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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 flagged as the invoice recipient, meaning invoices for that student are sent to them
  • Communications about the student (schedule changes, updates) can be sent to the guardian
  • The guardian can pay invoices, manage the card on file, and reschedule or cancel the student's private lessons through the Family Portal
  • Your staff can see the full family picture on both the student and guardian detail pages
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Linking only connects people who already exist in Conductly. To add a brand-new guardian, use the Add family button on the Guardians page first -- see Managing Guardians.

Linking from the Student Detail Page​

To link a guardian to a student:

  1. Open the student's detail page.
  2. Find the Family Members card and click + Add. This opens the Manage Family drawer.
  3. Use the Assign guardian to student field to search for and select an existing guardian. You can add more than one.
  4. For each guardian, choose a relationship from the dropdown: Guardian, Parent, Grandparent, Aunt, Uncle, Step-Parent, Foster Parent, Institution, or Other.
  5. Click Save.

The guardian will now appear on the student's Family Members card, and the student will appear on the guardian's detail page. You can also open the linking flow from the Guardian chip in the properties row at the top of the student page.

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. Find the Family Members card and click + Manage. This opens the Manage Family drawer.
  3. Use the Assign student to guardian field to search for and select an existing student. You can add more than one.
  4. Click Save.

This creates the same two-way connection as linking from the student side. Like the student-side drawer, it only selects existing students -- it doesn't create new ones.

Setting the Invoice Recipient​

The invoice recipient is the person who receives invoices for a particular student. Flagging a guardian tells Conductly where to send that student's invoices.

How to Set the Invoice Recipient​

  1. Open the student's detail page.
  2. On the Family Members card, open the Actions menu next to the guardian you want.
  3. Choose Set as Invoice Recipient.

The guardian now shows a green Billing badge on the card.

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Each student can have only one flagged invoice recipient at a time. If you flag a new guardian, the previous one is replaced -- they remain linked to the student, they just won't receive new invoices.

How the Recipient Is Chosen​

You don't have to flag anyone. When Conductly creates an invoice, it resolves the recipient automatically:

  1. The guardian flagged via Set as Invoice Recipient, if there is one
  2. Otherwise, the student's first linked guardian
  3. Otherwise, the student themselves

The recipient is fixed when each invoice is created. Changing the flag is not retroactive -- existing invoices keep their original recipient; only future invoices go to the new person.

What the Invoice Recipient Gets​

  • Invoices for the student's sessions are emailed to them, and they are listed as the Customer on those invoices
  • Payment reminders for those invoices go to them
  • The payment method saved on their profile is the card on file used when those invoices are charged

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 to be on record for the student
  • A parent and a grandparent share responsibility
  • Divorced or separated families where both guardians need to be linked

All linked guardians appear on the student's Family Members card, but only the invoice recipient receives invoices.

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If billing responsibility changes, use Set as Invoice Recipient to flag the new payer. Future invoices will go to them; invoices that already exist are unchanged.

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 invoice recipient for all of their children, or only some
  • Invoices are generated per student, so the guardian may receive multiple invoices (one for each student they're billed for)
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If a family has several students and one guardian handles all the billing, use Set as Invoice Recipient on each student individually. The flag is per student, so setting it once doesn't cover siblings.

Removing a Guardian from a Family​

To remove the link between a student and a guardian:

  1. Open the student's detail page.
  2. On the Family Members card, open the Actions menu next to the guardian.
  3. Choose Remove from Family.
  4. Confirm the removal.

Removing a family member does not delete either profile -- it only removes the connection between them.

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You don't need to worry about invoices losing a recipient. If you remove the flagged guardian, Conductly falls back automatically -- new invoices go to the student's first remaining guardian, or to the student if no guardians are left.

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. Flag that guardian as the invoice recipient for each child (or leave it unset -- as the only guardian, they receive invoices by default).

Two-parent family​

Both parents are linked as guardians to all children. Use Set as Invoice Recipient to flag whichever parent handles tuition.

Blended family​

Multiple guardians across households. Each student has the appropriate invoice recipient flagged based on who handles their tuition.

Adult learner with no guardian​

An adult student doesn't need a guardian -- with no guardians linked, invoices go directly to the student. If someone else pays their tuition, link that person as a guardian and flag them with Set as Invoice Recipient.