheduling. All lesson times, invoice due dates, and notifications are based on this setting.

  • Select your time zone from the dropdown.
  • If your school spans multiple time zones, use the time zone where most of your operations happen.
warning

Changing your time zone after scheduling lessons can shift how existing events display. Set this correctly before you start scheduling.

School Address​

Enter your school's primary mailing address. This appears on invoices and in your store. If you operate from multiple locations, enter your main office or headquarters here — individual teaching locations are configured separately.

2. Locations and Rooms​

Locations represent the physical spaces where your school operates. Navigate to Teaching > Locations to manage them.

Adding a Location​

  1. Click Add Location.
  2. Enter a name (e.g., "Main Campus," "North Side Studio").
  3. Add the street address.
  4. Click Save.

Adding Rooms​

Rooms are sub-locations within a building. They help you schedule lessons in specific spaces and prevent double-booking.

  1. Click into a location.
  2. Click Add Room.
  3. Enter the room name (e.g., "Studio A," "Piano Room 2").
  4. Click Save.

:::tip When to Use Rooms If you teach in a single room, you don't need to create rooms — just use the location itself. Rooms are most useful when you have multiple instructors teaching simultaneously in different spaces within the same building. :::

Location Tips​

  • You can have as many locations as you need — great for schools that operate in multiple buildings or cities.
  • Each lesson on the calendar can be assigned to a specific location and room, so your instructors always know where to go.
  • Location availability is checked when scheduling to prevent room conflicts.

3. Instruments​

Instruments define what your school teaches and help organize courses, instructors, and students. Navigate to Settings > Instruments.

Adding Instruments​

  1. Click Add Instrument.
  2. Enter the instrument name (e.g., "Piano," "Violin," "Voice," "Drums").
  3. Click Save.

How Instruments Are Used​

WhereHow
CoursesEach course is associated with one or more instruments.
InstructorsAssign instruments to instructors so you know who teaches what.
StudentsTrack which instruments each student is learning.
FilteringFilter students, instructors, and the calendar by instrument.
info

You can add instruments at any time. If your school expands to teach new instruments, just add them here and start assigning them to courses and instructors.

4. Billing Rates​

Rates define how much you charge for lessons. Conductly supports a flexible rate system that lets you set organization-wide defaults and override them for specific sessions, groups, or individual students.

Navigate to Settings > Rates and Tuition.

Understanding the Two Pricing Models​

Conductly offers two ways to price lessons:

Lesson Rates (Per-Meeting)​

Charge per lesson based on duration. Best for schools that bill based on how many lessons a student attends.

DurationExample Rate
30 minutes$40
45 minutes$55
60 minutes$70

Fixed Tuition​

Charge a flat monthly amount regardless of how many lessons occur. Best for schools that charge a predictable monthly fee.

DurationExample Tuition
30-minute lessons$160/month
45-minute lessons$220/month
60-minute lessons$280/month

Setting Your Default Rates​

  1. Click Add Rate (or Add Tuition for fixed pricing).
  2. Enter the amount for each lesson duration you offer.
  3. Set the effective date — this is when the rate takes effect.
  4. Click Save.

Rate Overrides​

You can override the default rate at several levels, from most specific to least specific:

  1. Student + Session — A specific rate for one student in one session.
  2. Student — A custom rate for a student across all sessions.
  3. Group + Session — A rate for all students in a group within a session.
  4. Group — A rate for all students in a group across sessions.
  5. Session — A rate for everyone in a specific session.
  6. Organization default — The fallback rate.

Conductly always uses the most specific rate it can find for a given student and session.

:::tip Scheduling Rate Changes You can create future-dated rates to schedule price increases. For example, set a new rate with an effective date of January 1st, and Conductly will automatically start using it on that date. Existing unpaid invoices can optionally be updated to reflect the new rate. :::

5. Payment Settings​

To collect payments from families, you need to choose a payment processor, open an account with them, and connect that account to Conductly.

Choose Your Processor​

Conductly supports two options:

  • Evolv (Optimize Gateway) -- Interchange+ pricing, typically the lowest effective rate at higher volumes. Conductly works with Evolv on your behalf to set up your merchant account, so plan for a few business days for underwriting.
  • Stripe -- Flat 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge in the U.S. (ACH is 0.8%, capped at $5.00). Self-serve sign-up at stripe.com -- you can be processing payments the same day.

For a full comparison and detailed setup steps, see Payment Settings.

