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Linking Students to Guardians

Linking connects a student to the guardian who is responsible for them. This relationship drives billing, communication, and family management in Conductly. You can link students and guardians from either profile, and a student can be connected to multiple guardians (and vice versa).

Why Linking Matters​

When a student is linked to a guardian:

  • The guardian can be set as the billing guardian, meaning invoices for that student are sent to them
  • Communications about the student (schedule changes, progress updates) can be sent to the guardian
  • The guardian can view the student's information and pay invoices through the parent portal
  • Your staff can see the full family picture on both the student and guardian detail pages

Linking from the Student Detail Page​

To link a guardian to a student:

  1. Open the student's detail page.
  2. Navigate to the Guardians section.
  3. Click Link Guardian.
  4. Search for an existing guardian by name, or create a new guardian.
  5. Select the guardian and confirm.

The guardian will now appear in the student's guardian section, and the student will appear on the guardian's detail page.

tip

If the guardian doesn't exist yet, you can create them on the spot during the linking process. Fill in their name, email, and phone number, and Conductly will create their profile and link them in one step.

Linking from the Guardian Detail Page​

You can also link a student from the guardian's side:

  1. Open the guardian's detail page.
  2. Navigate to the Linked Students section.
  3. Click Link Student.
  4. Search for an existing student by name, or create a new student.
  5. Select the student and confirm.

This works identically to linking from the student detail page -- it creates the same two-way connection.

Setting the Billing Guardian​

The billing guardian is the guardian who receives invoices for a particular student. This is an important designation because it determines where invoices are sent and which payment methods are used.

How to Set the Billing Guardian​

  1. Open the student's detail page.
  2. Navigate to the Guardians section.
  3. Find the guardian you want to designate as the billing guardian.
  4. Click the option to set them as the Billing Guardian (this may appear as a toggle, button, or dropdown depending on how many guardians are linked).
info

Each student can have only one billing guardian at a time. If you set a new billing guardian, the previous one will be replaced. The previous guardian remains linked to the student -- they just won't receive invoices anymore.

What the Billing Guardian Controls​

When a guardian is set as the billing guardian for a student:

  • Invoices for the student's sessions are sent to the billing guardian's email
  • Payment methods saved on the billing guardian's profile are used for automatic payments
  • Payment reminders and billing notifications go to the billing guardian

Multiple Guardians per Student​

A student can have more than one guardian linked to their profile. This is common in situations like:

  • Both parents want access to the student's information
  • A parent and a grandparent share responsibility
  • Divorced or separated families where both guardians need visibility

All linked guardians can view the student's information, but only the billing guardian receives invoices.

note

If you need to send billing information to a non-billing guardian, you can always forward invoices manually or adjust the billing guardian designation as needed.

Multiple Students per Guardian​

A single guardian can be linked to multiple students. This is the norm for families with more than one child taking lessons.

When a guardian is linked to multiple students:

  • Their detail page shows all linked students in one place
  • They may be the billing guardian for all of their children, or only some
  • Invoices are generated per student, so the billing guardian may receive multiple invoices (one for each student they're responsible for)
tip

If a family has several students and one guardian handles all the billing, make sure that guardian is set as the billing guardian for each student individually. This ensures all invoices go to the right place.

Unlinking a Student from a Guardian​

To remove the link between a student and a guardian:

  1. Open either the student's or the guardian's detail page.
  2. Find the linked person in the guardians/students section.
  3. Click Unlink or the remove option.
  4. Confirm the removal.

Unlinking does not delete either profile -- it only removes the connection between them.

warning

If you unlink a billing guardian from a student, make sure to assign a new billing guardian. Without a billing guardian, invoices for that student won't have a recipient.

Common Family Setups​

Here are a few examples of how linking works in practice:

Single-parent family​

One guardian linked to one or more students. The guardian is the billing guardian for all children.

Two-parent family​

Both parents are linked as guardians to all children. One parent is set as the billing guardian.

Blended family​

Multiple guardians across households. Each student has the appropriate billing guardian set based on who handles their tuition.

Adult learner with no guardian​

If a student is an adult who handles their own billing, you have two options:

  • Create a guardian profile for them and link it to their student profile
  • The student's own contact information can be used for billing purposes

Either approach works -- choose the one that fits your workflow best.