Rates & Tuition
The Rates & Tuition settings control how much students are charged for their lessons. You can set organization-wide default rates, then create more specific overrides for individual students, groups, or sessions.
To access rate settings, go to Settings > Rates from the sidebar.
How Rates Work
Rates in Conductly are defined per lesson duration. You set a dollar amount for each duration your school offers, such as:
| Duration | Rate |
|---|---|
| 30 minutes | $30.00 |
| 45 minutes | $42.50 |
| 60 minutes | $55.00 |
When Conductly generates an invoice, it looks up the appropriate rate based on the lesson duration and applies it to each occurrence.
Setting Default Rates
Default rates apply to all students across your entire school unless a more specific override exists.
- Go to Settings > Rates.
- Click Add Rate (or edit an existing default rate).
- Enter the rate amounts for each lesson duration.
- Set an Effective Date -- this is the date the rate takes effect.
- Optionally set an Expiration Date if the rate is temporary.
- Click Save.
You can have multiple default rate versions with different effective dates. This lets you plan rate increases ahead of time. For example, you could set new rates to take effect at the start of the next semester.
Rate Overrides
Sometimes you need to charge different rates for specific situations. Conductly supports overrides at multiple levels:
Student Override
Set a custom rate for an individual student. This is useful for scholarships, family discounts, or special pricing agreements.
Group Override
Set a custom rate for all students in a specific group. Great for group discounts or bundled pricing.
Session Override
Set a custom rate for a particular session (class or lesson type). Useful when certain sessions have different pricing.
Combined Overrides
You can also create overrides that combine scopes:
- Student + Session -- A specific rate for a specific student in a specific session.
- Group + Session -- A specific rate for a group within a specific session.
The Rate Hierarchy
When Conductly needs to determine the rate for a lesson, it checks for rates in the following order, from most specific to least specific:
| Priority | Rate Level | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Highest) | Student + Session | Emma pays $25 for her Tuesday piano session |
| 2 | Student only | Emma pays $28 for all lessons |
| 3 | Group + Session | The "Smith Family" group pays $30 for the Tuesday piano session |
| 4 | Group only | The "Smith Family" group pays $32 for all lessons |
| 5 | Session only | Everyone in the Tuesday piano session pays $35 |
| 6 (Lowest) | Organization default | Everyone pays $40 |
Conductly uses the most specific rate it can find. If no student-level override exists, it falls back to the group level, then session level, and finally the organization default.
You do not need to create overrides at every level. Most schools only need organization defaults plus occasional student or group overrides for special situations.
Scope vs. Duration Precedence
Within each of the six scope levels above, Conductly also distinguishes between rates that specify a matching lesson duration and duration-less default rates at the same level. A rate that matches the lesson duration takes priority over a duration-less default at the same scope.
However, scope specificity always wins over duration match: a more specific scope (e.g. Student + Session) beats a less specific scope (e.g. Organization), even if the more specific rate has no matching duration and the less specific rate does.
Example: A school sets a Student + Session default rate of $60 (no duration specified) and an Organization 30-minute specific rate of $20. A 30-minute lesson for that student in that session will charge $60, not $20 — the Student + Session scope wins even though the Organization rate has the matching duration.
Full precedence table (all 12 levels)
Each of the six scope levels is effectively two levels — one for rates that match the lesson's duration, and one for the scope's default rate. The complete precedence order Conductly walks is:
| Priority | Scope | Duration Match |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Student + Session | Specific |
| 2 | Student + Session | Default |
| 3 | Student | Specific |
| 4 | Student | Default |
| 5 | Group + Session | Specific |
| 6 | Group + Session | Default |
| 7 | Group | Specific |
| 8 | Group | Default |
| 9 | Session | Specific |
| 10 | Session | Default |
| 11 | Organization | Specific |
| 12 | Organization | Default |
Most schools never need to think about this level of detail — just know that more specific scopes always win, and within a scope, a duration-specific rate beats a duration-less default.
Rate Versioning and Effective Dates
Every rate in Conductly has an effective date and an optional expiration date. This lets you:
- Schedule rate increases ahead of time without disrupting current billing.
- Run promotional rates that automatically expire.
- Keep a history of past rates for reference.
When multiple rate versions exist at the same level, Conductly always uses the most recent version whose effective date has passed and that has not expired.
Example:
| Rate Version | Effective Date | Expires | 60-min Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Version 1 | Jan 1, 2025 | -- | $50 |
| Version 2 | Sep 1, 2025 | -- | $55 |
After September 1, 2025, the $55 rate is automatically used. Before that date, the $50 rate applies.
Duration-Specific Pricing
Within each rate version, you can set prices for individual durations. If a lesson duration does not have a specific rate defined, Conductly will fall back to the default rate within that rate version (if one is set).
For example, a rate version might define:
- 30-min: $30
- 60-min: $55
- Default: $40
A 45-minute lesson would use the default rate of $40 since no specific 45-minute rate is defined.
How Rates Connect to Invoicing
When an invoice is generated (either manually or through auto-invoicing), Conductly:
- Looks at each scheduled lesson occurrence on the invoice.
- Determines the lesson duration.
- Finds the most specific applicable rate using the hierarchy above.
- Applies that rate to the line item.
This means your rates are always applied consistently, and any changes to rates (via new effective dates) are automatically reflected in future invoices.
Best Practices
- Start with organization defaults. Set your standard rates first, then add overrides only where needed.
- Use effective dates for rate changes. Instead of editing an existing rate, create a new version with a future effective date. This preserves your rate history.
- Review rates each semester. The start of a new semester is a natural time to review and adjust your pricing.
- Document special rates. Use the notes field when creating overrides to record why a student or group has a custom rate (e.g., "scholarship recipient" or "sibling discount").