Connecting Your Gateway​

  1. Open an account with Evolv (via Conductly support) or Stripe.
  2. Once approved, copy your API keys from the processor.
  3. In Conductly, go to Settings > Invoices and scroll to the Payment Gateway section.
  4. Set Gateway Provider to Optimize or Stripe, then paste in your Public/Publishable key and your Secret/API key.
  5. Run a small test charge to confirm everything is connected end-to-end.

What Families Experience​

Once your gateway is connected:

  • Families can pay invoices online through a secure payment link.
  • Families can store payment methods for faster future payments.
  • You can set up auto-pay so invoices are charged automatically when due.
warning

You must complete payment gateway setup before you can send invoices with online payment links. You can still create invoices without it, but families won't be able to pay online.

6. Team Members​

Team members are the people who help run your school — owners, admins, and instructors. Navigate to Settings > Team Management.

Adding Team Members​

  1. Click Invite Team Member.
  2. Enter their email address.
  3. Select their role:
    • Owner — Full access to everything, including billing and account settings.
    • Admin — Full operational access (students, scheduling, invoicing) but no access to account billing.
    • Instructor — Access to their own schedule and students only.
  4. Click Send Invitation.

The team member will receive an email with instructions to create their account and log in.

Role Summary​

RoleCan Manage StudentsCan Manage ScheduleCan Send InvoicesCan Access SettingsCan Manage Billing
OwnerYesYesYesYesYes
AdminYesYesYesYesNo
InstructorOwn students onlyOwn schedule onlyNoNoNo
info

For a detailed breakdown of what each role can access, see Roles & Permissions.

7. Email Templates​

Conductly sends automated emails for common events like invoice delivery, payment receipts, and enrollment confirmations.

Conductly has one customizable system template: the Lesson Reminder. You can edit its content, subject line, and merge fields from Settings → Emails & SMS. All other transactional emails (invoices, receipts, password resets, etc.) are sent automatically and are not editable as templates — but you can customize their branding (sender name, reply-to address, school logo) in Settings → School Information and Settings → Emails & SMS.

In addition to the Lesson Reminder system template, admins can create custom email templates for sending manual emails to students, guardians, instructors, or groups. Create these from Settings → Emails & SMS → New Email Template.

Customizing Templates​

  1. Select the template you want to edit.
  2. Modify the subject line and body text.
  3. Use merge tags to insert dynamic content (e.g., {student_name}, {invoice_amount}, {due_date}).
  4. Preview your changes.
  5. Click Save.

Common Templates to Customize​

TemplateWhen It's Sent
Invoice CreatedWhen a new invoice is generated and sent to a family
Payment ReceiptAfter a successful payment is processed
Payment ReminderBefore an invoice due date (configurable timing)
Enrollment ConfirmationWhen a student is enrolled in a session
tip

Spend a few minutes personalizing your invoice and receipt templates. A professional, branded email builds trust with families and reduces questions about charges.

8. Additional Settings​

Once the essentials are in place, explore these additional settings to fine-tune your school's configuration:

Semesters​

Define your school's academic periods (Fall, Spring, Summer, etc.) under Settings > Semesters. Semesters help organize sessions, billing cycles, and reporting into logical time periods.

Calendar Settings​

Configure your calendar preferences under Settings > Calendar Settings:

  • Default view — Choose whether the calendar opens in month, week, or day view.
  • Business hours — Set the hours that display by default on the calendar.
  • Closed dates — Mark holidays and school closures so lessons aren't scheduled on those days.

Invoice Settings​

Fine-tune how invoices work under Settings > Invoice Settings:

  • Invoice numbering — Customize the prefix and starting number for invoices.
  • Payment terms — Set default due date offsets (e.g., "Due in 30 days").
  • Late fees — Configure automatic late fee policies.

Store Settings​

If you plan to sell classes online, configure your storefront under Settings > Store Settings:

  • Store name and description — What families see when they visit your store.
  • Checkout options — Enable or disable anonymous checkout.
  • Payment options — Configure which payment methods are accepted.

Notifications​

Control which notifications you and your team receive under Settings > Notifications. You can configure email and in-app notification preferences for events like new enrollments, payments, and form submissions.

Setup Checklist Summary​

Use this checklist to make sure you've covered everything:

  • School name, logo, and time zone configured
  • School address entered
  • At least one location (and rooms, if applicable) added
  • Instruments added
  • Default billing rates or tuition set
  • Payment gateway connected
  • Team members invited
  • Email templates customized
  • Semesters defined
  • Calendar settings configured
tip

You don't have to complete everything before you start using Conductly. The most important steps are school information, at least one location, and your billing rates. You can always come back and refine the rest later.

Next Steps​

With your school configured, you're ready to start day-to-day operations: